1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,000
[Music]

2
00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,000
Welcome to Inside Hopkins. I am your host, Dr. Rodin Murray-Piri Reid.

3
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:20,000
In today's episode, we are diving into the world of competitive robotics,

4
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:29,000
where creativity, engineering, and teamwork come together in an exciting, very high energy environment.

5
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,000
[Music]

6
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:39,000
Students spend six weeks to design, build, code, and troubleshoot a robot.

7
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,000
To take on a brand new challenge, think of it as a high-tech sport,

8
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:50,000
where robots face off in a fast-pitched match, filled with strategy, precision, and problem-solving.

9
00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:55,000
The Hopkins High School Robotics team, known as the Technocrats,

10
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,000
has a mission that goes beyond building robots.

11
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:07,000
Through the program, students grow as engineers, they grow as programmers, business leaders, and communicators,

12
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:12,000
while learning to collaborate and innovate under pressure.

13
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:19,000
The Hopkins team has grown significantly in the last several years and has reached new milestones.

14
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:27,000
Last year, the team won the Excellence in Engineering Award for their engineering process in robot design.

15
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000
Congratulations, that's amazing.

16
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:37,000
Today, I have three incredible guests with me to chat about this exciting program.

17
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:46,000
Jason Herzog is a machine design engineer at General Mills, who has been mentoring in the Robotics program for 10 seasons.

18
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000
Wow.

19
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000
I'm giving you a Robotics halo at the end of this.

20
00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:01,000
When he first started, the team had six high school students, and now they have 40 high school students,

21
00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,000
three middle school teams, and more than eight elementary teams.

22
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,000
Jason, that's really incredible.

23
00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,000
Yeah. It's been the journey.

24
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,000
It's amazing.

25
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:18,000
Well, first congratulations, and thank you for all of that investment. That's incredible. And welcome to Inside Hopkins.

26
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:19,000
Thank you.

27
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,000
Amelia Caravu is a senior at Hopkins High School and captain of the Robotics team.

28
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:30,000
Now in their third year of Robotics, they're passionate about engineering and problem solving.

29
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:38,000
Beyond Robotics, Amelia also competes in Envirothon and is a PSEO student at the University of Minnesota,

30
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:44,000
where they're already earning credits toward their first year of mechanical engineering.

31
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,000
Welcome to Inside Hopkins, Amelia.

32
00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,000
Thank you.

33
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:56,000
Caitlin Ditzler is a junior at Hopkins High School and one of the captains of the Robotics team.

34
00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:02,000
Along with Robotics, Caitlin serves on the HHS Four Choice Board,

35
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:08,000
competes in math league, and is a PSEO student balancing college coursework,

36
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:15,000
a job, and volunteering with the animal, Humane Society. Welcome to Inside Hopkins, Caitlin.

37
00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:16,000
Thank you.

38
00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,000
So let's get started.

39
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:24,000
So we will likely have listeners who don't know a lot about Robotics.

40
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:32,000
So can you give us an overview of the program and what does it look like for students to be involved?

41
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,000
So let's start with you, Coach Jason.

42
00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000
Give us an overview of the program then we'll hear from our captains.

43
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:46,000
Yeah, so first robotics is a worldwide organization that has programs from kindergarten all the way through high school.

44
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,000
Different levels. So as you said earlier, we have middle school teams.

45
00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,000
We have elementary school teams and we have the high school team, the technocrats.

46
00:03:53,000 --> 00:04:01,000
So we have 9-12 graders every year. We get a new challenge for the year, a new game that the robot's going to play in January.

47
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:09,000
Same time as everyone else in the world. And then we break down that challenge, figure out what kind of robot we're going to build and start on that task.

48
00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:15,000
One of the unique things about first robotics is that it's not just our robot by itself on the field.

49
00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:22,000
It's our robot plus two other teams at random against three other teams at random of the teams at the competition.

50
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:30,000
So we have to cooperate and collaborate with those other teams just for that one match and then possibly even in the next match we're playing against them.

51
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:36,000
So there's a lot of collaboration between the teams, which is a lot of fun, not just at the competition, but before and after the competition.

52
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:41,000
And then a lot of times people when they hear robotics competition, they immediately assume battle bots.

53
00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,000
Right, that's the common question. So like, oh, you do battle bots.

