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2 P.E.I. students headed west for robotics competition

Two high school students from the Kinkora, P.E.I., area are preparing to compete in a national robotics competition later this month.

Alexander Phillips and Nicholas Henderson both attend Kinkora Regional High School.

Next week they will be heading to Winnipeg to represent the province in the two-day robotics event at the Skills Canada National competition.

Phillips and Henderson were chosen to attend the national event after they took home gold medals at the provincial Skills Canada competition in March.

The Grade 12 students said they each put in more than 30 hours of work to prepare for the trip, spending their free time after school building and testing their robots in one of the school's science labs.

The pair built and designed their own robots under the guidance of their teacher-adviser and the school's vice-principal, Ryan McAleer. Most of the parts for their robots were courtesy of the school's robotics class.

Brand new experience

At the national competition, Phillips and Henderson will run their robots through a series of obstacles.

They will also use the them to pick up and launch foam footballs into various containers.

Phillips said he feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn some new skills by preparing for his trip.

"I'd never touched a robot before February," he said.

"One of my great passions is learning new things. So this is the best learning experience, to be in this, and be immersed in a whole new skill," he said.

Acquiring skills for a future career

Henderson said while working on home-built robots has been challenging for he and his partner, they have had a great deal of support and guidance from their teacher.

He added that one of the best parts of being in the school's robotics club is that it allowed him to acquire skills that he can apply to his future career.

"I plan to pursue a career in mechanical engineering after school and this is really exactly what this is. Along with electrical stuff too," Henderson said.

"I would classify myself as a very mechanical hands-on person. I enjoy building things … so learning mechanical skills like this I find very useful."

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