FORSYTH, Ill. (WAND) - Decatur Christian School's FTC Robotics team is headed to the state championships.
This year, the challenge is to design, build and program a robot to shoot a ball into a goal.
Team Captain Lillie Barker said the team is hard at work.
"We were first in alliance picking and we won the overall matches with our robot and we are currently building a new robot that's almost complete for state," Barker said.
Kaydan Shew oversees the design and build of the robot, and once completed, he drives it.
"We try to do a lot of practice, but sometimes we run too close to our deadlines, so there's not much time left for practicing, but I've definitely gotten a lot of practices which helps," Shew said.
Once it's designed and built, it's handed over to Joshua Kirby, who programs everything.
"We have something on our robot called a turret. It's on top of the robot and spins. That's something I program," Kirby said. "It Aligns to the goals in the back. And then our driver, I have all of that automated for him. So, he presses a single button on the controller and that launches all of the balls in succession."
Multiple other area teams qualified for the state competition.
The two-day FIRST Tech Challenge Illinois Championship Tournament will take place in DeKalb on March 6 and 7.
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