Minnesota FIRST Community News
Minnesota Teams Have a Blast at the Championships! - By Greg B.
It was an exciting weekend for FIRST, and for Minnesota FRC teams in particular, as the FIRST World Championships rocked Atlanta’s Georgia Dome April 17th -19th. Among the 340-plus robotics teams in attendance, an all-time high of four hailed from Minnesota, an indication of how explosive FIRST growth has been recently in the state.
The four teams from Minnesota were Team 1816-The Green Machine, Edina High School, Edina, the Minnesota Regional Chairman’s Award winner; Team 2549-Millerbots, Washburn High School, Minneapolis, Wisconsin Regional Champions; Team 2472-RoboSapiens, Centennial High School, Circle Pines, who took home the Rookie Inspiration Award from the Minnesota Regional, and Team 2518-Spartans of St. Jude, Simley High School, Inver Grove Heights, champs at the Minnesota Regional.
Seeing as three of the four Minnesota teams in Atlanta were rookies this year, and hadn’t had a chance to make it to the Championships before, it was quite a shock for them to see the scale of everything in Atlanta compared to the regionals. “Well, it’s all a lot bigger here,” commented one of the Washburn students. It certainly was, with four game fields set up on the floor of the giant Georgia Dome, and the pits a good five to 10 minute walk away in one of the four huge conference halls that served as infrastructure for the 1996 Olympics!
With the larger scale of everything also came more larger-scale competition. After getting to see the practice rounds on Thursday, April 17, Simley Team Captain Zack noted “the competition is definitely a lot stiffer here.” In addition to all the great robots, there were more teams competing for just a few top slots. There were more than 80 teams in each division, competing for only 24 elimination round slots, versus only 50-to-60 robots vying for those same 24 spots at each regional.
Unfortunately, none of the Minnesota teams made it out of the Friday and Saturday morning qualification matches, even those posting decent records. Edina, Simley, and Circle Pines all finished 4-3, with Washburn coming in at 2-5. Even with the disappointment of not moving on, the teams were not rattled. “Even though we didn’t get picked I’m not angry at all. We took what we got and tried our hardest,” said Devin, a senior on Washburn’s Millerbots. He added, “This was a great experience, I’m definitely going to come back and try (to) mentor a team.” Just being “in the house” was reason enough to justify making travel plans at the last possible moment. “Getting to see all the teams on Einstein (the field where the final rounds take place) was a privilege and an inspiration, and I hope we get to come back next year,” said a student from Team 1816.
With a possible double-regional in the works for next year, it’s almost a sure bet that more Minnesota teams will get a chance to go to Atlanta in 2009!
Mentor and Leader Forum
April 12, 2008 - FIRST Robotics mentors and leaders, please plan to join your fellow mentors for an evening of lively post-competition discussion. In 2007, a very successful post-competition meeting covered what worked, what didn't, and teams’ plans for the summer and fall. Once again, we'll hold a forum for team leaders and mentors: Monday, May 5, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Room 3-230 in the Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Building, University of Minnesota campus. This is an open discussion with only moderate structure, so bring your ideas. Questions? Contact Mark Lawrence, mark56821@aol.com.
FIRST Minnesota Regional Takes March Madness To New Level
By Greg B. -- March 29, 2008 -- Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved in the inaugural FIRST Minnesota Regional, which concluded Saturday March 29 after three intense days of competition, excitement, and gracious professionalism. The effort that everyone put forward in organizing, volunteering, competing, and attending made it a truly memorable first-FIRST regional!
Especially notable were the performances of the 54 attending teams and their robots, which really helped make the competition exciting. Of these, none stand out more then the three teams that comprised the winning alliance: Team 525-Swart-Dogs, Cedar Falls, IA; Team 93-New Apple Corp., Appleton, WI; and Team 2518-Simley High School, Inver Grove Heights, MN. These three teams really put the “over” into this year’s FIRST Overdrive, with their well-engineered robots and elegant game-strategy. Making them work hard for the title, however, was the Regional Finalists alliance, which feature three Minnesota teams: Team 2239-Technocrats, Hopkins High School, Hopkins, Minn.; Team 2177-The Robettes, Convent of the Visitation High School, Mendota Heights, and Team 2513-T.E.R.T.O.L.A., Thomas Edison High School, Minneapolis. Thank you to all the participating teams for exemplifying the FIRST spirit throughout the competition.
