-by Robert Golding-
On Saturday, February 2nd, Phoenix 1, Ruamrudee International School’s VEX team, took part in the Thailand VEX Robotics Competition, which was held at NIST. The VEX Robotics Competition is the most demanding and competitive robotics competition in the world, and the fact RIS is competing at this level and against other top schools after only two years is a real testament to our students’ abilities and determination.
To prepare for the competition, team members worked together to design and build a semi-autonomous robot that can maneuver around obstacles and solve challenges. While working together, the students are also learning and practicing an equally important set of skills: creativity, collaboration, strategic thinking, problem solving, and perseverance.
The RIS team made it to the finals after a thrilling semi-final—a draw of 17-17—and then a win in the rematch. The RIS team lost in the final match, securing second place overall. Not only did our team make it to the finals but they won the prestigious Design Award. This award is given to the team that has the best robot design as determined by their engineering notebook that details their design process and an interview with the judges.
Here’s what some of our team members had to say about the experience:
“The VEX Robotics Competition was not only fun but taught us many useful lessons. For example, our talent surely helped us win the matches, but it was the strong teamwork and bonds that got us to the finals.” — Lalida Nithirojpakdee
“VEX has introduced me to a novel field of technology: robotics. This experience was truly astounding and if possible I would like to continue participating in the VEX Robotics Competition in the future. It was a pleasure to work with the RIS VEX team. Overcoming various hardships had led to us developing priceless bonds.” — Kritawat Kraiwitchaicharoen (Jackie)
“It has been a pleasure to be able to take part in VEX Robotics alongside such a hard-working group of people who persisted throughout the competition, finally landing second place and the Design Award. Through the process of working on the robot, valuable bonds were made with each other and many memorable shared experiences that will never be forgotten.” — Visa Theerapatra Thongdee
Our RIS teams are already planning for next year’s VEX Competition. If you would like to be involved please email Robert Golding: robertg@rism.ac.th.
