The Silicon Valley Regional proved to be an engaging and innovative sporting event that brought together teams, professionals, and youth in a collaborative effort to tackle an engineering challenge with fervor and competitiveness. Teams of high school students were tasked with building industrial-sized robots to navigate a challenging field game.
Reflecting on his experience, Danny said, “I was really impressed and inspired by the collaborative spirit of the event. It wasn’t just about robots battling it out; it was about three random high school teams coming together to overcome obstacles while competing against three other teams on the field. Wolfpack demonstrated ingenious strategies in building and programming their robot to navigate the course with precision and speed”.
During his visit to their “pit area,” where the team gathered after each match to make repairs or improvements based on data and observations, Danny gained insight into the team’s innovative approaches. He noted, “The team is supported by adult mentors, but it’s the students who make the decisions and do the work. They gave me a detailed breakdown of their robot’s functionality and demonstrated their technological innovations using CAD and various machining tools.”
Meeting these talented young people left Danny feeling hopeful about the future. He added, “Each member of the team has plans for college and beyond. I even had the pleasure of meeting some Wolfpack alumni who were already in college but returned home specifically for the regional event.