54
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:58,000
I think that first robotics is more interesting battle bots because whereas battle boxes like boxing, right, and you're damaging the other robot and one of you comes out of that and one does not.

55
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:05,000
We play basketball or football or tennis, right, we're playing a game generally on a team with the other robots and playing a game.

56
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:11,000
And so the action is constant and it's fast and there's a lot going on in the field.

57
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:16,000
So Amelia, you've been on the technocrats for three years. This is your third year.

58
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,000
This is my third and final year.

59
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:26,000
So what's it been like for you this three year journey? What's it like for you to be on the technocrats and also what's it like to be a captain?

60
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000
Well, it's kind of, it feels like a roller coaster.

61
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:40,000
I originally joined to it because I was quitting a sport and my parents wanted me to do something and they're like, you should join robotics. We've heard about it.

62
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:46,000
And then I kind of fell in love with it as soon as I joined the first year.

63
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:53,000
I didn't really have any lead positions or anything, but I still tried to get into it as much as I possibly could.

64
00:05:53,000 --> 00:06:00,000
And then my second year, I started to get lead positions and then obviously this last year I'm captain.

65
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,000
And I don't know, it's taught me a lot about what I wanted to do in my future.

66
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:10,000
I always knew I wanted to do something in the STEM field, but I never knew quite what I wanted to do.

67
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:16,000
And being in robotics has really helped me figure out what I wanted to do in the future and what I love to do.

68
00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:23,000
And I never would have thought I love coming up with different designs of things. If I had been on my own, I probably never would have discovered that.

69
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,000
And I probably would not know what I would want to do in the future.

70
00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:33,000
So it's helped me find like a love of building and prototyping designing.

71
00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:37,000
So it's been a path of learning for you, but also a path into your future.

72
00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,000
Yes. That's incredible.

73
00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:44,000
And Caitlin, what about you? How many years have you been on the technocrats and what's it been like for you?

74
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,000
So this is my second year on the team.

75
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:54,000
And I started as a rookie last year and I became the business lead of the team.

76
00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:06,000
So we have a business section of the team which deals with our fundraising and our sponsorships and like the social media and our branding of the team, which is also another aspect.

77
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:14,000
That kind of brought me into more of a leadership role which allowed me to become capped in this year, which has been so amazing.

78
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:25,000
Now I've kind of tried to move into more of the working with tools and being in the shop more and working on prototyping and designing and more hands-on stuff.

79
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,000
That is really great.

80
00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:45,000
So I'm going to go back to Jason in a minute, but there is an absence or a shortage of girls and individuals who identify as female in the STEM field, in robotics and engineering.

81
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:56,000
And we have captains. That's amazing. And how do you work with all of your teammates to make sure there's representation?

82
00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:08,000
Well, for me, firstly, I'm non-binary. And so I at least encourage my teammates whenever we're recruiting to always reach out to everyone in the hallway and not look for certain people.

83
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:16,000
We should always be looking to recruit everyone from every gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality.

84
00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:28,000
And we also have had people on the team previously come out or change their identity and we make sure to create a welcoming atmosphere where it doesn't matter where they are in their life.

85
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:33,000
They can always be true to themselves, even if they're not able to be true to themselves all the time.

86
00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,000
You said recruit everyone.

87
00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,000
Yeah.

88
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:37,000
I love that.

89
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:45,000
One thing that we have also been kind of focusing on as a team is our elementary outreach.

90
00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:50,000
So yes, we do lots of things on the high school level, but we also have elementary teams.

91
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:58,000
And what we did last year is we went into third to fifth grade classrooms and did some STEM activities.

92
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:10,000
So what we find is that girls and people who are non-binary and anyone else who doesn't exactly fit in the box are self-selecting at the ages around 10 to 12.

93
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:16,000
They're self-selecting out of STEM topics, STEM careers. And that's kind of where biases start to form.

94
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,000
You said they're self-selecting out.

95
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,000
So we find that because they don't see the representation at those early ages.

96
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:31,000
Yeah, often because they don't see the representation. So when we went to those classrooms and we were able to create connections with those students,

97
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:36,000
we're hoping that it makes a good impact so they can see leaders that might look like them.

98
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,000
And then they might want to pursue something in STEM.

99
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,000
That is so wonderful.

100
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:48,000
Okay. So Jason, over the last 10 years, the program has experienced tremendous growth.

