Electronic Experimenters Group Judge Robotics Regionals

Three members of the Electronics Experimenters Club (ELEX) volunteered as judges at the New York City FIRST Robotics Regional Championships, in Washington Heights, NY. Cadets Rachelle David '19, Jared Fritz '19, Adam Patula '19, and MAJ Shaha partnered with the NYC Recruiting Battalion (USAREC) to support the Army's recruiting efforts and the Academy's outreach mission in New York City. The competition included over 50 teams, including teams from Turkey, China, Brazil, and the UK. The cadets applied their technical skills in evaluating the robots' design and performance, and in suggesting improvements to the teams. Duties included interviewing the high schoolers and discussing how the students built their robots to solve a specific challenge. The cadets' understanding of robotic drive systems, coding, operation, and power delivery systems were invaluable in providing informed assessments. In addition, the cadets talked with students about their future plans, and made many aware of opportunities at West Point and in the Army. Cadets demonstrated a high level of professionalism, competence, and energy, and were major contributors to the success of the event. FIRST founder and inventor Dean Kamen visited the competition and was impressed with the cadets'.