The Robotics Club is a great way for students interested in programming and building robots while being able to express themselves however they please. In Robotics Club students talk about programs, building robots, and they do mini-competitions for fun. Robotics club teaches students to work together and establish a bond over their creativity.
Robotics clubs was revived in May of 2023 by Ilyes Ouldsaada, who wanted to do something with his programming knowledge so the idea of starting a robotics club was very fond to him. He wanted to take the mini-competitions more seriously and get more people involved so they could create the best team possible. The club’s change in attitude led them to a path to take more initiative so when the official competitions roll around they are more than prepared.
Ilyes Ouldsaada demonstrating the robot for the competition. KAMANI GOMES
“We want it to make it the most fun; we want to make it fun competitions that are hard to do but not impossible and make it more enjoyable and a productive experience,” Ouldsaada explained.
Ouldsaada became interested in robotics because he found it exciting to study how things operate. Prior to starting the club Ouldsaada already knew how to program so he wanted to start to apply his skills to something more.
When Ouldsaada first thought about starting the robotics club he shared his idea with the current Vice President Phillip Li who helped him bring the idea to Physics teacher Brian Morrison and Automotive teacher Chris Bazzinotti.
They found out that they had a team in the past. Upon making this discovery the pair decided to enlist the help of Morrison and Bazzinotti in the hopes of reviving the club and team.
Bazzinotti has been involved with robotics for 13 years. He jumped at the idea to join, hoping that the students would be able to master both the programming as well as mechanical aspects of robotics.
Danielle Harrington, an active member of the club, feels that “although I’m a computer science student, I only know Java and am interested to learn C++ to be able to program the robots!”
In robotics club right now they are learning how to build a robot that can stop when it is hit by light. The robot can also tell the difference between colors. This can help for future competitions like BotBall. BotBall is when a team of a certain number of students try to create a robot that can maneuver and carry a ball.
This competition is hosted in a lot a regions all around the world. The idea of it is if you win your region competition you get to the finals and go to the global competition which is hosted in either Oklahoma or Hawaii. In fact MHS’s team has actually been to Oklahoma once after winning the regional finals.
The essential goal of robotics club is to come together and create a robot while also having a fun and productive experience. They’re currently looking to start a team to be able to go to nationals so they’re also looking to recruit people in order to build the best team possible. Robotics club is also very open. It is not just for a specific group of people, it is for everyone. Ouldsaada wants to make the club a super welcoming environment for everyone.
Students also really enjoy being apart of the club and working together. Satvir Singh said, “I like the people here I really like how the club is very open minded and I like how it challenges your thinking.”
Students have a great time learning how to improve there skills and learning new things. Thomas Ghile an active member of the club said, “I would like to be a part of the team, so we’re all trying to compete the get our own spot on the team.”
