Bartlett students to compete in National Robotics Challenge

Star Wars' R2-D2 might have played an integral role in saving the galaxy, but the robots produced by Bartlett High School students are no slouches.

"Major Tom," a wedge-shaped robot built by seniors Kishan Modi, Kelly Jaynes and Thomas Niewiara, can push a hundred-pound object around a mock wrestling mat.

A remote-controlled robot built by seniors Diana Pressney, Jamille Dictado and Xiuli Shen can locate and pick up a hidden object, then drop it off in a different spot.

On Friday, the students will travel by bus to Marion, Ohio, to pit their robots against others from around the country in this weekend's National Robotics Challenge. Boasting 50 teams from eight states, middle schools, high schools and colleges compete in the event.

This will be the school's first time participating in the national competition. Teachers Colleen Brander and James Pritchard are serving as team co-sponsors.

Jaynes explained that the robots, paired with a hefty term paper, will serve as their final project in the Science, Engineering and High Technology Academy at Bartlett High.

"It's really a culmination of everything we've learned over the past four years," Jaynes said.

In addition to spending about an hour a day in class over the past several months on the robots, students logged night and weekend hours as well.

"It's been a little exhausting, finding time to be in the lab," said Shen, who is also a member of the Bartlett girls badminton team.

Students received support from local businesses during the building process. Modi, Jaynes and Niewara received donations and supplies from several local businesses, including Bartlett-based motion components company, Wittenstein, and Hanover Park's Centerline Models.

"We're excited," Pressney said. "And a little nervous about getting all the (robot's) components there in one piece."