Next stop: Texas Titanium Titans Robotics Team to compete in world championship
In the world of robotics, qualifying for the FIRST Championship is like making it to the Super Bowl, team members say.
And, for the first time in its 13-year history, Titanium Titans Robotics Team, based in Canonsburg, is heading to the FIRST Championship, a global competition for high school robotics teams, held in Houston, Texas, from April 16 to 19.
The Titanium Titans, also called FRC Team 4467, qualified for the competition after winning the prestigious Engineering Inspiration Award at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional Competition held in Pittsburgh in March. The team also punched a ticket to the championship based on points earned at the regional competition and a regional win.
On Tuesday, the team is departing for the championship, where members will compete against more than 600 other teams, with an estimated 100,000 spectators expected to attend the four-day competition.
“We’ve been there as spectators, so we know what the atmosphere is like. But I think we’re going there to compete, to see what we can do, and have fun,” said Michael Garin, a senior who will attend the University of Pittsburgh in the fall and major in mechanical engineering.
Ian Orsag, a team co-captain, is looking forward to the challenge of competing against some of the best robotics teams in the world.
“It’s really cool to work with all of the other teams from around the world who are here. It’s kind of a different level. It’s the best of the best, so you really want to be in that atmosphere. It’s highly competitive, and you’re also just in awe of the other robots and how good they are,” said Orsag.
The Titanium Titans robot, Oceanus, is pretty good, too. The team has won several awards with Oceanus – named after a character in “Clash of the Titans” – including the Smoky Mountain Regional Championship in Tennessee last week.
Each January, FIRST announces new “games,” or series of robot-related activities that teams will engage in during competitions. Then, teams build industrial-sized robots from scratch to compete.
The team built Oceanus, who weighs in at 135 pounds, over a six-week stretch, with the prototype undergoing several iterations before the final version was completed.
John Makrinos, who has been involved with the Titans for 14 years as a founder, mentor and sponsor, said the team “is a special group.”
“For 14 years we’ve been trying to do it. Every year there’s a great group of kids, but this group is kind of special,” said Makrinos, whose son, Luke, is a former team member who now mentors the team. “They get along so well and they work together so well, so it’s a nice thing. We have fun, and that’s what’s important.”
Garin said one of the Titanium Titans’ main goals is to teach and to inspire people through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
“Getting to Worlds is definitely a great side product, I’m not going to lie, because of the amount of time we put in. But our main goal here is to teach STEM and to inspire those who wouldn’t otherwise get involved,” he said.
Ellen Simon of Upper St. Clair, Orsag’s mother, said career and college exploration is a huge part of the team, and an estimated 93% of team members go into STEM careers.
The Titanium Titans have worked with the Pittsburgh Public School System and other schools to help them establish teams.
At the regional competition in Pittsburgh, about 25% of the 54 teams competing had received help from the Titans.
“The goal is to foster their success,” said Garin. “It’s all about providing resources for them to flourish on their own.”
The Titans are especially proud that they earned the Engineering Inspiration Award, given to teams that have strong community involvement and an emphasis on encouraging youth in STEM.
“Winning the Engineering Inspiration Award isn’t just about our robotics skills on the field – It recognizes our commitment to the community,” said Simon. “This award honors our efforts in running hundreds of STEM workshops, Girl Scout badge programs, marching in community parades, demonstrating engineering at community days and in our elementary schools. Our priority is mentoring kids and high schoolers and helping them explore career paths and make informed college choices.”
The Titanium Titans is made up of high school students in grades eight through 12 from about 15 area school districts and home-schooled students.
Team members said there is “more to a robotics team than you’d think,” and noted students write grants, promote the team on social media, and do community outreach.
On a recent Monday, team members gathered at the new practice space in Donaldson’s Crossroads to unpack Oceanus after the Tennessee trip and to run him through some practice tests.
The new space includes a large arena and a machine shop filled with equipment, such as laser cutters, lathes, CNC routers, and more.
One of the biggest hurdles the team faces is financial. The robots can cost thousands of dollars, and funding to build the robot and to travel to competitions can be costly. A dedicated group of sponsors helps with the funding, and the Titanium Titans have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the costs of flights, meals, hotels, registration, and transportation at the competition.
And, team members say, there’s a camaraderie among robotics teams. At competitions, there is no booing, trash talking, or rooting against the competition.
“There’s almost an expectation that you help your opponent. If you see someone’s having trouble, it’s almost an expectation that you in the robotics community go over and ask if they do need help and what you can do to help,” said Garin.
“When we’re at a competition and someone sees a robot break down, I’ll make sure a Titan helps them with whatever issue it is. And so we can get them running back on the field again, even though they might be competing against the team.”