Welcome to PHS Robotics

About Us

This information is from the 2007 season.

Information is subject to change as the 2008 season draws nearer.

What is PHS Robotics?

PHS Robotics is an organization made up of about fifty students from Priceville High School in the 9th through the 12th grades. PHS Robotics participates in numerous community activities and competes in the local Tennesee Valley BEST competition held at Calhoun Community College. PHS Robotics is currently in their sixth year cometing in BEST competitions. PHS Robotics competes against schools from every area east of the Mississippi River. Although the team competes to win, the real glory is in educating the public. The team participates in several community projects which inform the general public about the team's success as well as the mission of PHS Robotics.

Mission Statement

The Priceville High School Robotics Corporation is an organization of creative and resourceful individuals working together to design and advertise a robot while spreading enthusiasm for BEST as a whole. The company aspires to pool together all the analytical, artistic, and social skills present within the corporation to realize the endeavors of PHS Robotics. These skills will be utilized in such a way that expands the mental capacity of all members involved, equipping said individuals with skills for the ever-advancing technology of tomorrow. From freshmen to seniors, Priceville High School Robotics strives to incorporate the full spectrum of students and propel all persons involved towards new heights.

What is BEST?

BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization whose mission is to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, and technology through participation in a sports-like, science and engineering-based robotics competition. Started in 1993, BEST Robotics has over 700 middle and high schools and over 10,000 students participating each fall. BEST features two parallel competitions, a robotics game and a BEST award.

In the robotics games students must build a robot based upon an annual task. Each school is provided kits of equipment and parts, a set of game rules, and given six weeks to design, build, and test a small Radio/Controlled (R/C) robot that outperforms other robots. When the robot is completed teams compete in a competition consisting of four teams competing at once in a series of three-minute, round-robin matches.

The BEST award is presented to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology. Elements include a project summary notebook, oral presentation, table display, and spirit and sportsmanship.

What is our Task?

After taking a year off from to solve the laundry quandary, PHS Robotics is returning to space! This year the Mars Rovers - Opportunity and Spirit - began their fourth year of searching for signs of life on Mars. In 2021, a Martian base has been assembled using construction robots and is now receiving supplies before the arrival of astronauts. Automated Supply Vehicles (ASVs) land at the Martian base and must be unloaded using robots. Because of the harsh environment on the Martian surface (temperatures can reach as low as -155 °F), the robots have only three minutes to perform the following tasks:

Exit the base and drive across the Martian surface
Drive up onto the ASV and load supplies
Drive off the ASV and store the supplies in a storage bin at the Martian base

The exits on the Martian base dictate that robots must be within certain size and weight constraints.

NASA issued a request for proposals for robots to unload the supply ships. BEST Robotics has submitted a proposal and won the contract to provide robots for unloading ASVs!

6 P.A.C

This year PHS Robotics is proposing 6 P.A.C for the mission to Mars. It's name stands for it's ability to pick up six bottles and the P.A.C indicates "Package Arrival Crew." 6 P.A.C integrates an efficient chassis and strong claw to deliver the important supplies. The engineering team formulated 6 P.A.C's design through the engineering process. This begins when the team recieves their task. At the next meeting the design team brainstorms different ideas and creates a design. They then make engineering sketches which are given to CAD draftsmen who create computer models of the parts. A prototype is then constructed and tested. Nessecary modifications are made and a finished product is assembled.

Marketing

Another important element in the competition is the marketing portion. The BEST award consists mostly of items in thi catagory. These include constructing a marketing booth, team spirit and sportsmanship, and writing a project engineering notebook. This year we have chosen a very professional theme. You could say it is like a clean space laboratory. We have incorporated that into our booth design. When you visit our booth you will notice that our floor and walls are white and that everything is very sleek to convey this sense of futuristic technology. We also display our engineering notebook, scrapbook, and other interesting things to help visitors to our booth understand what we do and how we do it. The project engineering notebook has all of our CAD drawings and specifics about our robot neatly organized. Also, our spirit team works hard to convey enthusiasm and sportsmanship by cheering for all teams competing and by using a pep band made up of robotics team members.

Awards and Achievements

2002 - Alabama BEST: 2nd Place BEST Award, advanced to Texas BEST.

2003 - Tennessee Valley BEST: 1st Place BEST Award, 1st Place Robotics, Most Robust Robot, Most Elegant Robot. Advanced to South's BEST.

2004 - Tennessee Valley BEST: 2nd Place BEST Award, 3rd Place Robotics, Most Robust Robot, Most Photogenic Robot.

South's BEST: 3rd Place BEST Award.

2005 - Tennessee Valley BEST: 2nd Place BEST Award, 3rd Place Robotics

South's BEST: 2nd Place BEST Award, Founder's Award for Creative Design

2006 - Tennessee Valley BEST: 2nd Place BEST Award, 2nd Place Robotics.

South's BEST: 1st Place BEST Award, Most Robust Robot.

2007 - Tennessee Valley BEST: 1st Place BEST Award, 3rd Place Robotics, 3rd Place Most Robust Robot, 1st Place Web Page, 1st Place Oral Presentation, 1st Place Table Display, 1st Place Table Display and Construction, 1st Place Spirit and Sportsmanship, and The Founders' Award for Creative Design.

South's BEST: 1st Place Web Page Design, 2nd Place Table Display and Construction Award, and 3rd Place Most Elegant Robot