Meet Rein, pride and joy of Albany High School Robotics Team 1493. Rein is 100 pounds of aluminum, polycarbonate, 3D-printed parts, nuts and bolts, and the team hopes to program and steer their baby to victory next week at the New York Tech Valley FIRST Regional Robotics Competition.
The Falcon team is one of 41 – mostly from the Northeast but from as far away as India – that will be participating in the tournament, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at the MVP Arena on South Pearl Street. The event is free and open to the public, and face masks are required.
Rein is short for “reinvent, reimagine and reintroduce,” all of which members of the team and their advisers did during the past year, adviser Brent Cady said. Check out a YouTube video of Rein in progress and in action.
FIRST robotics competitions are held throughout the region, state, country and world. Each year, teams of high school students are presented with the challenge of building a robot that can complete a specific task. They have a set amount of time to complete the project. Every team has the same task, which changes from year to year.
In this year’s challenge, “Rapid React,” teams reimagine the future of safe and high-speed transport, rushing to load critical cargo and propel the evolution of transportation forward.
Robots begin on their respective tarmacs and are preloaded with cargo. Once cleared for takeoff, the robots can deliver their payloads and collect additional cargo for delivery. Robots can receive assistance from human players at the terminal and can earn points for reaching various hanger rungs before the match is over.
In addition to Cady, Falcon team advisers include Kevin Allen, Andre Castagna, Rich Kissane and Alan Landman. Kissane is a retired Albany High teacher; the other three still teach there.
Team members include:
Nadav Asal • Seven Brandt • Ben Conti • Brodey Flynn • Portia Gaa • Makki Gally • Zvi Gomez • Gavin Hammer • Thor Hammer, president • Pyae Sone Hmine • Endri Hoxha • Jacob Levine • Sophia Lucarelli, treasurer • Nathan Martel • Alpha Mathai • Trent Minarich • Kevin McLeod • Nishath Nabila • Zeroun Ni, vice president • Alison Powell • Jena Maria Rubi • Owen Sears • Zane Sears • Saugat Shah • Jackson Shahinfar • Cole Solomon • Sydney Speanburg • Dorothy Sperry • Cross Vargas • Nolan Wolfgang
All members of Team 1493 will attend the event Tuesday and Wednesday, and their jobs will range from pit crew to drive team to mascot and more. Stop by the MVP Arena and cheer them on!
