Hudson County robotics team wins rookie all-star award, qualifies for world championship

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Questionable Engineering, a Hudson County robotics team, won Mid-Atlantic District Rookie All Star Award earlier this month and qualified for the world championship in Houston, Texas this week.

Photo courtesy of Questionable Engineering.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“I have been a part of the FIRST program all my life. I can personally attest to how truly transformative it can be for someone. QE was the first team I joined that was starting from the ground up,” Hoboken resident Jaz Conlon said in a statement.

“Because of this, I was able to have experiences that I will remember forever and I’m truly grateful for that.”

QE was founded just eleven months ago, in May 2022, by a group of friends with a passion for robotics and quickly spread the word across Hudson County to attract high schoolers from 3 local schools.

With a shoestring budget, the team cobbled together a workshop full of professional grade machinery, tools and materials to build a 125-pound robot.

QE’s robot is coded in Java to wirelessly execute the competition’s challenges of picking up and placing down inflatable cubes and cones, skills similar to what an Amazon warehouse robot needs to do to collect and ship consumer goods.

The competition requires an “autonomous” driver-free portion where the robot executes a 15 second pre-programmed series of movements, a driver controlled portion of intense competition against other teams, and a final moment of balancing the robot on a seesaw.

Robotics requires applying advanced STEM concepts, strong teamwork and community outreach.

“I’m so thrilled to have found such an impactful and inspiring community [in QE]. The skills, relationships, and experiences I’ve built because of this program are irreplaceable, and I’m proud to call myself a member of QE,” added Emma Fernandez-Satinh.

QE’s dynamic coach, Dave Slurz, who is also a rookie to FRC, was honored with the Woodie Flowers nomination and the Donald Bowers Inspiration award this season.

“When you have a group of high school kids so determined to create a robotics program that they are willing to start one from scratch, you know you have some fearless competitors,” noted Slurz.

QE is also supported by mentors that hail from Stevens Institute of Technology and industry and major sponsors Gearwrench, Apex Tool Group, 3M, Gene Haas, and Picatinny Stem.

The only thing slowing down this incredible rookie team is their need to raise $30,000 in a matter of days to cover registration and team and equipment travel costs, prompting them to launch a GoFundMe.


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