PART SciBorgs prepare for "Crescendo Game"

COLFAX - The Palouse Area Robotics Team (PART) SciBorgs kicked off its 2024 season on Saturday, Jan. 6, preparing to compete in the Crescendo Game sponsored by Haas Automation for their first match on Mar. 1 in Clackamas, Oregon.

Mentor Helena Johnson said that the PART SciBorgs consists of high school students from Colfax, Pullman, and Moscow who come together to compete in the international FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).

Johnson said that there are 3000 teams worldwide that get to compete in the same game, "Same tools, same time frame to design and build and problem solve or troubleshoot," she said.

The PART SciBorgs began in 2011 and is a collaboration of three school districts and homeschoolers that brings together students from the Palouse community to work as a team. "Our team has an interesting and unique dynamic because it is not affiliated with just one school. We meet a lot of people we would not normally see in our lives," said Pullman High School student Amy Fugh who is on the software subteam.

Johnson said the students have been busy prototyping with pullies and wheels and learning to program as a team.

"I'm enjoying learning and getting an experience in engineering I will use in the future," Moscow High School Student Mason Bledsoe, a Mechanical Subteam member, said.

Colfax High School student and member of the Mechanical and Business Subteams Elizabeth Salmond said the 4-H PART or FRC Team 4061 allowed her to explore her interests in robotics when she realized that the team was an extremely comforting community. "My first day, I met a few people that I instantly felt compelled to get to know, which is huge for an introverted person just like myself," Salmond said.

Johnson said that the programmers have to figure out how to do an autonomous program to preprogram the robot to do a certain thing; in the Crescendo games case, make two alliances of robots scoring 10-inch foam rings called notes, amplifying their speakers, harmonizing on the stage, and taking the spotlight before the match runs out. Special rewards are given to alliances that work together.

Students can also win cooperation points and lower melody bonus note requirements.

Johnson said that during the first 15 seconds of the 2.5-minute match, the students will have pre-programmed the robot to leave the starting zone, score rings, and collect and score additional rings. As time passes, robots race to harmonize onstage by climbing onto and hanging from a chain with other robots. "We hope everyone can come to see it; it's part sports and part concert," Johnson said, noting that there's always music and it's very energetic.