Robotics Competition

Down, but not out. Last weekend, Plainfield's Robotics Team - Red Pride Robotics - made it to the playoffs at the First Indiana Robotics Columbus District Event, but were unfortunately eliminated in the lower bracket of the tournament. However, this is only a minor setback for the team, as they have another competition this weekend.

For the team's driver, junior Chad Gibson, the loss was more of a sign they needed to improve. Having been pretty confident going into the final round, Gibson was blindsided by a referee's decision.

"We won our first match in the lower bracket and we got ready for our next match. When it was our turn, we were pitted against some of the best teams in Indiana," Gibson explained. "By the end of the match, we were in the lead and the other team had a couple of fouls against them, which would give us more points. The match was still close, however, and the decisions took a long time. We asked the Head Ref if we could know what was being talked about, and she informed us that they were discussing a few things – but the big thing was a possible tech foul against us. Tech fouls are even worse for a team to get rather than just a foul. Finally, the decision of the match came around and we lost."

This was quite a blow for Gibson and his teammates. "The tech foul we got lost the match for us," said Gibson. "We discussed it with the head referee and she told me the decision was final. Everyone on our team was upset because this meant we were out of playoffs."

Despite the loss, Gibson remained optimistic, knowing that the team would have another chance at this week's match. "It was without a doubt tough for the whole team but it was important for us to respect the decision, it shows that we as a team are professionals and not just sore losers," said Gibson. "We remembered that there was at least one more competition, a home competition here at Plainfield, and that we still had time to prove that one bad loss didn't define our team."

Gibson's role as the team driver comes with certain responsibilities, and quite a bit of skill. "I drive the robot, which sounds a lot easier than it can be sometimes. You have to be able to be extremely calm in an extremely stressful situation," said Gibson. "I make decisions based on what my head coach, Edward Schmitt, tells me to do – but a lot of the match relies upon the pre-determined strategy with our alliance. If our alliance decides that we need to make a certain play within the match to win, I have to know that and be able to execute the plan."

He added, "My plan to improve in our next competition is to think of possible defense strategies that keep us from getting fouls and tech fouls against us. I also want to practice getting better at countering the defense that's being played on us in matches."

Photos Courtesy of Chad Gibson

Gibson's plans don't just revolve around him and his improvement; he also has ideas for his teammates. "One plan that involves less of me and more of my Operator, Mason Dilbeck, is different auto routines for the first few seconds of the matches," he explained. "This would include aggressive autonomous routines, which would be made to interrupt other teams' high-scoring autonomous routines and give us a possible upper hand, even before the human-operated part of the match starts."

And even with the team's loss overall, they were still very successful – both in awards and morale.

"As a team we've done exceptionally well," said Gibson. "We placed fourth at our last competition out of 34 teams. We held the high score for the invite event, with a whopping 99-point match. We won an official FIRST Robotics Event award, for Gracious Professionalism, which means that our entire team has been incredibly respectful, helpful and supportive to other teams, both on and off the field, regardless of anything that happens during the competition."

Gibson's positive attitude – as well as that of his teammates – motivates them to continue working hard right up until the competition. Gibson appreciates the efforts of his fellow team members. "We are currently nineteenth in the Indiana District out of 63. Quite a few of the teams ahead of us have gone to two competitions, so we still have a very good chance of climbing much higher than that," said Gibson. "We also won two awards from another team from Indianapolis, where they recognized our team for having the best Drive Team, which included me as Driver, Isaac Favel as Technician, Mason Dilbeck as Operator, Lorenzo Dinardo as Human Player, and Schmitt as our coach. They also gave us an award for having the best Human Player performance due to Lorenzo's skills."

As the competition looms this weekend, Gibson knows not to get ahead of himself. "I know that I shouldn't get too comfortable," he said. "Robotics is a sport in which absolutely anything can happen. Going into our next competition I wholeheartedly believe that we're going to do great."

Story by Connor Burress