A robot story

The email landed in my inbox on a Tuesday morning. A reader, Carole Mari, wanted to tell me a story. A story… of a robot.

A robot entirely designed by high school students from Collège Charles-Lemoyne, in Longueuil.

“What I saw in their team was miraculous,” she wrote to me. I saw young people mobilize, working hard in the evenings after school, on weekends, staying up late to work on the robot. Spark (that’s the name of the robot) was born from the sweat of these young people who worked so hard! My son Quentin, who was on the verge of dropping out because he was so bored in high school, saw his motivation skyrocket. »

When I wanted to see Spark last week, the robot wasn’t there. He was in a truck, en route to a pizzeria in Houston, Texas, to compete in the FIRST International Robotics Competition. Yes, a pizzeria. I will explain to you.

However, I met some of its creators. Ariana, Nathan, Malika, Quentin and Maël were about to fly to Houston to join their robot. They had stars in their eyes and a thousand things to tell – technical details, anecdotes about pizzas devoured in groups in Albany accommodations, stories of burnt out engines replaced at the very last second in competitions.

Around them, adults – a science teacher, a practical work technician, a school principal, parent volunteers. They seemed to be enjoying themselves at least as much as the teenagers. To the point where there were moments in the interview where everyone wanted to speak at the same time… and I swear to you that the least disciplined were not the young people.

Several years ago, my colleague Patrick Lagacé told how the FIRST Robotics competition had stimulated the students of Monseigneur-Richard secondary school, in Verdun. ^⁠1. My meeting with those from Collège Charles-Lemoyne confirms the extent to which this tournament is a generator of passion.

It was Philippe Ouellette, science teacher at Collège Charles-Lemoyne, who had the idea of ​​involving his students in this competition. Expectations were modest. Most successful teams refine robots that get better over the years. Charles-Lemoyne’s students started from scratch.

“On January 6, we had absolutely nothing. No robot, no parts, nothing,” says Nathan Larose, 5th grade student.^e secondary and manager of the Spark website².

That day, they received the competition specifications – 126 pages of technical specifications and regulations. Just looking through it discouraged me. Not them.

Their mission: to build a robot capable of grabbing rings from the ground, then catapulting them towards a goal. During competitions, robots from different teams are paired up to compete three against three.

Under the direction of Ariana Castro, a 5th grade student^e designated team manager, the 21 interested teens were divided among four teams – mechanical, electrical, programming, marketing. Don’t think they were all computer geeks. Several of the batch have intervention plans.

Three school staff “coaches” and seven “mentors” (parent volunteers) supported them.

Ariana shows off Excel sheets on which each task and each problem is identified and assigned to someone. Being a business owner, I would make a job promise to this girl tomorrow morning.

3D computer design, C++ programming, laser cutting, lark: the students learned to master all kinds of expertise. Meanwhile, others were surfing the website, approaching sponsors or seeking funding. The students notably made and sold Christmas ornaments to raise money and knocked on the door of the school principal to convince him to advance thousands of dollars.

At the Montreal competition in March, surprise: Spark won third place and the rookie team prize. A few weeks later, in Albany, New York, the team took first place after an incredible journey. Without the breakdown of a competing robot, she would not have even made it to the final.

“We became Team Cinderella!” », exclaims Julie Casgrain, practical work technician at the college.

These performances earned Spark an invitation to the world finals in Houston which starts this Wednesday.

Getting Spark to Texas was a “soap opera” quite typical of the whole adventure, as teacher Philippe Ouellette says.

Disassemble the robot, put it in pieces in suitcases and reassemble it there? The team didn’t want to take that risk. Use a shipping company? Too expensive. It was word of mouth that made it possible to find someone’s brother-in-law willing to send it. Hence this unorthodox delivery to a pizzeria.

When I ask teenagers what they learned from the FIRST Robotics adventure, they have a lot to say.

“I learned to take my place and put my foot down. Because let’s face it, marketing is often the last priority,” says Malika Chatelais, head of the marketing team.

“I learned how to talk to the judges – I had never done that. And by going to Albany, I practiced my English,” says Maël Prado. Cadet of the group, this student of 2^e high school dream of becoming an aerospace engineer since he saw the robot Perseverance land on Mars.

“I learned how to manage people,” says team manager Ariana Castro.

I heard from the group when they arrived in Houston. The young people watched the film together Apollo 13 (“from Houston, it’s not the same!”), before visiting the Houston Space Center.

The competition lasts until Friday. Half a dozen Quebec schools are participating. Regardless of the results, the young people there will have won. Because they will have tasted the all too rare happiness of investing fully in something.

1. Read Patrick Lagacé’s column “Teenagers and robots”

2. Visit the Spark website

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