By Shrijani Buruganahalli ’25 and Samanya Girsh ’25
Recently, Notre Dame’s Robotics Team, The Janksters, held their 2023 Robotics Showcase, an event highlighting the hard work of each committee and its members. This event marked the second annual showcase and spotlighted all aspects of the robotics program and the team’s accomplishments. Students had the opportunity to display their work to parents, teachers and sponsors.
The Janksters, 63 members strong, were stationed in rooms organized by committee, to give in-depth explanations of their work from the last seven weeks. Topics included how the robot parts were manufactured, CAD designs, 3D printed components, autonomous control of a robot using pre-programmed code, as well as outreach and marketing activities. In addition, the robot was demoed by the students and visitors were able to see the robot complete challenging tasks such as balancing on a see-saw-like structure and scoring game pieces onto different levels on a shelf.
This annual showcase provided a learning opportunity for both students and parents. One parent recognized the efforts of the team as she remarked, “The Robotics Showcase was a well-organized event that brought together students, mentors and parents and provided insight to this year’s progress. The Janksters presented very well, whether it was the robot demos, small in-room focussed sessions, or the speeches on the stage. I had a great time listening and seeing the expertise they have gained this season.”
Most of all, the Robotics Showcase was an important milestone for the team. This year marked the team’s 18th season and a record high number of participants. After these seven weeks of determination and perseverance, the Janksters will be preparing for their first competition of the season, San Francisco Regional, at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School on March 18 and 19. A big thank you to all the team members for their hard work, the parents for their constant support, and our sponsors for their contributions. We cannot wait to see what happens at competitions! Go Janskters!
