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CSM Talons Robotics Team Opens Season with Top Scores
The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Talons Robotics Team earned top scores at the international VEX Robotics Competition and is now ranked in the top 20 teams in the world.
The team traveled to Manassas, Virginia on November 22 to compete against teams from across the globe, winning the Programming Skills, Driver Skills, and the overall Combined Skills Championship.
“The best part of the competitions is being there with your whole team,” said team member Immanuel Hernandez. "The whole experience of competing and doing well is a great feeling.”
The CSM Talons Robotics lab is outfitted with this year’s VEX Robotics competition field, an enclosed platform with obstacles to maneuver and games the robots have to complete.
Goals filled with red and blue balls are placed in each corner, with two additional goals in the middle of the field. Competitors pick up colored balls scattered around the field and place them in the center goals.
The field design changes every year and is revealed during the World Championships in May.
Students work on rebuilding last year’s robot to meet the current field challenges. Hernandez, the team driver and builder, uses a 3D printer to design parts that can be installed on the robot.
Hernandez said competing on the team inspired him to pursue a career in engineering.
“I realized how much I enjoyed applying the different math I’m learning and the different STEM classes,” Hernandez said. “Applying these skills to the robots and getting things to work is really fascinating.”
CSM Engineering Professor Jim Cleary is one of the team’s advisors. He said it’s rewarding to see the students grow and learn new skills. The students compete against teams from renowned four-year engineering schools around the country, and it’s impressive to see the students do well.
“It makes every moment I spend in the lab worth it to see these students succeed,” Cleary said. “They work really hard to be competitive, working in the lab almost every Friday all year. As advisors we don’t tell them what to build, we give them guidance, and they go off on their own.”
Each year two $1,000 scholarships are awarded through the CSM Foundation to Talons team members in their second year to help with academic support.
Students on the team are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) to participate. Cleary said most of the team members are engineering students, and these requirements are designed to support their preparation for transfer to a four-year program.
“They are developing skills that industries are looking for,” Cleary said. “It’s teamwork, imagination, meeting deadlines, and working under pressure. We want to make sure that when they leave CSM they are ready for their next step and have the skills to succeed in the workforce.”
Team leaders are hoping interest in robotics competitions keeps growing. They will host the VEX V5 Robotics Tournament for middle and high school students in February, and for the first time, a tournament for elementary students to spark an early interest in robotics.
The CSM Talons are working hard to make improvements to their robot and earn a spot at the World Championship. In order to do that, the team will have to earn a ticket at a qualifying event with at least 8 competing teams, or finish the season highly ranked, or having earned enough overall points.
Their next competition will be on home field on February 6 as the CSM La Plata Campus hosts the university level VEX Robotics tournament.