Robotics Team Gobbles Up the Competition in Turkey Showdown

A team of young roboticists from Magikid Highland Park catapulted over the competition this November to bring home a win in the VEX IQ Robotics Competition Turkey Showdown.

The team’s five members — McCulloch Intermediate students Hayden Ernst and Donovan Moore, St. Mark’s School of Texas student Eason Lu, University Park Elementary student Connor Moore, and homeschooled student Miken Mompremier — finished first overall out of 26 teams in the competition. They also shared the Teamwork Champion award and captured the Robot Skills Champion award. 

This was just Team Capybara’s second competition, and the first for their robot, Womp Womp. The team competed with another robot, Tom, earlier this year before a redesign that improved Womp Womp’s ability to play VEX IQ’s Rapid Relay game. 

During the game, Womp Womp was challenged to pass and shoot balls through four goals arranged in stacks of two. The team advanced through multiple rounds of competition, and each lasted just 60 seconds.

In the Teamwork Challenge, Womp Womp had to cooperate with a robot from a different team to pass the ball and move it through the goal. In another round, Womp Womp needed to move autonomously through the course without direction from its human programmers. A third challenge tested the team’s ability to remotely maneuver Womp Womp.

Team members used creative coding to prepare for the game. Along the way, they worked to improve Womp Womp’s catapult, which was key to reaching the top goals and scoring more points. 

When team members found that a motor kept working to lower the catapult even after Womp Womp was ready to score again, they programmed their robot to sense the catapult’s position and stop the motor, Eason explained.

The game’s rules require robots to start by touching a border wall. But Hayden had the idea to create an extendable arm that snaps back onto the robot once it begins moving, enabling Womp Womp to start closer to the center of the court.

Donovan used coding to solve the problem of drift, an issue created because Womp Womp’s wheels can turn in any direction without having to rotate.

Team members learned about all aspects of their robot, but each specialized in their own role. They took robotics classes at Magikid Highland Park before preparing to compete. 

The members of Team Capybara said they now practice and refine their robot for at least seven hours each week. In the process, they’ve learned the value of continually improving their design.

“You can’t just stick with the same design and expect to get much better gradually,” Miken said. “You can get good to a certain amount with this design, but there’s always something better.“

Now, the members of Team Capybara have their eye on a spot in the VEX Robotics World Championship this spring. They’re hoping to earn a ticket by performing well at their next competition, a top-tier event in Florida. But their upcoming trip to the “Fun in the Sun Signature Event” won’t be all hard work.

In addition to snagging a “golden ticket,” Connor said, he hopes to “go to Disneyworld!”