A small, out-of-school club that was founded five years ago by two ambitious friends — a vision of a community in which they could apply their mechanical skills and share them with the world — has now achieved success beyond their wildest dreams.
Throughout lower school, Form IV students Nate Schmelkin and Kai Kim-Suzuki were fascinated by mechanics. They loved building things in creative ways, with materials ranging from building blocks to legos, and their excitement only deepened when they joined a robotics class in fifth grade.
Combining the fields of computer science, mechanics, and engineering, robotics is one of the most demanding branches of science. It involves constructing and designing robots, and using them to perform various stunts. The pair immediately fell in love with the class, and, when they found out that it was not offered in middle school, they took matters into their own hands. In 2018, eager to pursue their passions, they decided to found their own club. This became AIM Robotics, a place where kids could learn about and practice robotics, and compete in robotics competitions.
The original team consisted of Schmelkin, Kim-Suzuki and some of their closest friends, including Daniel Blauner and Ethan Leonard. As the team became more successful, more and more members joined, most recently Amelia Kwong and Gideon Bialkin. Each member has their own title and list of responsibilities, and the team does its best to incorporate everyone’s individual talents and skills. “Everyone has a different role on the team but we all come together to create the finished product,” said team manager Ellie Usdin. “As the team manager, I’m in charge of the management and outreach department. I schedule deadlines and make sure everyone completes their tasks. I also communicate with other teams and work on the main documents submitted to competitions: the engineering portfolio and notebook.”
Leading the robot manufacturing process are Schmelkin, who is in charge of programming, and Kim-Suzuki, who is in charge of design. Daniel Blauner and Ethan Leonard drive and operate the robots in competitions, Dahlia Zemmel and Amelia Kwong are in charge of social media and outreach, Gideon Bialkin is the team scout and, last but certainly not least, Alex Hee is in charge of safety.
From left to right: Gideon Bialkin, Alex Hee, Kai Kim-Suzuki, Ethan Leonard, Ellie Usdin, Dahlia Zemmel, Daniel Blauner, Nate Schmelkin, Amelia Kwong.
The team meets 2-4 times per week, a number which increases in the weeks leading up to important competitions. Competitions are the bread and butter of any robotics team, so preparing for them takes a lot of time and effort. “The competition that we are in, FIRST Tech Challenge, entails a lot more than just building a robot,” noted Usdin. “It focuses on how we connect with our local community, how we cooperate with other teams, and how we brand our team. Everyone has different responsibilities throughout the season, and we frequently communicate with each other to make sure that we are focusing on each award category.”
On March 4, they will be competing in the New York City Finals, the largest robotics competition in the city, to which they qualified by earning first place at a separate competition earlier this month. “Last competition,” said Usdin, “we worked really hard and we able to receive the top robot score as well as the first-place Inspire Award — given to the best overall team. We are the only team in the city to win both this season. It was amazing to see all of our work come together. Each member of the team really helped in the success of our robot.”
By earning a spot in the finals, AIM Robotics have asserted their spot as one of the best teams in the city. “It feels like all of the hard work is finally paying off,” remarked Usdin. “We have worked so hard this year and watching us improve has been incredible. Looking back at old photos from when we started competing in 2020, it’s amazing to see our development and how much we have learned. I’m so excited to compete in the finals (and hopefully worlds!), and I’m really proud of the whole team coming together.”
