Teen robot builder to take on world's best

Rhys Lewis is heading to Dallas for the VEX V5 Robotics World Championship in May with Quasar the robot. Photo: Geoff Sloan

Christchurch student Rhys Lewis is set to fly to the United States next Saturday to take on the world’s top young robotics experts.

The 17-year-old from Papanui will take part in the Vex V5 Robotics World Championship high school competition in Dallas, Texas, from May 6-8.

“It is pretty cool – it has been the goal to get to the worlds.”

St Mark’s School robotics team

Rhys and his teammate Alex Griffin are students at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery.

Under their team name Maverick, they designed, built and programmed Quasar, the game-playing robot, over the past year.

Quasar is an expert at the game High Stakes, which involves picking up coloured plastic rings and using them to score goals over a two-minute period.

Rhys and Alex have competed in local scrimmages and dedicated many hours to perfecting their robot.

Quasar has been programmed to play the game High Stakes using coloured plastic rings. Photo: Geoff Sloan

Rhys said competing against teams from the United States and China will be vastly different because of the level of investment those countries put into robotics.

"The USA and Chinese teams, to them, these are full sports. Robotics have similar clout to rugby teams over here.”

Rhys said the robotics community in Christchurch is small but supportive.

“It is a tight-knit community, we were borrowing a field to practice on and now we are about to compete and compare ourselves against 800 teams of the best of other countries.”

The starting point to build a robot was about $3000, Rhys said.

Rhys Lewis and Alex Griffin. Photo: Geoff Sloan

Alex has only been involved in robotics competitions for one season so far and says making the world champs was a proud milestone.

"In my first season to make worlds is an achievement in itself. It is quite exciting.

"There are only two teams from the South Island going over and they’re both from Canterbury," Alex said.

Said Rhys: "No matter where you place, you are in the top 5%."

The pair are both set to fly out to Texas on Saturday, May 3.

To help team Maverick in the US, visit their Givealittle page