LBHS's Waylon Puckett and Brandon Wagner poised to explain their winning robot in the VWCC competition.

Brandon Wagner and Waylon Puckett from Lord Botetourt High School came in first at the robotics competition held by Virginia Western Community College last month. On January 8 they presented the robot and a power point to the Botetourt County School Board. Lord Botetourt principal Alan Brenner introduced the students and their mentor to the assembly.

With the mentoring of Vic Terry, instructor for technology at LBHS, the students put together an impressive and fast robot. Wagner is a junior and Puckett a sophomore so they have more competitions ahead of them.

The pair used patterns and circuits to create a rolling robot that could place a ball in a cup. Wagner worked on the computerization while Puckett fine tuned the design.  With a great deal of technical knowledge they explained the process to the school board and a packed house of attendees. They even had a flow chart diagram on how the robot works.

The 12 inch long robot had to travel at 12 foot track. “We beat our nearest competitor by 30 seconds,” said Wagner. “The secret,” said Puckett, “the use of a 9 volt battery.”

The winning robot.

The pair worked diligently to perfect the line sensors, materials used and processor to perfect a speedy and accurate robot. the robot had to be built  for $100 or less. The winning robot cost $99! The two young men also finished second in over all design.

Coming to school an hour early and staying in the afternoon really paid off for them. They received Circuit City gift cards and recognition for the win that should aid them in college selection later on in high school. The school board also presented them with certificates of appreciation for so well representing the division through new school board chairman–Kathy Sullivan. Pictures of the presentation