ATLANTIC CITY — In less than a year’s time, the Atlantic City High School Robotics Club has distinguished itself as a team to watch.
They’ve been to three competitions. They’ve won twice. And they’ve broken a state record.
“I just love doing this,” said Robotics Club co-founder Devin Huynh. “It’s my passion.”
(Devin Huynh points to awards that the Atlantic City High School Robotics Club has recently won.)
Huynh, Adip Tashfi, Max Duerr and Saif Naser are pieces of the winning team. But when they go to competitions they work together as one.
“It’s an opportunity to build things with people with similar mindsets,” Hyunh said.
(The Atlantic CIty High School Robotics Team functions as a single unit when they go to competitions.)
The team, ranked 14th already of out 40 teams statewide, built a robot that competes against other student-built robots with defined tasks. The robots have to pick up 3D pixels and place them on a wooden board. If they can place them into a specific shape, they earn extra points. Then the robots have to identify a square shape in a defined area and put a pixel next to it. The robot has to suspend itself in the air using its claw. And also, use that claw to throw a pixel outside the defined area.
On Jan. 14, Atlantic City High School earned the highest match score by an alliance at First Tech Challenge New Jersey in the Southern League Meet held in Egg Harbor Township. That’s when the team set a New Jersey State Record, 212 points, for the highest match score.
That honor came on the heels of another highest match score award on Oct. 29, 2023.
Atlantic City High School Stem Coordinator Joseph Costello said he was surprised the team did so well, so quickly.
“They enjoy competing, so we were pleased when they started winning awards and breaking records,” said Costello. “We’re extremely proud.”
The team’s final match will be the Deep South Conference League Tournament at North Burlington Middle School in Columbus, NJ. After this, announcements are made about which schools qualify for the state championship.
“It’s based on their rankings and their portfolios,” Costello explained. “This is an all-south jersey tournament and it’s the last tournament before the state championship if they qualify.”
In addition to the robot trials, students must chronicle their journey.
“They document the process of troubleshooting, improving their robot and making it better,” Costello said. “Engineering is a very cyclical process.”
Judges don’t just look at the work, they evaluate the presentation. “It’s a good networking and interview opportunity,” Costello said.
The team isn’t succeeding in a vacuum.
Clearview Regional High School in Mullica Hill is Atlantic City’s mentor team. Clearview has five robotics teams.
“Part of their portfolio is how they’ve mentored us and how they have given a lot of guidance,” Costello said. The team here has also gotten support from the South Jersey Robotics organization. “They help us get the materials that we need, and they help us network,” Costello said. The team also gets support from Robotics Club Advisor Tierra Terry.
“We’re proud of the initial success that we’ve had so far,” Costello said. “We’re looking to grow and recruit more kids into STEM fields."
