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“UnlikelyChamps”SandpiperHexperts–Team2014F SushantBhopale,SupritiBhopale,RishiIyengar,SweekritiRatnam

ThecrowdedgymnasiumatBlachMiddleSchoolgrewsilentasahundred

anxiousfacespeeredatthejudge.Twenty-fourteamsbattledandperseveredatthe

LosAltosTournament,withthisultimategoal–winanautomatictickettotheVEX

RoboticsStateChampionship.

“AndtheExcellenceAwardforElementarySchoolgoestoTeam2,0,1,4…F!”

“What?!Whatwasthatlastletter?”Weneededtoknowthelastletteroftheteam

name,becausethatwasouridentity.Ahalf-dozenteamshailedfromSandpiper

School,andweweretheSandpiperHexperts.


“Didhejustsayourname?Areyousurewewon?”askedSweekritiwitha

bewilderedlookonherface.“Yes,Idefinitelyheard2014F!”saidSushant

confidently.Allofuswalkeduptothestagewithsmilesonourfaces,withaflutter

inourstomachs,andwithanexcitementaboutthepossibilitiesthatawaitedus.

So,whymightyouask,werewesosurprisedthatwehadwon?Weworked

hard,VERYhard.Wehadgreatteamwork.Infact,weareallgoodfriends.We

perseveredthroughdifficulttimes,includinghavinganalmostdisastrousstartat

ourfirstscrimmage,whenourrobotfailedtomove.Yet,wewerestillsurprisedto

hearournameaschamps,becausethecompetitionwastoughandnearlyeveryone

underestimatedus.

Whowouldhavethoughtthatateamwithtwo,third-gradegirls(withno

roboticsexperience)andtwo,fifth-gradeboys(withlimitedroboticsexperience)

couldhaveworkedsowelltogether?Infact,somehadwrittenusofffromthevery

beginning,remarkingthatonlyateamfullofboyscouldwin.

What do girls know about robotics? Third grade girls can’t

possiblybeonacompetitiveteam.Theyneedafewyearstobeon

a“learning”team.I’mnotsuretheycantakethepressure.

Wearesogladthatwedidnotlistentothosevoicesbutinsteadfollowedour

owninstincts.Weknewthegreatestteamsaregreat,notbecausetheyhaveasingle-

mindedview,butbecausetheybringtogetherteammateswhohavegoodchemistry,

eveniftheydonotagreeallofthetime.Tous,thatisthe“GirlPowered”motto.


Tohavea“girl-powered”perspective,youdonothavetobeagirl.Weallcan

havethatperspective,ifwerememberthatbyliftingupthetalentsofgirls,weall

getliftedup.Thatiswhywearesoproudtohavetwo,strong-willed,girlsonour

team.

WelcometothejourneyoftheSandpiperHexperts,themostunlikely

champions.But,wearegettingaheadofourselves.Letusrewindtoourfirst

meeting,wherewetooknearlytwohourstoagreeonateamname.Allofus

participateontheMockTrialTeamatschool,andwelovetoargueforourown

pointofview.

“WeshouldbetheMasterCrafters.It’sacatchyname,anditrhymes,”said

Rishi.“Well,IthinkRockin’Roboticistsisbetter.It’sunique,andweliketodance,”


counteredSupriti.“Wedon’tdance,”Sushantshotback.Thatishowitstartedand

continuedfortwohours.

Somewhereinthemiddleofourarguments,theparentsdecidedtocallfora

break,andwewatchedvideosofrobotstosparksomeideasfordesign.Getting

awayfromtheargumentsaboutourteamnameclearedourheads,andwhenwe

resumeddiscussion,weagreedonanameforourrobotandteamquickly.

“Webelieveinrobotics,right?Aren’twebelievers?”askedSupriti.“Believers,

achievers,fevers…”someonemused.“Whataminute.Weareusinghexballsthatwe

heave.WhataboutHexballHeaver?”proposedSweekriti.“Hey,that’sagreatname

forourrobot!”exclaimedtheboys.Whew!Robotnamewasdone.Teamnameleftto

do.

Somehow,westartedtalkingaboutHarryPotter,andthatledusdownapath

of“Hogwarts,Hexwarts,Hextables,Hex-ers,Hexonics,Hexians.”Thisdiscussionwas

endlessandnotveryproductive.“Aren’tweexpertsinrobotics?”askedRishi.“Well,

notyet,”Sweekritisaidreluctantly.Then,someoneblurted“Hex-perts.”Onebyone,

weallagreedtothename,withSweekritithelastholdoutbecauseofherconcern

thatshewasdefinitelynotaroboticsexpert,atleastnotyet.

Thatwasourfirstagreementanddisagreement,amongmanytocome.The

timewetookthatdaytosortoutourdifferencesaboutourteamandrobotname

wasimportant.Ithelpedushavebetterteamwork,andeventhoughwehad

differentviews,weworkedtogethertofindateamnamethatweallliked.Inthe

end,wefeltlikewehadreallyaccomplishedsomethingthatday,andthatwasthe

firsttimeweshowedourteamcheer.


Afterourteamandrobotnamesweredecided,weturnedtoourSTEM

project,whichultimatelybecameentitledasthe“EffectofAcupressureonBlood

PressureandHeartrateAfterExercise.”Likenearlyeverythingelse,eachofushad

ouropinions,andnoneofuswereshytosharethem.

