An Okotoks robotics team has earned their spot in a provincial competition after winning a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Southern Alberta qualifier.

The "Stratobots" are made up of students between the ages of 13 and 15.

They won last weekend's Southern Alberta competition with their robot "Geofrette."

Geofrette can move forwards, backwards, and side to side, with a front claw to grab objects, and a linear slide system which allows it to lift objects. It also has smart-parking capabilities. 

"This is our labour of love. It's been a huge effort making this," said Stratobots member Owen Plumb, while showing off Geofrette. 

The FIRST Tech Challenge was only Stratobots' second competition, and they were excited to earn a victory.

"That was our goal," said Plumb's teammate Dominique Provost. "We wanted to take the win, and it felt good."

"Our first competition, we had a few technical issues," Plumb added. "This time, our robot performed flawlessly."

He says it's unusual for rookie teams like the Stratobots to win the competition, but they were very pleased with how they performed.

Plumb was drawn to robotics due to his skill at building and working with his hands.

"Robotics was a great way for me to channel that into something useful," he said.

Provost got involved with the Stratobots after hearing about the team from a classmate.

"I was really interested from the start. I wanted to learn more about robots, and how I can build one," she said.

The Stratobots have a few more competitions on the books over the next few months, including the provincial tournament in April.

If they win, they will have a chance to compete for the FTC World Championship in Houston, Texas.

"We're hoping to go all the way," Plumb said. "We're going to improve on our code, and our robot design, and hope for number one again."

 

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