BUFFALO, N.Y. — A team of 10 to 18-year-old WNY engineers and their 150-pound robot will be making the very long drive to Houston, Texas to compete in the F.I.R.S.T Robotics World Championships.
That team spent the past two months building that very large robot to achieve a goal set by the competition’s organizing committee, this year’s objective is to launch foam rings into a goal several feet in the air.
Dillan Sayers founded Rust Belt Robotics, the creator of this machine.
Rust Belt is a youth team to gets local students like Otto Borden and Patrick Amo interested in engineering.
“I’ve always been an engineer at heart,” Otto said.
“I get to do all [the hands-on work] as a student and not just watch [others],” Patrick said.
Dillan grew up in Rochester, where he says these teams are everywhere, but when he wanted to volunteer his services here in Buffalo, our area had just two teams.
“Nichols and St. Joe’s, but the only caveat to them is that they’re both private schools.”
Instead, he sought to make a team that anybody could join.
“We make it free to all of our students and don’t ask for any money at all,” Dillan said.
Their team of roughly 25 kids ranges from 5th graders, like Reid Denison, to seniors in high school, like Patrick.
“I learned how to use a bunch of tools,” Reid said.
“The older kids bring the younger kids under their wing and help mold them,” Reid’s dad Travis said.
“It’s fun to build things and fix problems,” Patrick said.
This 2024 season, the team exceeded their expectations, and just days before the world competition, they qualified for the F.I.R.S.T robotics world championships.
The local community helped them fundraise enough money through sponsorships and on GoFundMe to compete and travel to the championship all the way in Houston, Texas.
“We’re going to take our time and drive down there,” Dillan said.
That 21-hour drive will give the older teammates like Otto and Patrick plenty of time to think about what they’re going to do come graduation.
“I have decided on [majoring in] programming for now,” Patrick said.
“This past couple of years working with [Rust Belt Robotics] helped me pick out mechanical engineering [as a major] for myself,” Otto said.
The team leaves at 5:30 a.m. Monday. The competition starts on Wednesday.
