CK Robotics Opens the 2023-2024 Season

Last season, CK’s Robotics teams made an amazing showing in state, national, and international competitions, with one team of 8^th graders ranked sixth in the world (see the full results from last year below). The program is now back for the 2023-24 season! Watch this space for updates and results as Cranbrook’s teams work to qualify for the world championships in February.

 

To learn more about the world of robotics, please continue reading below.

 

The teams have completed their first competition. Cranbrook Schools Robotics Program Manager Katherine Bis shares, “Our competitive season officially began this past weekend with the first of three VRC league events at Notre Dame Prep.  One of our 8th grade teams currently holds the #1 ranking in the league with one of our high school teams ranked #2.  Both teams finished the league session with a perfect 4-0 record.  The 2nd and 3rd VRC Notre Dame League sessions will take place in November and December respectively.”

 

 

Elementary School – 5th grade Vex IQ

 

Middle School - 6th and 7th grade Vex IQ
- (7) out of (9) teams qualified for Worlds

 

Middle School - 8th grade VRC
 - All (3) teams qualified for Worlds with (1) winning their Divisional Championship and advancing to the finals of Worlds (one of the top 6 teams in the World!)

 

High School - 9th through 12th grade VRC

 

 

The Cranbrook Robotics program is a comprehensive STEM learning experience for students in grades 1 through 12.  Robotics incorporates skills in mechanical design, coding, problem-solving, leadership, teamwork, and presentation skills in a fun, interactive, and collaborative environment. At each grade level, robotics education is student-centered and structured to provide the appropriate amount of guidance from instructors and coaches.

 

Below is an explanation of which grades participate in which program and what those programs entail. 

 

 

Cranbrook’s 1^st through 4^th grade non-competitive enrichment program introduces our youngest enthusiasts to age-level basic mechanical design and coding concepts.  Students in Grades 1 and 2 use Lego and our 3^rd and 4^th grade students use “VexGo” educational learning kits. 

 

 

Starting in 5^th grade, students form teams and participate in a year-long competitive Vex IQ program in which they design, build, and code a robot to complete specified tasks on a game field. The game is played with two randomly assigned teamwork partners who play together to achieve their best possible score each match. The teams compete against other organizations in local events with the chance to qualify for the Elementary School State and World Championships.

 

Vex IQ uses plastic snap together parts along with motors, sensors, gears, a robot brain, and a remote-control operating system for a creative learning experience that encourages iterative design improvements and rebuilds throughout the year.

 

Our 6^th and 7^th grade teams continue with the Vex IQ middle school program as their mechanical and coding skills grow. Each team works at their own pace with some working through more complex gear ratio and drivetrain challenges, creating unique lift and claw mechanisms and/or transitioning from block to text VEXcode software as they learn more complex coding for autonomous robot function. Our CK middle school teams participate in multiple local events with a chance to earn qualification spots to the Middle School State and World Championships.

 

Cranbrook’s Vex IQ teams meet once per week for an hour and a half in grade-level groups at the BMS or GMS.  Many teams choose to take their robots and a field home to work on weekends for extra practice. 

 

 

Our 8^th grade robotics students compete in the Middle School VRC Program where they use steel and aluminum building pieces and are introduced to the safe usage of power tools such as a drill press, bandsaw, and belt sander. They are introduced to CAD for use in their iterative design process and they learn how to use pneumatics to increase the mechanical functionality of their robots. They also build on their coding knowledge with exposure to functions and PID loops. 

 

VRC Robotics is played in a 2 vs. 2 format with randomly assigned “alliance” partners each match and an elimination bracket final round to determine the Tournament Champion alliance pair. The 8^th grade teams compete in local tournaments with a chance to qualify for Middle School VRC State and World Championships

 

Our CK 9^th-12^th Grade VRC Robotics teams continue building their mechanical and coding skills while developing collaborative relationships with other CK teams, Michigan teams, and international teams who are all working toward developing a robot to most successfully “play” the game each year. Our Upper School students have the opportunity to serve in CK Robotics leadership roles in the Student Management Corps (SMC) and International Collaboration Committee (ICC).  These student officers run technical and informative workshops for other CK teams including hardware, software, scouting, strategizing, engineering notebook documentation, and teamwork.

 

These dedicated students spend countless hours building, coding, and practicing in order to prepare for their competitions. Some students come into lab during their free periods and at lunch time to work.  Our regular lab sessions for VRC teams are from 3:30 to 6pm every week day except Wednesday and also Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1-5pm.  Although only two hours of lab time each week are required for students to participate in the program, many team members log 18+ hours each week.

 

 

CK Robotics is open to Cranbrook students of all experience levels each year including students with no prior knowledge of robotics.  In Cranbrook’s 5^th -7^th grade Vex IQ program this year, there are 59 students on 15 teams. In the 8^th-12^th grade VRC program, there are 107 students on 16 teams. Including the students enrolled in the 1^st – 4^th  grade enrichment programs, there are approximately 195 families involved in robotics at Cranbrook this year.

 

CK’s dedicated coaching staff includes our head coach Elmer Santos, coach Mark Taylor, equipment manager Chris Traykovich, and five upper school faculty coaches: Dan Lorts, Harrison Hwang, Kelly Katz, Arman Banimahd, and Fred Higgins.