Tic Tac Toe robot reveals future of technical education

By Caleb Henderson

Editor

Sitting ominously on the right side of the student center, the Tic Tac Toe robot awaits its latest challenger. 

Many have tried to defeat the robot’s hardest difficulty, but none have succeeded – and that statistic won’t change today, or anytime soon. 

Sean Martin, one of the robot’s lead designers, says it’s physically impossible to outsmart hard mode on the machine; the only possible outcome being a loss or a tie for the player. 

However, it’s the easiest mode that tends to trip up competitors the most. 

“The hard mode should not actually be beatable. The best you can do is a tie,” Martin said.

Stemming back from his days at Pinckney High School, Martin said that he has always tried his best to create new, innovative ways to get young students invested in robotics. 

The Tic Tac Toe robot is something that many have tried to perfect in an effort to get the next generation of kids involved – a more hands-on approach in contrast to the traditional presentations that most robotics programs give. 

What makes the WCC edition unique however, is the location and design: an arcade looking machine that popped up in the Student Center seemingly out of nowhere. 

“Having something that’s not necessarily in this (OE building) has brought a lot of students awareness that we exist,” Martin said. 

It was a much quicker turnaround to build than typical for most robots – the design only taking 20 hours, with the building process itself taking 60-80 hours to complete. 

The ingenious strategy thus far has been a success: an extremely positive reaction from the campus, students and faculty alike, and the most high profile project the robotics program has completed that Martin and lab technician Nathan Sprague have collaborated on. 

One of the most noticeable additions to the contraption would be the “emotes” programmed in based on the result in a given Tic Tac Toe match.

If the player wins against the robot, the contraption will hide in the corner in shame. In a neutral or draw result, the robot gives a shrug.

However, if the robot wins, the machine does a “victory dance” – a nice additional touch of personality baked into the apparatus by Sprague. 

“To be able to have something we can bring around to not only put in front of WCC students but to bring to high schools, technical centers—it connects with people in a way that just saying ‘manufacturing is cool’ doesn’t connect with people,” Sprague said. 

Bridget Donahue, a student currently majoring in Mechatronics, Robotics and Automated Systems (APMRAS), had positive things to say about her instructors Martin and Sprague as well. 

“They’re amazing. I would not have made it through the program without their help,” Donahue said. “Very knowledgeable, very supportive, always willing to help out with anything.”

The Tic Tac Toe robot serves as an effective gateway into getting the next generation of students interested in robotics – but what keeps pupils invested is programs such as FAME (Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education) that give them a direct pathway into the industry while still being enrolled in college classes. 

Over a five-semester period, students enrolled in the initiative take classes two days a week while also receiving an opportunity to work at a reputable employer the other three days, earning a competitive hourly wage while also gathering invaluable work experience for their resumes in the process. 

“The FAME program model should be just about applied to everything,” Sprague said. “Living it and not just learning it—learning is the foundation, but why can’t we build the foundation and the house at the same time?”

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