By Greg Goulder ’13
THE ROUNDUP

The sound of saws, electric motors and rotating servos nearly drowned out the thumping techno remixes of popular rock songs.

This medley of sound is common on the second floor of Loyola Hall where the Brophy Robotics Club perfects their mechanical creations.

The club meets Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursday after school until 5:30 p.m., with teachers assisting in and supervising the operations.

The club orders pizza and drinks on occasion to spice up the atmosphere while working on the robots.

Robotics has been very successful in recent years, winning state and going to nationals last year, their best season in previous years.

Competitions take place with numerous robots, both large and small.

For competitions with large robots, a single game theme is given to all teams at the same time.  NASA is in charge of selecting the theme for the competition, and it has not yet been released for the upcoming season.

The teams then have time to tweak their robots to fit the game type before showing up to play.

Competitions also take place with small robots, challenged to complete varying tasks from kicking balls into goals to lifting sticks into baskets.

“The best part is trying to figure out how to play a game with parts you have to make yourself,” said Mr. Andy Mazzolini.

Competitions take place with rotating teams, so two different clubs join together to compete.  This allows all teams to assist each other and promotes good sportsmanship between teams.

“My favorite time is the first time you turn the robot on and it works,” said Steven Smith ’12.

Smith said knowledge of electronics is not necessary to join the club.  He explained that it is more like working on a car than working with circuitry.