GC/EC Robotics
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Who We Are
GC/EC Robotics is a small New Zealand Robotics team from Glenfield College (A High School on the North Shore of Auckland) Currently the team focuses on The VEX Robotics Competition System. The Team began in year 2008.
The Beginning
GC/EC Robotics began when two of our senior students went to Atlanta, Georgia - with representatives from other high schools around Auckland - to watch the 2008 FRC World Champs. When these two returned, along with our current mentor, they put out a call for anyone interested in starting a team. The call fielded about Forty Students of different year levels who began to look at the basics of what it would mean to form a team.
From the original forty, the team soon dwindled to about fifteen, then again to our current team of eight. It was then announced that FRC would not happen in New Zealand, and so our focus turned to VEX.
What We Do
GC/EC aim to compete in a friendly matter while making a difference in our community. We have formed strong ties with members of other New Zealand Teams, as well as with both big-name and small-name international teams.
We currently host demos at primary and intermediate schools in our area to inspire the next group of Roboticists, and hope to mentor a younger group at our local intermediate school to help them start building and programming their own robots.
We are currently competing in our third season - 2010/2011 VEX Round Up
The Team
GC/EC Began with about forty members of various ages and abilities, scattered across different work-groups such as Design (Logos, Banners etc); Build (Building the Robots); and Programming (Attempting to Program Autonomous etc into the robots). Over time, as we began VEX, these numbers started to fade, until we ended up with a team of about fifteen people. The team continued to shrink until we ended up with our 2008/2009 team of eight.
2008
Our Team was comprised of about five Juniors and ten Seniors, divided into two varying teams. Competitions usually included a Boys and a Girls Team, but we had a Junior Competition where the Five Juniors worked together to perform without the aid of seniors.
2009
The 2009 Team for the Regional Competition included eight members. Six seventh formers, one fifth former and one fourth former. 4 Females, 4 Males. Each of us had different skill sets, varying between Mechanical, Programming, Design and Promotion. The end of 2009 begins our Clean Sweep season with about sixteen members.
2010
The team for the beginning of 2010 consisted of three remaining founding members, along with six "newbies" Two robots competed throughout the season, and four at the 2010 Clean Sweep New Zealand Nationals. As the year progresses and the Round Up season has begun, we now function on two remaining founding members, one new fifth-form member, and a group of six third-form members who fluctuate between bursts of high interest and no interest in competing.
2011
The 2011 team is now down to two full-time members, still remaining from the founding year of 2008 (Male, Year 12 + Female, Year 13) along with a few come-and-go members. A recruitment drive will hopefully be held soon for year 9 and 10 students. There are also a number of students working with VEX materials in a Level 3 Electronics class, some of which may endeavor to join the team at a later date.
The Robots
Elevation
GC/EC have created and developed many robots over the course of our life. Here are some of the more memorable robots over the course of 2008/2009 "Elevation"
GC/EC A
Builders: Steph, Giselle, Kelly.
Driver: Steph
Philup
Twitchy V1
Twitchy V2
Picture Currently Unavailable
Viktor
GC/EC B
Builder: Rhys
Driver: Rhys
Ricebot
Haulinator
Clean Sweep
In the last not-quite-over season of 2009/2010 Clean Sweep, fewer robots have been built and used than Elevation. Here are the majority.
GC/EC A1
Builder: Kelly
Driver: Varied
GC/EC A competed in most of the 2009 section of Clean Sweep.
The robot was "Squeaky" - a modified Elevation Design. The GC/EC A title will now be passed on to "The Newbies" for Regionals and Nationals.
GC/EC A2
Builders: Varied
Driver: Varied
This team consisted of the new recruits to GC/EC for 2010 who worked their way to having a functioning robot for Nationals and very nearly making it into the Quarter Finals
GC/EC B
Builder: Rhys
Driver: Rhys
Known for being the most successful GC/EC Sub-team, Rhys manages to build, program and drive his robot himself while still helping all the other teams (including many from other schools when it comes to programming time) to get underway. His season began with an unnamed basket robot:
Before moving to the successful creature known as Sonic. Sonic won four competitions in a row and was altered frequently:
Before becoming "Sonic Evo" who was runner-up in the New Zealand Nationals and Division Quarter Finalist at the 2010 World Champs in Dallas, Texas
GC/EC C
Builder: Steph
Driver: Steph
Another one-man-team, these robots were built and programmed by Steph with help and guidance (and sometimes a little "can you do this for me?") from Rhys.
The season began with "Leroy" an unsuccessful Hopper Robot:
Followed by "Pablo" who was based on the original GC/EC B design and proceeded through multiple competitions.
Pablo eventually made way for "Ostin" who competed in both the New Zealand Upper North Island Regional and the New Zealand Nationals, narrowly missing out in the semi-finals to GC/EC B and 2919 K-Force, one of GC/EC's "best friends"