“DoesanyonehaveanideaforourSTEMproject?”ourmentorasked.Allfour

handsshotup.“Howabouttheeffectofvideogamesonbloodpressure?”proposed

Sushant.“Ortheeffectofexerciseonheartrate,”Rishisaid.Theideasjustwenton

andon:robotstohelpwithdyslexia,robotshelpinginsurgery,theeffectofTV

showsonheartrate,theeffectofmusiconbloodpressure,theeffectofexerciseon

appetite.

Oneideainparticulardemonstrateshowfarourbrainstormingwent.

Sweekritisuggestedthatweexperimenttheeffectofband-aidsonwounds.“But

wouldn’twehavetofirstcutthefingersofourpatients?”askedSushant.“Yes,that

wouldbeaproblem,”agreedSweekriti,ourSTEMlead.“Hmmm…wekeepbringing

upbloodpressureandheartrate.Howabouttheeffectofacupressureonblood

pressureandheartrate,”suggestedSupriti.“And,let’smakearoboticacupressure

devicetogowithourSTEMproject,”suggestedRishi.Everyonefinallyagreed!

Ournextchallengewastoactuallydesignourrobottogatherthemost

hexballsintothegoalsandgetthemaximumnumberoftotalpoints.Beforelong,we

realizedthekeywastogetourrobotparkedonabalancedbridge,becausedoingso

wouldgiveourteamawhopping25points.

Weneededarobotthatwasfast,agile,andcoulddeliverthehexballsintothe

goalseasily.Ourinitialdesignwasaclawbot.Inourfirstscrimmage,however,we


realizedthatourdesignwasverylimited.Theclawbotcouldgiveusabout30points

atmost,andweknewthatwasnotgoodenough.

Backtothedrawingboardwewent.Weconsideredforklifts,otherclawbot

designs,andconveyerbelts.Intheend,wedecideduponamodified,forkliftdesign

thatcarriedtwoballsatonetime.

Thisdesignwasgoodenoughtoscore35pointsconsistentlyinthedriver’s

skillchallenge,withourbrother-sisterduoofSushantandSupritiasdrivers,andit

scoredusatopscoreof65pointswithanotherrobotintheteamworkchallengeat

theLosAltosTournament.Notbad!


Thatleftourlastchallenge–programming.Wewantedourprogrammingto

scoreus35points,equaltoourdriver’sskillchallengescore.Aswiththedriver’s

challenge,ourstrategywasfortherobottouseonegoalpostasleverage,graspafew

hexballs,traveloverthebridgebackwards,turnaround,andusetheopposite

goalpostasleveragetodepositthehexballsintothegoal.Ifwedidthatjustonceand

parkedonabalancedbridge,wewouldscore35points.Makingthishappenwas

easiersaidthandone.Atfirst,withtheprogramweused,ourrobotwasnotpicking

uporretainingtheballscorrectly.Ourrobotwouldpickupahexballonetime,but

notcaptureitthenexttimethatweusedtheexactsamecode.Strange!


“Boy,thisisfrustrating.Whatarewedoingwrong?”askedSushant,

scratchinghishead.Rishi,whowasourprogramminglead,suggestedthatwe

analyzetheproblemstepbystep.Wesoonfiguredoutthatourrobotwasgivingus

inconsistentresultsbecauseofdifferentstartingpoints.Ifourrobotstartedoffset

fromthecenterbyevenamerecentimeter,ourcodewouldfail.Therobothadtobe

linedupjustrightforthecodetowork.

“ButeveryVEXfieldmightnotbesetexactlythesame.Won’tthatbea

problem?”askedSupriti.“Yes.Ithinktheprogrammingstrategyweareusingistoo

risky.Ifourcodefails,wecouldendupwithzeropoints,”saidSweekriti.Ultimately,

weplayeditsafeandconstructedacode,sothatourrobotsimplyparkedonthe

balancedbridgefor25points.Weknewthatcodewouldworkonanyfield!Though

wewalkedintothetournamentunsureofthestrengthofourprogrammingscore,

wewerepleasantlysurprisedtofindthatmanyotherteamsalsousedthesame

strategy.Infact,somerobotswereunabletoevengetontothebridge.Atleastfor

theLosAltosTournament,oursafebetpaidoff,andwefeltgoodinthechoiceswe

made.

**********

Drivingsouthon101,thefourHexpertsstartdaydreamingintheminivanof

theirmentors.AstheyheadtotheStateChampionshipinSantaClara,hopingfor

anotherExcellenceAwardandapossibletickettotheWorldChampionship,theteam

hasmixedemotionsaboutwhatthefutureholds.


“WecouldmakeittoWorld’s,butthecompetitionistough,”saysSweekriti,

alwaystherealist.“We’regonnadoit!”exclaimsRishi,doinghisbesttocheeruphis

teammates.“Guys,wejustneedtothinkpositiveandtryourbest,”pleadsSushant.

“Nooneexpectedthisofus.We’vemadeitthisfarbecausewetrustedineachother,

evenwhenothersdidnot,”Supritiwhispers.Supriti’ssoftwordsrouseanother

Hexpertcheer.HowdoestheHexperts’storyend?Onlytimewilltell.

CREDITS:

“UnlikelyChamps”

Team2014F–SandpiperHexperts

(lefttoright:SupritiBhopale,SweekritiRatnam,SushantBhopale,RishiIyengar)


HEXPERTS

Hilarious

Enthusiastic

Xtreme

Perseverant

Enterprising

Responsible

Trustworthy

Supportive