101
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:56,000
Like was it from six students to now 40 high schoolers and a couple middle school teams, multiple elementary teams?

102
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,000
What has fueled that growth?

103
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,000
I mean, the interest is there.

104
00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:09,000
I think one of the things that we're most proud of about the team is that we have lots of students join the team who don't know anyone on the team.

105
00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:10,000
Oh, that's amazing.

106
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:21,000
So I guess Melia pointed out we get out and go to the ninth grade orientation and the club fair and we're always the first one to get our posters on the board.

107
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:28,000
So at the beginning of the school year, right, when there's nothing on the board except for the robotics team and it's on every board and get a lot of students in the door.

108
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:35,000
And they come in not knowing anyone and then they join the team, like Melia said, and they meet everyone else in the team.

109
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:44,000
And they stay. Which I imagine speaks to the culture of the team. That students would join, like right away and also stay.

110
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:51,000
Right? What is the culture of the technocrats? What's, how would you describe the culture within your team?

111
00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,000
I'd say it's probably the most welcoming community I've ever been in.

112
00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:06,000
The people here are just so kind and I came in with no experience about anything in robotics and something we emphasize is you don't have to know everything, anything.

113
00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:13,000
Because a lot of people think, oh, I have to know how to code or I have to know how to build a robot. You really don't.

114
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:20,000
Yeah, I think that the first program really emphasizes a very, very inclusive environment.

115
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:27,000
There's no tolerance for any hate in the program in general, whether that's a competition on individual teams.

116
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:32,000
We have an amazing set of mentors from all different places.

117
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:41,000
We have leads that are specialized in different things. And I think we, I don't know, I just think we have such an amazing community.

118
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:47,000
I came in as a rookie not knowing anyone on the team. And I was terrified to go in the room.

119
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:55,000
And then when I was in there, I was like, these are my people. These are exactly, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

120
00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:07,000
I have people with the same interests around me. We're all in the same boat. And we're all just trying to build a robot together.

121
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:15,000
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

122
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:20,000
Are you considering Chinese or Spanish immersion for your future kindergartener?

123
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:31,000
Join us on December 4th, 6pm at Eisenhower Elementary to learn more about Hoontos and Jingjing, Hopkins Spanish and Mandarin Chinese immersion programs.

124
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:38,000
During the event, you'll hear from school leaders and parents of current students, and you'll have an opportunity to ask questions.

125
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:47,000
Registration is required, and more information can be found on our website, Hopkinschools.org. We can't wait to see you there.

126
00:12:47,000 --> 00:13:00,000
So can you talk about the roles that students take on because I heard you mention leads.

127
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,000
So are those the captains or those some other individuals?

128
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:17,000
The two students in charge are the captains, and then below them, there's assistant captains, which are kind of like the people that are going to be captains next after those captains leave.

129
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:25,000
So they're like the captains in training, you can think of them. And then we have our team is split into a bunch of sub teams.

130
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:34,000
So we have like automation sub team that handles all the coding, or we have like two build sub teams that build the different mechanisms of our robots.

131
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:42,000
And we have a lead for each of those sub teams. And then we also have competition roles, which are a bit different.

132
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:51,000
So that's only for competition. So like we have a role where it's a driver, and they their whole job is during competition. They're driving the robot.

133
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:56,000
That's a lot of rules. And how do they get assigned?

134
00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:02,000
So we do an activity where we go in hallway. And the leads have been decided for the different sub teams.

135
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:11,000
They applied earlier in the year and the captain. They apply to be the leads and the general leads returning students, but not always Caitlin was a lead as a rookie.

136
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:22,000
The captains and the mentors discuss who should lead which team and think about the whole team structure. And then the rest of the students we do an activity where the leads stand in the corners in the hallway.

137
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:35,000
And we started a timer. And the students all divide up to what sub team they want to work on. And then the mentors and the captains and the leads all assess, do we have the right number of people and skills and capabilities for each of the teams that we need.

138
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:44,000
And if we don't, then everyone goes back to the middle and we start the timer again. And we do that until we get the right balance for what we need for that season.

139
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,000
And usually it's only takes one time.

140
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,000
Sometimes I think the most favorite is three.

141
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:57,000
Is it like a self assessment or so they don't always balance straight. These teams aren't always even in the amount.

