Robotics at PVI

by: Mr. Tom Burkat

On January 18, PVI's Robotics team (FTC #26079) traveled to Battlefield High School for their second qualifying event in the Chesapeake Region. After a strong showing at the DC International School in November, the VI Bots stepped up to the challenge against a seasoned field of 35 other teams from the region. The resulting match record of 1 win and 4 losses doesn't tell the whole story however, as the VI Bots racked up two personal-best alliance scores this year in matches #33 and #40, while posting their highest score ever in a loss to the eventual qualifier champions, the Blu Cru from Rockville, Maryland.

Thanks to reliable design, expert driving, and most of all teamwork, the VI Bots will build on the experiences of their rookie season and have much to look forward to in the coming years.

A special thanks to all our departing seniors, parents, and volunteers, especially Mr. Fromm for his coaching and mentorship, and the Poole family for making this season possible through their generosity.

The PVI Robotics Team is coached by Mr. Burkat who teaches the Introduction to Robotics Design course, as well as PVI’s other engineering courses. Mr. Burkat’s interest in robotics started in college and led him to concentrate in control systems and signal processing as an electrical engineering major. However, prior to teaching at PVI, Mr. Burkat spent most of his career designing software systems that had little to do with robots, so joining the VI Bots has been a wonderful return to his roots.