With the coronavirus sticking around, robotics this semester will look a little different than in years past. And West Shore’s Team T.I.R.E.D., has been scrambling to deal with the new rules for the upcoming season.

“I feel that because we will be the only robot on the field, we won’t have an alliance partner to rely on, so we will have to be able to accomplish all of the goals of the game on our own,” said senior Sean Regan, who serves as lead programmer for the team. “So overall, harder for everyone.”

While the season is presenting some difficulties, Regan sees an upside.

“Since competitions have been delayed, we will have a decent amount of extra time to work on the robot which will definitely make it a bit easier,” Regan said.

Similarly, Coach Jill Whitacre had to totally change her teaching style and material for her robotics classes.

“Because it would be impossible to build and program robots using the EV3 kits from home, we made the decision to purchase a site license for coding,” Whitacre said.

But with this new teaching style comes new difficulties.

“It has been very difficult to teach students at home and in the classroom at the same time,” Whitacre said. “There is no way to attend to both groups at the same time, so I work very conscientiously to make sure I am getting to all the students who need my help.”

By Owen Piper