Robotics team designs scooter, many projects planned despite COVID-19 disruptions

BONNERS FERRY — Bonners Ferry High School First Robotics Team 2130 Alpha+ is entering its 15th season amid a time where life is anything but normal.

During this time, the team has not been sitting idle. From March, when the shutdowns began, until school started in the fall, the team held weekly zoom meetings so that they could stay connected to one another, collaborate on ideas and projects and plan for the year to come.

Last spring, the team completed a robot for the year in the hopes of being able to compete in Nampa at the regional competition. This competition, like many others, was canceled due to COVID-19.

This year, the FIRST Robotics community will be holding virtual competitions, and the team will be continuing to work with and perfect this bot.

The team wanted to find other activities and projects to be able to work on and is working on designing and building a demonstration robot, which will be showcased at various events within the community, to show others what the robotics team is about, as well as the wonderful opportunities that come from being part of the team; we also want to encourage other students to be part of the robotics team.

This fall, an opportunity was presented to the team to help a student within our community. Weston, a kindergarten student, relies on an electric wheelchair to get around while at school.

When on the playground at school, his wheelchair would get bogged down in the thick wood chips on the playground, providing safety.

When the Robotics team was approached by Harmon Newhouse, the principal of the school. He asked the robotics mentors if they thought that the robotics team would be able to make some kind of mobility scooter for Weston, so he would be able to get around the playground and play with the other kids.

When the mentors presented the idea to the team to see if they would be interested in taking on this project, the team jumped at the opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone local.

Robotics team member and student Regina Claphan state, “When we found out about Weston, we knew we wanted to make the scooter for him because who could possibly be more deserving. He is such a sweet kid and so happy, and he deserves to be able to go out and play on the playground with his friends,”

With the help of MSHH Donor Closet out of Spokane, who donated a mobility scooter, Les Schwab of Bonners Ferry sold the team the batteries at cost and North Idaho Ironworks, who provided the excellent, bright green powder coating job on Weston’s new mobility scooter.

Alpha+ got to work on transforming the scooter into something that would work for Weston to be able to use on the playground. The team built a roll bar to keep him safe while using it and changed the mechanism that controls the scooter so that Weston would be able to drive the scooter with his feet.

The rewards of working on this project would touch more than just Weston and his mother. It has touched the lives of the 12 members of the robotics team, the mentors, the principal of his school, and the occupational and physical therapists who have been involved, too, ensuring that the placement of the controls was correct for Weston.

When asked how this experience has touched them, mentor Julie Krezman stated, “It is extremely rewarding for the team to build the mobility scooter; it not only shows them the real-life application for the skills they are learning but also the difference that they can make in another's life.”

Upon first meeting with Weston, student Seth Tuma stated, “When Weston came into the shop, we could see right through his mask that he was the happiest kid ever.”

Our team was happy to use this different year to build a mobility scooter for Weston, and we look forward to our future projects.