Four-school robotics team competes at the SunDome

The SciBorgs, also known as the Palouse Area Robotics Team, with students from Colfax, Colton, Moscow and Pullman High Schools, took third place at their first competition of the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition 2018 season March 16-17 at the Yakima SunDome.

A total of 31 teams gathered from Washington and Oregon.

The SciBorgs also earned the “Excellence in Engineering Award,” sponsored by Delphi Technologies.

This year the Palouse team’s robot has built-in clutches to keep damage to a minimum as the robots battle on the field over cubes and switches. The students also built their robot with arms, operating on right angle motors that help the robot stay modular and able to fold in its arms for compactness.

Also new this year, the Sciborgs’ coding and electrical sub-teams worked together to create different LED strip patterns and colors that are programmed to help the drive team know how the robot is functioning in the heat of the match.

The team is in its seventh season of designing, building, trouble-shooting robots that compete all over the Pacific Northwest. They aim to earn a spot to the F.I.R.S.T. Championships in Houston for the fifth time in a row.

The next tournament is this weekend at West Valley High School in Spokane Valley. Competition begins Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday again at 9 a.m. Playoffs start at 2 p.m. Saturday. Admission to both days is free.