Fall Event CalendarOct 4 - Parametric Technologies software tools seminar |
Parametric Technologies SeminarSeptember 4, 2008 FIRST At the FairAugust 22, 2008 “Minnesota Madness” Stirs Up Off-Season Enthusiasm for FIRST RoboticsJuly 30, 2008 Co-hosted by Team 1816-The Green Machine, Edina; Team 2264-The Trojans, Wayzata, and Team 2220-Blue Twilight, Eagan, the teams constructed a playing field on the floor of the Eagan High School cafeteria. Also in attendance were members of Team 2177-The Robettes, Mendota Heights, and Team 2129-Ultraviolet, Minneapolis. This daylong event, held on July 22, was intended to provide friendly off-season competition. The morning was devoted to trouble-shooting robots and practicing on the field, and the afternoon was filled with two-on-two matches. By end of the day, many team members felt that their adjustments of their robots actually helped their robots run better and provided some much needed experience trouble-shooting and repairing robots. Edina Robotics Team 1816 would like to thank Team 2264-The Trojans, Wayzata, for their help planning this “mini-regional” event, as well as Team 2220-Blue Twilight, Eagan, for the use of their high school and playing field. The day was a great success and we look forward to holding more such events in the coming year! The Fighting Calculators Recap an Exciting YearJuly 14, 2008 The Other FIRST ProgramsJune 25, 2008 Join the Minnesota Regional Forum!June 1, 2008 |
WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL FIRST MINNESOTA REGIONAL WEBSITE!
Attention Teams!
If you have any photos from Minnesota FIRST events, such as Kickoff, Splash, the Scrimmage at Simley, the Regional, and would like to share them, please register for an account on the photo gallery. When registering, please put your team number as your username. Be aware that you will get an error page and not be able to log in immediately and post photos for security reasons. Registration confirmation will happen after a day or two, and you will be free to upload your photos after that.
FIRST Overdrive, this year’s game challenge, is based on the simple concept of robots racing around a 27’ x 54’ carpeted circular track. For every lap around the track each member of a three-team alliance completes, points will be added to that team’s score. Complicating matters are the four, 40-inch diameter, almost eight-pound inflatable “Trackballs” that start the match elevated 78 inches above the field on girders (the Overpass). These Trackballs can be knocked off their starting position on the Overpass, pushed around the field, and then lifted or hurdled back over the Overpass for eight points or rolled underneath for two points. Alliances that have their Trackballs firmly on the Overpass at the end of the game. The Trackballs’ inclusion in Overdrive certainly makes things a lot more interesting for teams and their robots.
Further complicating matters this year is the introduction of a new control scheme, called supervised autonomy. Replacing the true autonomous mode of previous years’ competitions, this fifteen-second “hybrid” period allows teams to either use a purely autonomous approach or mix in several preprogrammed routines that allow remote control of the robot during the phase. This hybrid period is followed by a two-minute, tele-controlled period, during which human players drive the robot using joysticks or other controllers.

