WEST CARLETON – West Carleton’s robotics team will be unveiling this year’s competition robot in February and then immediately put it to work.

2706 Merge Robotics is a club of robot building enthusiasts made up of team members and mentors from the west Ottawa area.

The club is unique in that it is not affiliated with any high school, as most FIRST Robotics teams are.  This provides a unique experience and a unique challenge for the team as they must fundraise their entire annual budget which is around $40,000 to $50,000.

The team has had incredible success over the years and is gearing up for a new season in 2020. The last few months have been spent building their competition robot and the are now ready to share it with the world.

“On behalf of Team 2706: Merge Robotics, I would like to extend a couple of invitations,” senior mentor and Carp resident Kendra Shaw released in a statement today (Jan. 28). “The first is to our 2020 Robot Reveal Open house to be held Feb. 26 between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. at the Beaverbrook Public Library.  Our students will be on hand to show off what they have built and learned.”

The Merge Robotics team is also taking advantage of some local competition.

“The second is arguably more exciting,” Shaw said about the other invitation. “This year, for the first time, Ottawa will be hosting a Robotics Competition at Carleton University on March 13 to 15 and we will be competing. This event is open free to the public and we encourage you to drop by and see for yourself the excitement that is FIRST. Reach out and we will ensure that one of students shows you around.”

Merge Robotics relies on the support of the west Ottawa community including West Carleton where many of the team members reside. Not only does the team need funding for travel expenses and equipment, Merge needs two spaces with which to build its competition robot – a ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ build space.

“A lot has happened in our 2019 season, and our team has seen wonderful growth,” Shaw said. “We now have a permanent shop space for our design and fabrication team. We have also gained many great new team members, both students and mentors. We had an amazing competition season, attending three events, and making our way to the quarterfinals at every event. Once again, Thank You for your support. Without your help, we could not provide this opportunity. If you are interested in supporting us this year, please contact mentor Kendra Shaw (Kendra_Shaw01@hotmail.com).”