Thomas County Middle School fifth grade student Saathvik Ankarapu recently placed third in the state in robotics in the Georgia Student Technology Competition.  Ankarapu built a robot that can deliver warehouse packages using a color-coded system.  “First, I built the robot that only had a claw in the back.  Then I made it so that it could hold deliveries in the back and front,” Ankarapu said.  

The in-person state technology competition was cancelled at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.  Competitors were given the option to submit their project to judges via video submissions.  Ankarapu said, “I’d already started my robot, so I decided I would make the video and continue to compete.” 

The project was completed as a part of Mrs. Tammy Sharpe’s coding and engineering MERIT class at TCMS. “Saathvik has worked so hard.  I am proud of the work he has done on the project.  He built and programmed a robot for an unmanned warehouse.  The robot has a color sensor to detect a certain type of package and uses conditional programming to deliver the package to the correct location in the warehouse,” Sharpe said.

“I like robotics,” Ankarpu said.  “It’s fun because you can be hands-on and use the computer, too.”  He also added, “I would like to thank Mrs. Sharpe because she let me take the robotics kit home.  She helped me with suggestions to figure out my problems on my own.”

GaSTC is a statewide technology competition where students in grades 3-12 compete in a variety of technology categories. Ankarapu was able to compete in the state competition after winning first place at the regional competition in Bainbridge in January.