As many teams from around the state gather at Kettering University, Fenton’s Titanium Tigers robotics team reaches the semifinals at the competition on March 5.

“In preparing for this competition, we are allowed six weeks of allowed build time. In those six weeks, we built the entire robot; we finished building it on Feb. 23,” robotics leader Andrew Cocagne said. “Then, leading up to the competition, we are allowed up to six hours to fix anything on the robot that may need repairing. We use the rest of the time to test the robot and to come up with strategy for the competition.”

The competition lasts over the duration of two days. The first day is the qualifying day, to show how the teams rank amongst each other. Then the second day is finishes the qualifying round and also consists of the elimination rounds.

“Our robot was able to bring the team to the semifinals, which is not an easy task to accomplish,” junior Kenton Kline said. “As the mechanical lead for the team, I am responsible for designing and manufacturing the robot. To prepare for the next competition, we will be installing new additions to the robot, which will include a grappling hook that will lift the robot two feet above the ground.”

Kline has said that these additions will help gain alliances at the next competition; the team expects it to be much harder because there will be more veteran teams there. The competition will be held at Midland on March 18 and 19.