EVANDALE'S Metal Minds Robotics team proved itself as one of Australia's leading mechanical think tanks at a national challenge late last month.
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At the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology's national Tech Challenge at Sydney's Macquarie University the team placed fourth overall and scored a Control Award for its innovative design and consistency.
Team mentor and father Jon Heathcote said the team was proud to achieve such success after its first entry to the challenge.
"The team have designed, built and programmed from scratch a competitive robot in their first season," Mr Heathcote said.
"Showing innovative design and repeatable control over an element of the challenge, Metal Minds won [the Control Award] for their inventive way of getting the robot to hang from a pull-up bar."
The team also placed third in the challenge's bijou Inspire Award.
"This is the most prestigious category, with the winner being invited to represent Australia at the world championships," Mr Heathcote said. "Now for another type of challenge, fund-raising and recruiting, it all starts again."
He said the team's $3000 travel, kit and accommodation bill was footed with assistance from sponsors Leightons Springworks, Launceston Scale Model Society and SAGE Automation.
"There are many others but the list would be too long," he said.
"The new challenge will be a new robot, we will have to dismantle [robot] STEVE but he will be rebuilt to compete again."
For more information about the robotics team, or to sponsor its efforts next year, go to www.metalmindsrobotics. wordpress.com