As the month of May drew to a close, Texas Torque went to an event (Sound by the Shore) at nearby Northshore Park to demonstrate our robot Apogee. At the event, we were able to see many people who were amazed by both the robot and our student-driven organization. Members allowed kids to operate the robot for an entire simulated match. The team was happy to teach the importance of STEM while the children at the event had fun operating the robot.
Texas Torque had yet another very successful demo at Comicpalooza, which was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center this past weekend. Our team managed to handle the problems that arose well, and Apogee was running like new.
On Saturday, Apogee performed well for interested spectators, helping the team captivate the crowd. Some members of Texas Torque and other teams played a casual game of laser tag, demonstrating that robotics kids can have lots of fun while they work. Between speaking about FIRST, operating the robot, and fetching flying discs, a few members of Texas Torque and the Robonauts had a game of Mech Corps, with Torque ultimately coming out on top while the others easily kept the robot running smoothly. At the end of Day 2, Comicpalooza seemed to be too much excitement for Apogee and it refused to run. However, that didn’t stop us; we continued to work with other teams to continue the show.
Throughout two days of demonstration, Texas Torque didn’t just show off an impressive robot; we showed the amazing teamwork it takes to build such a robot, passion in spreading FIRST to a broader community, and the ability to create friendships with other team members outside of Torque, whether through playing laser tag with the Disco Bots, Mech Corps with the Robonauts, or catching flying discs with Spectrum. Torque also advanced within itself, letting members who didn’t have experience driving or operating the robot try their hand at controlling the robot and actually showing promising potential for the future drive team, ready to fight for a chance at going to Champs.
