Whirring motors and clanking metal are sounds all too familiar to members of Bengal Bots, a club designed to help students gain experience in the field of robotics.
The club is run by president Marc Hebert, a senior computer engineering major. Marc joined the club due to his interest in robotics, and working with the club eventually caused him to shift from a music degree to engineering.
“I probably perceived [robotics] pretty similar to how anyone else would perceive it, just thinking it’s like an interesting thing that’s probably too complex for me to understand,” Hebert said. “But, you know, I’ll try to go learn some about it anyway. Over the years I just stuck with it.”
While Hebert joined the club because of his interest in robotics, he stayed for the community.
“I don’t know if I would have stuck with robotics if I wasn’t enjoying the other people I was around, we get tons of different people that come in every year,” said Hebert. “We have different backgrounds, but we’re all coming together to work towards our common goals”
The club welcomes students from all majors and levels of experience. There’s no expectation of prior robotics knowledge; people are free to come just to learn about the hobby.
“It’s a very welcoming environment. Nobody’s gonna sit here and grill you for not knowing. It’s almost like a mentor ordeal,” said Jai Bergeron, the club’s social media manager. “It was a really good way to expose myself to unfamiliar environments that are gonna benefit me later on in my career path.”
Remy Angelle, the marine robotics division leader, attested to the sense of community the club provides: “It’s people who have a common interest and just want to learn more about other fields, hang out, gain experience, learn about teamwork.”
The club is split into four divisions: combat robotics, marine robotics, VexU, and research and development.
Combat Robotics is what the club is best known for, with engineers creating robots to compete in the Bengal Bot Brawl each semester. Club members raved about last year’s build, Steve — a robot built with a steel pickaxe to smash other robots.
Marine robotics works to create underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, for a competition called MATE, standing for Marine Advanced Technology Education. The competition features teams from across the country competing with their robots completing tasks beneath the waves.
VexU is a competition in which robots are designed to complete games such as pushing blocks into goal areas, with both autonomous and driver-controlled segments.
Lastly, research and development gives members a chance to design robots without tailoring them to the demands of a competition.
“In some ways it can be one of the most interesting divisions,” Hebert observed. “Even though you don’t have a competition you’re working towards, you can come in, and it can basically be anything that you imagine. We can make it come to fruition.”
Grateful for his time in the club, Hebert said that he wants to help others develop a passion for robotics through Bengal Bots.
“I really want to make this club be a place where anyone can have the experience that I had and be able to take full advantage of it,” he explained. “They should join whether they want to make something cool or practice their engineering experience, even if they’re not an engineer and just want to learn more about robotics.”