Teams also earned awards off the competition field. A wave of the checkered flag to Team 2220-Blue Twilight, Eagan High School, Eagan, MN, which picked up a second “Best Website” award, adding Minnesota to the Wisconsin Regional win. Team 1987-Broncobots of Lee’s Summit, MO, took home the “Regional Engineering Inspiration” award, which recognizes a team which has had “outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school and community.” Congratulations also to Team 1816-The Green Machine, Edina High School, Edina, MN, on winning the most prestigious regional honor, the “Regional Chairman’s Award.” This award “honors the team judged to have created the best partnership effort among team participants, and to have best exemplified the true meaning of FIRST. The award helps keep the central focus of the FIRST Robotics Competition on the goal of inspiring greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology.
On top of the teams that win the competition proper, teams that win the awards for “Engineering Inspiration,” “Rookie All-Star” and “Regional Chairman’s Award” are also now headed to the Championship Competition, April 17 – 19, 2008, in Atlanta, GA. Best wishes and good luck to all the 340-plus teams now planning to attend the Championships in Atlanta; we hope to see you again next year for the 2009 Minnesota FIRST Regional Competition!
Minnesota FIRST Rookies Make it a “3-Peat” At Wisconsin Regional
For the third year in a row, a Minnesota FIRST rookie team drove out of the Wisconsin Regional as winner of the regional competition. Congratulations to Team 2549-The Millerbots of Washburn High School, Minneapolis, for forming the 2008 winning alliance with Team 2062-C.O.R.E., Waukesha, Wisc., and Team 171-Extreme Engineering of Platteville, Wisc. It was a battle to the finish line of FIRST Overdrive, however, as the third-seeded alliance had to overcome stiff competition from another Minnesota FIRST team, Team 2169-KingTech of Prior Lake High School, Savage, Minn. KingTec, which won the Wisconsin Regional in 2007 as a rookie team, formed the fourth-seeded alliance with Team 93-New Apple Corps, Appleton, Wisc., and Team 1652-The Robot Mafia, Pleasant Prairie, Wisc. To see Washburn and Prior Lake in action, please click here.
Minnesota teams also earned other top honors at the competition. Team 2574-RoboHuskies, St. Anthony High School, St. Anthony Village, earned the "Highest Rookie Seed" award for being the rookie team that finished highest (seeded ninth) in the round-robin matches. Team 2220-Blue Twilight, Eagan High School, Eagan, Minn., second-year veterans, won the 2008 Wisconsin Regional Website award. For complete results, please visit the Wisconsin Regional website.
In all, 14 Minnesota teams competed in the 2008 WI Regional. Of that, six Minnesota teams, including Team 1816-The Green Machine, Edina; Team 2545-High Jumps, Columbia Heights; Team 2530-Inconceivable, Rochester, Minn., went on to compete in the elimination rounds.
Many of the Wisconsin Regional contenders are already packing their bags for the Minnesota Regional. Teams readying their strategies and game plans include: Team 2169-KingTec; Team 1816-The Green Machine; Team 2220-Blue Twilight, as well as Team 2194-Fondy Fire, Fond du Lac, Wisc.,and Team 93-New Apple Corps, Wisconsin Regional finalists and recipient of the “Regional Engineering Inspiration” award.
Thomas Edison High School Earns First Honors At “Rookie” Regional
March 12, 2008 – FRC Team 2513-Thomas Edison High School, Minneapolis, took first-place honors as part of the winning three-team alliance in FIRST’s “Michigan District Rookie Competition” pilot tournament, held March 7-8 at Kettering University, Flint, Mich. At this mini-regional, 36 rookie teams competed in their first-ever competition in a scaled-down version of a FIRST Overdrive Regional competition. FIRST decided to put on this rookie event to give first-year teams a taste of competition and to have them receive valuable advice from the dozen or so veteran teams on hand to mentor, but not compete. In addition, because most rookie teams are so busy figuring out how to build a robot, few have time to fundraise seriously to be able to attend multiple regional events. FIRST wanted to be able to get them more competition time, and the Rookie Regional appears to have succeeded! Congratulations to Team 2513-Thomas Edison High School; Team 2609, Crusader-Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and Team 2619- H.H. Dow High School, Midland, Mich., for winning this inaugural event!
