A local all-girls drone team consisting of nine area students will be competing at the 2021 BELL VRC Earthquake Search & Rescue Challenge Championship at BELL headquarters this weekend on December 4th.
The students are members of the Keller Fusion team and are in the junior class at Fossil Ridge High School and Timber Creek High School located in Fort Worth along with Keller Central High School based in Keller.
Due to the pandemic, the girls started the competition season extremely late. They had to quickly learn constructing and configuring the drone, at the same time develop their strategy for the competition. Being from three different high schools created logistical challenges such as, time management and communication. However, these girls persevered by using their strengths to support the team which has led to their success.
The Greenville, TX based nonprofit the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, in partnership with Fort Worth based BELL, present the 2021 BELL Vertical Robotics Competition’s Earthquake Search & Rescue Challenge and Championship that include a series of surveillance, rescue, and supply missions using custom built drones. This STEM-based competition allows teams to develop and implement various vertical lift prototypes to address dynamic transportation issues surrounding future emergency medical services, commuter travel, cargo movement, and more.
The team received the highest points at the recent and first-ever Earthquake Search & Rescue Challenge through a variety of missions combining flight operation, ground-based robotics operations.
The team earned a spot to compete at this weekend’s championship which consists of:
Kayla Lopez - Fossil Ridge High School
Miranda Sosa - Fossil Ridge High School
Ava Lund - Keller Central High School
Alexis Oldham - Keller Central High School
Ava Miller - Timber Creek High School
Camila Rodriguez Quiroz - Timber Creek High School
Jenna Van Collie - Timber Creek High School
Caitlin Weber - Timber Creek High School
Lillian Tran - Timber Creek High School