Chartiers Valley community experiences what ‘makes CV worth celebrating’

Meet Ankle Biter, the industrial-sized robot built by a group of Chartiers Valley High School students.

Its name comes from the mechanical grips installed near its base, which may be good for grabbing lower parts of legs but are solely are for the purpose of picking up objects and releasing them where they need to go.

Ankle Biter is this year’s project of Horsepower 4991, the Chartiers Valley team that participates annually in the FIRST Robotics Competition — the acronym stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” — by designing, programming and constructing machines to carry out prescribed tasks.

The students and their adult mentors have been preparing since January for FIRST’s Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition, scheduled for April 5-8 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Members of the Chartiers Valley community had a chance to see Ankle Biter in action during Celebrate CV, a March 15 event at the high school that featured a multitude of organizations, institutions and businesses, from student clubs and activities to local fire departments and food trucks.

On hand to explain how the robot functions was Horsepower 4991 member Victoria Le. The sophomore discussed Ankle Biter’s appearance, which kind of resembles a large-scale version of what youngsters of yesteryear made with Erector Set toys.

“There are two rails that we call the elevators,” she said. “There’s a horizontal arm that slides up on those vertical rails, and that is called the Y axis. Attached to those rails is the X axis, which moves front and back. And attached to the end of the X axis is the gripper.”

Suffice it to say that the robot accomplishes what it is supposed to, retrieving 9 ½-inch-wide inflated cubes and 12 ¹³⁄₁₆-inch-tall rubber marker cone, and transporting them to designated spots. Getting Ankle Biter to do so requires a combination of skills that go a long way toward furthering students’ knowledge of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and related subjects.

“Honestly, the experience in FIRST is so underappreciated,” Victoria said. “We need as many people as ever to join. It’s just so inspiring.”

Among the Horsepower 4991 mentors is Luke Radzanowski, a 2016 Chartiers Valley High School graduate and team alumnus who continues to work with today’s students.

“I like to see how much they get out of it, because it was a lot of fun for me,” he said. “I got a lot of out it. My whole family has. So helping them with it is always enjoyable.”

His sister, 2015 graduate Anne, joined Horsepower 4991 the year of its formation. Although new, the team advanced to the FIRST world championship in 2013, and her dad, Jeff Radzanowski, went along as a chaperone.

“He fell in love with it from the moment he saw it. So then I ended up joining, and when my brother got to high school, he ended up joining,” Luke said about Jack, a 2020 CV graduate. And their mother, Lisa, also serves as a robotics mentor.

In addition to Horsepower 4991 and Ankle Biter, Celebrate CV highlights included:

• Performances by the Chartiers Valley Middle School cast of “Newsies Jr.,” which will be presented April 13-15, along with primary school musicians, high school orchestra students, and the high school’s Charvalettes and majorettes.

• A demonstration of rangoli, a traditional art form of India, by Visakha Lokhende and Maithili Kadam.

• An art show with pottery demonstrations.

• Representative of Parkway West Career and Technology Center discussing trade-oriented programs and a summer camp offered by the school.

• Music by DJ Jake Locke, a talented percussionist and the drumline director at the high school.

Strong attendance from residents of the Chartiers Valley area helped the event meet its goal of showcasing “everything that makes CV worth celebrating.”

For video excerpts of Celebrate CV and more information about the school district, visit cvsd.net.