142
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:06,000
And so we do the sort everyone goes which way and we go around and we ask the leads, do you feel like you have the right amount of people? Do you have too many people?

143
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:14,000
Do you have too few people? Do you have enough people with returning members, new members to fit that mix?

144
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:21,000
And so people by doing it up in front of everyone, everyone gets to see how that sort works. And everyone has to go back to the middle.

145
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:30,000
And some people, you know, if we have to do the sort more than once or the figuring out the groups, sometimes students go, oh, there's a lot of people there.

146
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:39,000
Maybe I want to go over here with those less people. I'm interested in that too and have more opportunity to be directly involved in everything going on there.

147
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:40,000
That's cool.

148
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:53,000
Okay, so Amelia, what is one skill that you have now that you didn't have three years ago as a result of being on the technocrats?

149
00:15:53,000 --> 00:16:02,000
I would say probably like my communication skills are so much better as a lead.

150
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:19,000
I've had to communicate much differently than I had to before because when you're trying to lead a group of people to do a whole ton of tasks that need to get done, you have to speak a lot differently than when you're one of those people doing those tasks.

151
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:27,000
Or like I have to speak differently when I'm reaching out to businesses to see if they want to sponsor us when I'm helping out on the business side.

152
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,000
That's amazing.

153
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000
Okay, so Caitlin, what about you?

154
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,000
Well, on the surface level, I would say I learned to use a drill.

155
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:46,000
But I think the most valuable skill by far I've learned is my public speaking skills because I was terrified of public speaking.

156
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,000
Absolutely terrified.

157
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,000
And here you are now.

158
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,000
And you're in a podcast.

159
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:50,000
Right.

160
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,000
Exactly.

161
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,000
Doing great.

162
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:59,000
So I was terrified doing presentations for school, not a very outgoing person.

163
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:06,000
But as a business lead, I needed to one talk in front of the people I was leading, of course.

164
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000
But also go to companies and pitch our team.

165
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:20,000
Go to them, show what we are doing at events like the Raspberry Festival, Rotary Clubs, and at the school board.

166
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000
That's incredible.

167
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,000
I love that journey.

168
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,000
So I would like our listeners to learn from you now.

169
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:37,000
So I'd like you to explain to our listeners how the team goes from nothing to something.

170
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:38,000
Right.

171
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,000
So you get that challenge announcement.

172
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,000
And there's no robot.

173
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:49,000
Like what, what does that journey look like from the challenge announcement to having a finished robot?

174
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:59,000
So that whole first day, when we get the game, so they have a whole reveal video, the animation of the game, and then the 130, 40 pages of rules come out.

175
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,000
And so we spend time reading those and breaking them down.

176
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000
Everything has point values, and there's penalties for doing certain things.

177
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,000
And there's safe areas where you can try and score where the opponents can't touch you.

178
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,000
There's all sorts of things, right?

179
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:14,000
And so...

180
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:20,000
How many teams across the country or world are looking at that same reveal video?

181
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,000
4,000 teams.

182
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,000
So that's incredible.

183
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:29,000
So we look back at past games and past years we've had these foam rings that we launched.

184
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:34,000
We've had Frisbee's, we've had milk crates with fabric covers that we've placed.

185
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:38,000
Really large exercise balls, oversized kick balls.

186
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,000
But there's similarities.

187
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,000
So we break it down, like you said.

188
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,000
Our team tackles what first, right?

189
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:51,000
So we don't get to stuck in, "Oh, we want to do a scissor lift," or an elevator or whatnot, right?

190
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,000
But figure out what you're going to do first, then figure out how to solve that problem.

191
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,000
Where do you get the materials and supplies to build the robot?

192
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:07,000
So a lot of our prototyping materials are like cardboard, plywood, two by fours.

193
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,000
Because we don't want to waste our precious materials on prototyping.

194
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,000
But a lot of our materials that we mainly use are just bought by the team,

195
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,000
so with our money that we fundraise for.

196
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,000
We buy a lot of metal, plastic.

197
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,000
We use same suppliers around town that companies use.

198
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:32,000
Right, so we get some stuff at Home Depot or Menards or Lowe's or your local hardware store.

199
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:40,000
But we also go to companies that are plastic supply companies that they supply plastic to businesses and machine shops and whatnot.

