Earlier this week, Viperbots teams 6209 Venom and 6299 QuadX went to tour the software companies Dell and Ping.

“We learned how they connect with other companies and encode the passwords so the software is less hackable,” 6209 member and freshman Kim Tan said. “We got to see how they run the computers and their quality control.”

In previous years, the robotics teams have had guest speakers from different companies come to Vandegrift to speak to the team. This is the first year they have had an opportunity to go to their facilities and get an insight on what they accomplish.

“At Dell, we were looking at real world applications of industry practices, like using 3D printing and CNC routing,” 6209 assistant project manager and senior Ryan Radloff said. “Dell was very interesting, I would definitely go back.”

At the end of the tour, the robotics teams presented to the employees at Dell with a powerpoint explaining their robot and what they do.

“Dell had a whole bunch of different sections, including a design section, where they make alienware,” Tan said. “I loved touring Dell, it was very helpful!”

Viperbots is in the middle of competition season, and currently holds 9th place in the metro league and 128th in the world.

“This is one of the largest organizations in the world,” Tan said. “We’re very privileged to have the materials that we have and the mentors and teachers provided here at Vandegrift.”