6-Bit Drill Sergeants Robotics Team has sights on world competition after doing well at Alabama championship
MADISON – A team of students from Madison and Huntsville have been invited to a national robotics competition this summer and are asking for help in raising funds necessary to make the trip.
The 6-Bit Drill Sergeants Robotics Team competed in the FIRST Technology Challenge, Alabama State Championship recently at New Century Technology High School in Huntsville. They have now been invited to a premiere competition in Lexington, Ky. at the Kentucky Horse Park in June. The “Run for the Robots” will bring together top FIRST Tech Challenge teams from around the world to compete on June 26-28.
FIRST Tech Challenge teams are made up of students in grades 7-12. Teams work together to design, build, and program a robot to play a themed competition challenge by brainstorming innovative ideas, exploring advanced engineering concepts, and developing career-ready practices. This event in Kentucky is said to feature the best of the best “6-Bit Drill Sergeants is part of the FIRST Tech Challenge or FTC Robotics team from North Alabama (Madison/Huntsville). The team is a non-profit organization under IRC Section 501(c)3,” Laya Gowder said. She is a freshman at James Clemens High School.
Coach Ethan Barbour and Assistant Coach Ben Hayes lead 6-Bit Drill Sergeants. They both work at The Aerospace Corporation in rocket design.
Team members are junior Alex Hayes; sophomores Kyle Mackrell and Oliver Parkinson; freshmen Leland Babour, Laya Gowder and Trenton Holcombe; eighth-graders Lincoln Hayes, Isaac Higgins, Maddox Acker, Charli Cook and Cathy Liao; seventh-grader Kayden Barbour; and sixth-graders Jacob Kuang and Eli Parkinson.
“The season was spent testing the robot architecture; assembling the structure; testing the drivetrain; making CAD models, 3D printing custom parts; and writing custom software,” Gowder said. “To prepare for the state championship, we tested our robot and altered the design and code to further improve it.”
The 6-Bit Drill Sergeants also made improvements to their engineering portfolio, based on input from mentors and previous tournament feedback.
At the FIRST Technology Challenge Alabama Championship in Feb., 6-Bit Drill Sergeants won the Inspire Award for third place and Finalist for Alliance Captain.
Although no formal requirements apply to 6-Bit members, students should be interested in STEM and be ready to work on a team. “Each student works very hard from the season kick-off in September through state finals in February. Additionally, we spend the off-season outreaching to our community and developing new team members, skills and capabilities,” Gowder said.
For the Inspire Award, the team submitted a portfolio and presentation that displayed their teamwork, gracious professionalism, positivity, inclusivity and contribution to the team’s overall success. For Finalist for the Alliance Captain award, they collaborated to score high points consistently during qualification rounds.
“We seeded well and chose a strong alliance partner. Our team responded well to unforeseen issues, both on the field and in the pit, including a failed servo that needed replacement between elimination rounds,” Gowder said.
“We have been lucky enough to be invited to the premiere competition in Lexington, Ky. Our team is raising $1,500 for the entry fee to the upcoming competition in Kentucky, and we would appreciate any donations to help cover our cost,” Gowder said about her non-profit organization. For donation questions, email ftc.6bds@gmail.com.
For more information, visit www.6bds. org/ or Instagram @6bitdrillsergeants.
