Rogers State University’s robotics team has been selected as the only university team from Oklahoma to compete at the largest robotics competition in the world, the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas.
The VEX Robotics World Championship is an annual competition that brings together the top VEX IQ Robotics Competition, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U teams from around the globe to celebrate their accomplishments and participate in the 2023-24 games to be crowned champions.
Given the team’s relative newness and limited number of previous competitions, its selection as the lone university team in the state is a testament to the small-but-determined team’s ingenuity and skills, according to team advisor and RSU Technology and Justice Studies Department Head Dr. Curtis Sparling.
“This competition will kind of be the ‘grand finale’ for the team’s first season of tournaments,” Sparling said. “They’ve only been to three different tournaments at this point, so for them to have been named the only university team from Oklahoma speaks volumes about them, their performance, their successes and how far they’ve come since starting out, just last semester.”
The team, dubbed the RoboClaws, was realized in September 2023 when a project proposal from Sparling was funded by an anonymous $6,500 donation during the university’s annual Giving Week initiative.
Team members are My Le, Nghi Nguyen and Khai Nguyen, all of whom are double majoring to earn both a Bachelor of Science in information technology, software development and multimedia option, and a Bachelor of Technology in applied technology, cybersecurity and information assurance option.
The team participated in their first competition shortly before Christmas in December 2023.
“That first tournament was a big learning curve for the team. They won one round and lost 12 rounds, but they learned a lot at that first competition, and what they learned, they put into practice for the next tournament,” he said. “Their second time around, they won 12 rounds and only lost one round – in the finals – beating teams from Purdue University, the University of Michigan, and several others.
“Even the announcer (at the second tournament) was surprised that, compared to some of the larger, more well-known schools, our team was performing so well,” he said. “Our team was going up against teams with four to five times more team members than we had, and they were still winning.”
Now, the group faces its biggest challenge yet as it enters the arena against 120 other college-level robotics teams from across the globe.
“For us, the formation of the robotics team is very significant because it marks the milestone of us being able to compete in robotics under the name of RSU,” said team member Nghi Nguyen. “We failed, learned, and became better versions of ourselves. Through the tournaments, we were able to meet and compete with teams from various backgrounds and locations, which gave us the chance to learn from the best personnel in the robotics field.
“Our robots have undergone many modifications since the first day we started because after every trip, we learned something new,” she continued. “The fact that we eventually were selected for VEX World Championship makes us feel like our hard work of brainstorming, building and practicing has paid off.”
As the RoboClaws make final preparations for the world championship, Sparling said he and the team members are thankful for all the support they’ve received from the university, and particularly the RSU Foundation.
“It’s very costly to go to these competitions – all of them have been out of state, first to Michigan, then to Texas – and the Foundation has been unbelievably supportive,” he said. “We so appreciate all their support. They’re the reason our learners have been able to accomplish everything they have.”
Nguyen couldn’t agree more.
“We appreciate this opportunity and will give our best in the world tournament as representatives of RSU,” she said. “Also, we send our most sincere thanks to our coach (Dr. Sparling) for always being a caring, enthusiastic supporter and a huge sponsor caller for the team. Without him, we wouldn’t have made it.”
The VEX Robotics World Championship will be held April 25 through May 3 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The event will be broadcast on https://www.vexworlds.tv/#/channels/all.
For more information about RSU’s Department of Technology and Justice Studies, visit www.rsu.edu/TJS.