New Albany High School's robotics team is using its tech skills to bring scares to the annex building.

The NAHS Robotics Haunted House will be 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, Saturday, Oct. 21, and Oct. 27 and 28 at the New Albany-Plain Local School District's annex building, 79 N. High St.

The event will serve as a fundraiser for the robotics team, as well as a way for students to practice coding, building and problem-solving skills.

Although this is the second year the robotics team will run a haunted house, it will be the first time they will incorporate robotic controls into props on the second floor of the building, said coach Doug Jones.

The fundraiser will help the team raise the approximately $15,000 required for registration and expenses for the international FIRST Robotics Competition, Jones said. The team has 30 regular members, and a few are New Albany Middle School students.

Nishant Chittari, a 17-year-old senior, is the team captain and has served as project manager for the haunted house.

The project gives older students an opportunity to show younger ones how to work with electronics, he said.

"Everything is really coming together," Chittari said.

The team is working to build five props, Jones said. Some of the technology involves distance sensors that will trigger motors to drive contraptions to move in certain ways.

Aditya Singh, a 17-year-old senior, said he has spent time working on a microcomputer that can control motors and lights. He also has created code that turns motors on and off.

Some students don't have as much as experience doing this sort of work, "but they have really great drive to learn," Singh said.

Junior Manasa Akella, 16, said she is looking forward to seeing how patrons enjoy what she and other team members have created.

"We put a lot of effort into this," Akella said.

Admission to the haunted house is $10 or $8 by registering at tinyurl.com/na-haunted-house.

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