FARMINGTON – At the RSU 9 Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday night, Richard Wilde, instructor of computer technology at the Foster Career and Technical Education Center at Mt. Blue Campus, presented a robot named R2-Blue2, which is a replica of the robot R2-D2 from the film series Star Wars. The robot was created by the Blue Crew, the robotics team at the Mt. Blue High School.
The robot was built using large format 3-D printers, and the body is composed of three separate pieces. The students designed a circuit using two AC relays, and once the robot is plugged into power, it runs on its own using a twelve volt power supply and has the ability to charge the batteries at the same time.
After participating in over two weeks of events, the team is now twenty-fourth in the district out of a total of 282 teams. Wilde recently submitted a field trip request for the Blue Crew to participate in the 2023 FIRST Championship which is to be held on April 19 in Houston, Texas, and Wilde stated that he is hoping to bring R2-Blue2 as the team’s mascot to the World Championships.
The team is currently waiting to be invited to the championships, but they are attending the New England District UNH Event in Durham, New Hampshire on March 25-26, and the New England FIRST District Championship in West Springfield, Massachusetts on April 5-8.
In the request, Wilde stated that the total cost of the trip will accumulate to roughly $20,000 for the 16 students and mentors to travel, which will cost each individual approximately $600. There is also an estimated $2,000 that will be financed via district monies.
The board voted to approve the field trip request.
Chairperson Carol Coles also announced the Support and Professional Staff Members of the Month. The support staff member of the month was awarded to Stephen Heath, Custodian and Bus Driver at Mt. Blue Campus. The professional staff member of the month was awarded to Kathleen Marshall, Teacher at the Cascade Brooks School.
This meeting was recorded by Mt. Blue TV and is available for viewing online at MtBlueTV.org
