PHS Engineering

A mixture of experienced veterans and eager beginners from Peebles High School were present for the third annual Heriot Watt University Robot Challenge. After holding onto the title of champion for the last two years, both spirits and confidence were high when the two teams from Peebles arrived (one early, one late) to the Earl Mountbatten Building of H.W. where arenas and robots awaited them. After a quick flick through the provided data sheets and an introduction to the challenge by Bob Tuttle, one of the head organisers of the challenge, the teams got ready for the fist challenge.

This was a time trial; a test of control skill. Each of the four team members had to manoeuvre around two bricks that had been placed in the arena. The time of the four laps was taken and Currie High School achieved the fastest time which left all other teams trailing behind.

Next up was the two hours the teams were given for refitting their basic robots for the upcoming challenge. This involved, like before, putting table tennis balls through goals on their side of the pitch. Three sizes of goal earned the teams 1, 2, or 3 points accordingly, and the single white ball on the pitch would get a team double points. The obvious strategy was to get the white ball through the three point goal, and that was in mind when the team's designs were thought up.

The available materials included flexible metal plates and strips, fixing nuts and bolts, card, tape, and most importantly two servo motors that were the key asset of winning the competition. A wonderful range of unique designs emerged from all or the young engineers present. But it wouldn't be till after lunch when everyone would see which robots would prevail in the challenge.

Peebles senior team won the first league to get into the semi-final, but the junior team were unfortunately knocked out in League two. Peebles was up against Bathgate in the Semi final. The Bathgate robot, though crudely put together, was undoubtedly strong and was able to overpower the Peebles robot on several occasions. The match seemed to turn into more wrestling than football, and by the end of it, the Peebles robot was beaten, tattered, and trailing by just a few points. The team was disappointed with their lost but moved on and enjoyed the final struggle between Bathgate and Currie, for the title of 2004 Champion. After an epic match, Currie High School's second team emerged victorious and was presented the trophy, which the Peebles team had on display in the lab just the previous day.

Regardless of not winning any prises or trophies, all of the club members had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed the challenges. They plan to return next year to win back the cup, with new ideas and cunning strategy. In the meantime, there's always plenty more competitions available to contend in.

Heriot Watt 2004