Senior Isaiah Dukes has been named Captain of this year’s Robotics Team, which is seeking new members before the season begins in January.
Dukes is a returning member who was part of the programming team last year.
“We need people who will be fully dedicated and stay focused,” Dukes said.
Engineering teacher Joe Minnick, who has advised the Robotics team for the past 10 years, said, “You can be involved with other organizations, but you have to balance out your time.”
Robotics teams around the country are waiting anxiously to find out what this year’s task is, said Dukes.
Last year, team robots had to be able to pick up a ball and either push into a box on the floor or shoot it into a target.
Like last year, this year’s team plans to host a robotics competition in the field house in the spring and invite schools from around the state of Michigan to compete with their robots.
The team also travels to Traverse City to compete against other robots. At last year’s competition in Traverse City, Southfield High won the “Most Spirited” award and advanced to the second round of competition.
According to Minnick, Southfield-based Lear Corporation has agreed to partner with Southfield High again this year to mentor students as they build their robot and provide money to buy supplies. Lear is an automotive body parts supplier.
The team is split into four different groups: marketing, programming, building, and electronics.
“We really need people for programming and the build team,” said Dukes. Programming connects the wires from the robot to the remote control in order for the robot to move.
The building team constructs the robot from scratch.
Those who wish to join should speak to Minnick in room D-102.