This is our eighth year of sponsoring Team 7111 of the First Robotics Competition (FRC), RAD Robotics. The team is comprised of local high school students from North Alabama who compete in two regional competitions during the spring season. We spoke with the 2024 team captain, Gregory Ebelhare, to learn more about the group and how our continuous sponsorship helps his team prepare for the annual robotics tournaments.
The interview
When does the season start?
“The club operates during the spring season. Once FRC revealed the games in January, we hit the ground running and worked to prepare our robot for competition. This year we competed in the Rocket City Regional, as well as the Tallahassee Regional, roughly a six-week timeline.”
How many students are a part of the team?
We had 18 returning from last year, but overall, there were almost 30 members. It was a great year for us as we nearly doubled our roster.
What was it like winning the Tallahassee Regional in mid-March?
It was an incredible feeling for the team. Not only did we see our hard work pay off but met teams from across the southeast. There were so many unique designs and styles incorporated. Our team had a fun time and experience!
How does our support play a role in the organization?
The significant sponsorship the team receives from Aerobotix allows us to improve our robot capabilities. This enables the team to improve the robot’s performance and gain more opportunities to learn. The sponsorship also helps us go to multiple competitions per season. Going to multiple competitions gives us more opportunities to work with other teams so that we can learn from them and gain experience. The experience we gain informs us when we iterate our robot’s design between competitions so that our robot can be more effective.
As seen on TV
In late August, the team was spotted on a local news segment by one of our project engineers. The team was asked to participate in the AUVSI Pathfinder Symposium at the Von Braun Civic Center as part of an opportunity to showcase their ingenuity to government, military, manufacturing, and engineering personnel.
Background
Aerobotix began sponsoring Team 7111 in 2016 to help educate and influence students into the field of robotics, a passion of Chris Kolb, our vice president of sales.
“We saw a growing trend of robotic automation in the manufacturing industry but a lack of robot knowledge,” said Kolb. “It’d be a disservice if we don’t help spread awareness. Getting kids involved in a creative and challenging channel can spark that fire, especially at an early age.”