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WILSONVILLE, Ore. — Oregon is working on keeping its reputation as the "Silicon Forest," with Intel having just invested billions into its Hillsboro plants. Elected leaders are working on getting federal money for a research and development center, and efforts are underway in local schools to get kids interested in STEM careers.
One of those pathways is in robotics, and a Wilsonville High School team is teaching kids how to build a robot from the ground up. This spring, Wilsonville High School's gym was be packed with spectators, but wasn't for a basketball game — there was some shooting involved, but the contestants are robots built by high schoolers, and this is a three-on-three match, where human drivers control the robot. “In a match, you have 15 seconds where the robot runs entirely on code — like, no humans are allowed to operate it,” said mechanical lead Aasha Patel.
“You have to think on the spot; you don't have a minute to think,” added Lily Vu. They want it to shoot hoops and score points, and the 125-pound robot, which took the team months to build, even has to climb a chain and hang there. “It's intense because everybody's robots are breaking; people are running around," Patel said.
Junior Suhaani Garg joined the team as a freshman, and she's come a long way since then. “I'm the overall lead, or the CEO of the team," Garg told KGW. “Initially, I was hesitant 'cause when I did robotics back in middle school, I was kind of shunted aside .
.. I was.
