Robotics team preps for main event with Saturday scrimmage

The North Branch-Chisago Lakes FIRST Robotics Team 3038, sponsored by St. Jude Medical Foundation, is completing construction of the 2013 robot for the Ultimate Accent competition at the 10,000 Lakes Regional at the University of Minnesota.

Saturday, February 16, the team will travel to Eagan for a scrimmage. The build season ends February 19 and the team is not allowed to work on the robot until March 28 when they participate in the regional.

“The mentors and team members have been working five to six days a week to get the robot completed in time for the pre-ship scrimmage. The scrimmage gives the team an opportunity to drive, shoot, and practice the strategies of the game on a competition field," said team leader Becky Leuer. Mentor Ken Cummings commented, “It is always hectic this time of year but it looks like we will have the robot nearly complete in time to work the bugs out of the system before the scrimmage. We have one additional task to complete and that is adding a climber so the robot can raise itself off the floor for 10 bonus points at the end of the game."

Team member Elliot Courant (CL) has been working on the climber for weeks and the team hopes to attach it to the robot prior to the end of the build season.