South Whidbey robotics team member heads to Florida | KUDOS

After a disappointing finish at the regional robotics competition, South Whidbey’s Team Atlantis, Inc. robotics team member Hannah McConnaughey will compete at the international level, after all.

Team Atlantis, Inc., missed out on a trip to the international competition in Orlando, Fla. A fuse blew on its remotely operated vehicle during a recent regional robotics competition, sinking Team Atlantis’ hopes.

However, when the finalist Honolulu, Hawaii team saw the award-winning poster McConnaughey designed and presented at the regional contest on Facebook, they asked her to join the team. McConnaughey was the publicist and communication director for Team Atlantis. The Hawaiian team offered her a spot to improve its poster and presentation.

“They decided that their weakest point was communications, poster and technical communications,” McConnaughey said. “I was thrilled. I worked so hard on the poster.”

The nine boys from the Hawaiian team communicated with McConnaughey through Skype, where she learned about the Hawaiian group’s “bot.”

“I got to know every aspect of the bot,” she said.

The Honolulu team went through hard times when they lost their mentor, and had to quickly find a new one by themselves. Also, their equipment was stolen, but they beat the odds and now they will appear in Orlando with a new poster designed by their newest member and the only girl on the team.

McConnaughey will fly to Florida on June 21 for the competition, which runs June 22 to 23.

Visit the Freeland Library to see Team Atlantis, Inc.’s underwater robot and award winning poster through June 15.

 

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