Robotics Club holds drone race in the Bloomfield HS Pit

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School Robotics Club held a fundraiser on Thursday, Jan. 18, in the first-floor gymnasium known as “the Pit.” Billed by club advisor Michael Warholak as the first-ever drone race at the school, students had the opportunity to try out the high-tech whirligigs that are not easy to fly.

“We’re trying this for the first time,” Warholak said as race time approached. “We’re trying to bring neat events to kids. We’re making this up as we go along.”

Pizza, candy and soda were for sale in the hallway, an admission was being charged at the door and for another fee, a student could rent a drone.
Preparing for the race, club members assembled a low-tech race course for the three drones they had brought for the event. Lengthwise, the gym was divided by a string of pennants about 7 feet above the floor. On one side was a vertical hula-hoop, encircled by Christmas lights. Daredevil pilots were required to fly through the hoop as the flames of a paper torch, enlivened by a small fan, fluttered below it. On the other side of the pennants was the finish line — two posts. Freshman Chris Mandra provided deadpan race commentary through a PA system.

The real challenge was controlling the lightweight machines. Eye protection and hard hats were required on the gym floor and the drones were not to be flown above the bleacher railings.

Tiffany Magno and Michael Brzostek, BHS juniors and club members, were the resident drone experts, and took turns explaining how to operate them.

Each drone was battery-powered, had four propellers, a camera to view where it was headed, and a Wi-Fi system, allowing computer-controlled devices to connect wirelessly with one another.

While piloting the drone, a student had the option of watching it with their own eyes or through virtual reality goggles. If they used the goggles, a smartphone was needed to receive the camera signal from the drone. The smartphone would be snapped into the visor of the goggles, producing a virtual 3-D image of what was being viewed by the camera. Whether using the goggles or the naked eye, the drone could be controlled either by a handheld transmitter with two joysticks or by touching a smartphone screen. It was recommended that the joysticks be used as they provide the pilot with a better tactile sense than just touching a computer screen. The smartphone was also able to record what the camera was “seeing.”

Racing did not go satisfactorily because, for the novice pilot, controlling a drone is difficult and it required practice to avoid crashing into the wall, the hula-hoop, the pennants or another drone. But after a while, students actually did start to get the hang of gliding. It was a benefit to the learning process that a drone, once down, was hardly ever out. It could crash into the floor but immediately spring up and fly again.

Warholak lamented that not many students showed up for the fundraiser, which promoted friendly competition and technology. And, he did not think there would be another opportunity for another race because the Pit is always in use, but he was willing to try.
“I want kids to realize that gender has no bearing in this,” he said. “I would like to do another one if I can book the Pit again.”

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