Staff Reports
First Robotics Team 4926 GalacTech, based in Columbus, will host an open house to showcase work they have done this year as part of FIRST Robotics.
The event will include a “robot reveal” for the team’s competition season.
The open house will be at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at GalacTech Headquarters, 675 Reeves Way. Those who attend are asked to enter off Seventh Street and look for the double doors with the GalacTech team logo in the window.
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Parking is available in the Reeves Building parking lot, and those who attend may walk along Seventh Street to get to the entrance.
Team 4926 will present its 2020 Infinite Recharge Robot, which the team has spent eight weeks designing, prototyping, fabricating and testing, said Sam Geckler, who works with the team to create the robot.
In its sixth competition season, GalacTech will join nearly 60 other teams throughout the state in a quest to the FIRST Robotics World Championship.
Under strict rules, and with limited resources and a time limit, students are challenged to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game in competition.
Teams are presented with a new scenario every year. Through a partnership with Disney, this year’s game, titled “Infinite Recharge,” is a Star Wars-themed game that emphasize the ability for all to be agents for change in their communities.
Geckler said the process is as close to real-world engineering as a student can experience. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team.
This year, GalacTech is competing in two regional competitions: one at Bloomington High School South on March 7-8 and another at Columbus North High School beginning March 20, the first tournament of its kind to be held in Columbus.
Geckler said he was notified in mid-August that Columbus had been selected as a host site.
“For us, it’s an opportunity to get our name out there,” he said. “Although we have a lot of support from key people in the city, often times I meet folks who have never heard of us. We’re the best kept secret in Columbus and that’s a terrible thing.”
By hosting a competition in Columbus, Geckler said the visibility that such an event can provide is an important factor.
“That enables us to do the important work that the team was structured to do and that is to inspire young people,” he said.
Depending on their performances at Bloomington South and Columbus North, GalacTech could advance to the IndianaFIRST State Championship in Kokomo where they’ll battle for a spot in April in the FIRST World Championship in Detroit, Michigan.
The team is still looking for corporate sponsors to help offset the costs to put on the event that will bring an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people to Columbus, Geckler said.
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What: Infinite Recharge: The 2020 Columbus Robotics Robot Reveal Day
When: 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24
Where: 675 Reeves Way (Reeves Building), Columbus
How much: Free
Save the date: Columbus Robotics will be bringing an Indiana District robotics competition event March 21 and 22 to Columbus North High School. About 30 robotics teams are scheduled to participate.
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