The FRC 4285 Camo-Bots competed in the FIRST Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship held at Lehigh University during the first week of April. The team is composed of students from both Western Wayne and Wayne Highlands.
The Camo-Bots had the honor of meeting Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf at the event. In addition, the team was selected as one of four teams out of 60 teams to be ambassadors of FIRST. The students were chosen because of their work in design, advanced manufacturing, and engineering.
Junior Collin Murray, the Camo-Bots vice president, said everyone on the team greatly enjoyed meeting the governor. Collin explained that Wolf personally introduced himself to all of the students from the ten Pennsylvania teams represented at the event.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Collin explained. “The governor even drove one of the team’s robots on the course.”
Camo-Bot team member Western Wayne junior Max Phillips said the Regional Championship itself was a great learning experience for all involved.
“It was intense competition,” Max explained. “Everyone there is good. There are strict rules and the referees check on minor details.”
Collin explained how the Camo-Bots gained a lot from spending time with their peers at the event.
“They are very kind to us and help us out,” Collin said of the other teams. “Sometimes we share trade secrets with each other and discuss tricks to getting around certain problems when working with the robots.”
The FRC 4285 Camo-Bots look forward to their participation in the World Championship event that will take place in Detroit, Michigan, at the end of April. Collin and Max explained that there will be six competition fields set up where simultaneous competitive robot games will take place throughout the event. Teams from countries such as Australia, India, China, and Israel will be there.
Western Wayne Team Mentor Mr. Brian Landry is very proud of the success of the Camo-Bots and is very thankful to Western Wayne and Wayne Highlands administration, staff, students, their families, and members of the local business community who have and continue to support the efforts of the team.
