Members of the Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School BEST Robotics Team made the Keynote presentation at the September meeting of the Montgomery section of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). ASQ is a leading global organization supporting quality concepts, technology, and manufacturing. The Montgomery Catholic team spoke of their involvement in the BEST 2010 Total Recall robotics competition. The BEST (Boosting Science, Engineering, and Technology) 2010 competition featured two simulated factory production lines packaging “gizmos” and “gadgets.” Teams had to design and build a robot in six weeks that could package quality products while recognizing defective products.
Led by the team’s Director of Spirit and Sportsmanship, junior Chad DuBois, the team gave the ASQ members an overview of the BEST robotics competition and the development of the team’s robot, dubbed RoboKnight 1.0. The team’s Director of Engineering (sophomore Nick Niel), Director of Programming (sophomore Will Brunson), and Head Writer (junior Giselle Simms) provided amplifying details throughout the presentation and the question period that followed.
ASQ section Chair Jeff Bresee said of the team, “I was thrilled with the presentation given by the Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s BEST Team for our September ASQ meeting. The presentation was very thorough and professionally done.” ASW Treasurer Donna Profio added, “We were really impressed by what they managed to accomplish in only 42 days.” Nick Niel summarized the student experience by saying, “It was challenging being questioned by people who really know about quality and engineering, but the ASQ members treated us like colleagues.”