200
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,000
We get some stuff donated.

201
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:53,000
We make a lot of stuff in-house, but sometimes we send out like two vendors that do water jet cutting or laser cutting or different things that maybe we don't have quite have the capabilities for.

202
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,000
And we pay them to machine parts for us.

203
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:01,000
And where in the high school do you build the robot?

204
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,000
And where would we find you during one of your practice sessions, please?

205
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,000
So well, that varies from sub team.

206
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,000
But the mostly building building is done in the wood shop.

207
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:19,000
So we use a bunch of the saws to cut metal by those tech-aid classrooms.

208
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:26,000
We do a lot of testing because we don't want to do it in such a enclosed space just for safety reasons.

209
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,000
So we'll do in the hallway there.

210
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,000
And then down by where we have our display case, automation does a lot.

211
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,000
They're testing of the robot.

212
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:39,000
So because they have a lot of spare space down there that allows them to test.

213
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,000
So the whole test, how different code makes the robot go.

214
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:49,000
And then when we really need to, we grab carpets and roll them out in the mall.

215
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,000
Oh, I've seen that.

216
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,000
And we build like a...

217
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,000
I was like, what is happening?

218
00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:04,000
Half of a field or like what would be considered like a practice field in first robotics?

219
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000
And we test the robot there.

220
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000
So you're like simulating the actual surface?

221
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,000
Yeah.

222
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,000
Oh, good.

223
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:16,000
So we have old carpet from that they used for the field that was too used.

224
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,000
So they gave it to us.

225
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:22,000
So we have half a field, which is about 30 feet by 30 feet that we roll out.

226
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000
So the high schools have to haul it across the school.

227
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,000
But not every school gets to have space for that.

228
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:33,000
So like sometimes schools from the surrounding area come to practice with us.

229
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:34,000
Oh, that's cool.

230
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Right.

231
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:41,000
So some of the other private schools and Hopkins or you know, attackers come over.

232
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,000
They don't come to practice with us.

233
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:49,000
Sometimes we go to Eden Park because sometimes they have a full, a full size field set up.

234
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,000
So lots of sharing and collaboration across the Twin Cities.

235
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,000
Let's say tomorrow was a big competition day.

236
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,000
Like what are you doing today?

237
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,000
What would you be doing tonight?

238
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:03,000
Like how do you feel?

239
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:12,000
Like give us a sense of kind of where the team is at the day or the night before a competition.

240
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000
Nobody's sleeping.

241
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,000
Nobody's sleeping.

242
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:22,000
I was going to say everyone's sleeping because a competition is three days long.

243
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,000
There's a Friday Saturday usually for three days straight.

244
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,000
And what's the team atmosphere like?

245
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,000
Are people excited?

246
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,000
Are you nervous?

247
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,000
Oh, composition is so, so fun.

248
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:42,000
The energy in the room at competition is so much higher than you would ever expect because it's a robotics event.

249
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,000
You might expect it to be more chill, but it's not.

250
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,000
It's loud, super high energy.

251
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,000
People are cheering.

252
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,000
Everyone's really excited.

253
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,000
You get to meet all the other teams at the competition.

254
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000
People are super friendly.

255
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:01,000
So I'm always excited to go meet new people and see what all the other robots are doing.

256
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,000
Well, I remember going to the U to watch.

257
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:11,000
And I was just, I mean, it was my first, I've been a few times, but my first time, I just remember like thinking,

258
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,000
what is this?

259
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,000
This is, and like you said, the energy is wild.

260
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,000
And it was, I was awestruck.

261
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,000
Well, I'm really excited for your season this year.

262
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000
I hope it's so much fun.

263
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:30,000
I've learned so much from you and really grateful for your captonship.

264
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,000
Thank you for being captains of the technocrats.

265
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,000
And Coach Jason, so incredible.

266
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:42,000
I've been here for years observing his coach and you've grown the program to this level.

267
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,000
It's really, it's so admirable.

268
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000
Yeah, it's been a lot of fun.

269
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,000
It's a lot different than when I was on the team as a student.

270
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:58,000
Really appreciate you spending time and helping our listeners understand the fun and complex world of robotics.

271
00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,000
Thank you.

272
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,000
Thank you for having us.

273
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:08,000
[Music]

274
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:18,000
[BLANK_AUDIO]