Rock-it Robotics, Fountain Valley High School’s first robotics competition team, took first place among 19 other local high school teams at the “STEM on the Sidelines” competition at SoFi Stadium.
The competition was hosted by aerospace and defense company Ducommun, the University of California, Irvine, and the Los Angeles Chargers. The robotics team is a part of the Honors Advanced Robotics 2 class at FVHS.
Advised by teacher Ryan Pham, team captain Travis Wu and team members Jackie Nguyen, Donaven Tran, Ian Tsai and Kyle Delengocky designed a robot to complete three football tasks: agility, speed and strength.
According to team robot designer and builder Ian Tsai, the team manufactured the robot from polycarbonate to manage factors such as the robot’s weight, preci-sion and structural integrity, along with certain motors and batteries.
The first-place win for the team earned $5,000 for the school’s robotics program. Additionally, the team was recognized at the Chargers vs. Chiefs NFL game with suite tickets and a feature on the Jumbotron.
“At first, we were very doubtful in our abilities,” the robot’s driver, Donaven Tran, said. “After experiencing and introducing ourselves to the attendees of the competition, we really began to enjoy the community there. In the end, we are very grateful for the experience and the invitation to compete.”
“Robotics competition helps drive the curriculum to be relevant to industry and college standards in these changing times,” advisor Ryan Pham said. “The UCI Samueli School of Engineering did an amazing job hosting so the students could have a smooth robotics event.”
Pham added, “It was amazing to see all the support students from Los Angeles and Orange County received from the host, sponsors and donors for the ‘STEM on the Sidelines’ event.”