Ready for the Regional
February 24, 2008 – Robotics teams are revving up their cheers, printing team t-shirts and put the finishing touches on strategy as FIRST Overdrive zooms full-speed ahead into Williams Arena March 27- 29. There, more than a thousand high school students, mentors and volunteers from 54 FIRST Robotics teams from around the Midwest will be ready to take their robot to the limit during the first annual FIRST Minnesota Regional competition. All events are free and open to the public! Starting on Thursday, March 27th, FIRST teams set up their workstations (pits) at the University of Minnesota’s Sports Pavilion, unpacking robots, going through inspection, and taking a few practice spins around the track. The non-stop action of the qualifying rounds will begin in earnest at 9:30 AM Friday morning. For eight continuous hours on Friday -- and an additional three on Saturday morning -- spectators can watch teams compete for the highest possible score in the hopes that they can lay claim to becoming one of eight top seeds. These top eight teams will have the privilege of choosing their two alliance partners for the elimination rounds. Only with a combination of mechanical brilliance, strategic analysis, and sheer audacity can a team hope to lead their alliance to victory!
And… We’re Off To The Races! By Greg B.
January 7, 2008 -- After months of anticipation, and few weeks of puzzling over game clues, the 2008 FIRST Robotics Competition Season finally kicked off Saturday January 5th with the unveiling of the new game challenge: FIRST Overdrive. In Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Union, more than 60 teams and 700 people were on hand to view the live NASA TV broadcast from Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, N.H., home of FIRST’s headquarters.
Prior to the morning’s feature segment though, there were a number of proceedings that took place. After team check-in and registration, attendees gathered for the videotaping of a special “Greetings from Minnesota!” message, which was promptly emailed to FIRST for airing during the broadcast (the kickoff was also available via webcast). Joe Passafaro, head mentor for Team 2169, KING TEC, Prior Lake, Minn., then officially opened the gathering with a few words, then handed off to Steven L. Crouch, Dean of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology, which houses the school’s engineering, mathematics and physical sciences departments. Dean Crouch expressed his pleasure at having the opportunity to host the FIRST Minnesota kickoff, and welcome attendees onto the campus of the university.
Next up was Tim Jump, science teacher and the head of Benilde-St. Margaret’s Robotics Team. Mr. Jump delivered his riveting “Keep It Simple” speech, in which he claimed that rookies, most of all, are best-positioned for a great season. “You rookies have a great advantage because no one expects anything of you,” he said. :”If you have a box on wheels and all you can do is run around and annoy people, you’re having a great time!” Second and third-year teams, he says “are doooooomed” unless they continue to keep their robots focused on accomplishing one task really well. Mr. Jump also recommended a number of good safety practices, including a reminder to mentors to “have a fire extinguisher handy” at all times and to stock up on Band-Aids.
Then, at the stroke of 9 AM (Central Standard Time), the webcast began. At last, it was time for the game to be revealed. Well, almost time. First, many of the FIRST notables, including Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST, and Dr. Woodie Flowers, FIRST advisor, made presentations. Mr. Kamen, as per tradition, gave out his yearly homework assignment. The task this year is to attract as much good media coverage as possible, in order to fulfill the goal of filling the regional venues -- including the new FIRST Minnesota Regional -- with more people that don’t already have a family connection with FIRST.
After those words and more, the actual game explanation commenced. This year’s game, FIRST Overdrive, places alliances of three robots apiece around a circular track. These alliances will race around the track as fast as they can while knocking down ten-pound, 40” inflated “Trackballs” and moving them around the track as well. These Trackballs can be passed either over or under the 6’6” overpass. Robots can knock these Trackballs down, herd them around the track, and raise them back up to the overpass to score additional bonus points if the balls are back on the overpass before the end of the two minute 15-second match period.
A new development this year is the concept of a supervised autonomy period to start each match. Replacing the true autonomous mode of previous years competitions, this fifteen-second “hybrid” period allows teams to use a purely autonomous approach or mix in several preprogrammed routines that allows remote control of the robot during the phase. Directly after this hybrid period, is a two-minute period during which human players drive the robot using joysticks or other controllers.
At the Minnesota kickoff, as well as the other 48 local kickoff sites, all teams present could view this year’s game field for the first time and received a common kit of parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, and a mix of automation components. No manual, of course, was included. It’s up to each team, working with mentors, to design, build and test their robots to meet this year’s engineering challenge.
This year’s FIRST Overdrive looks to be original and exciting, and we can’t wait to see it played out during the regionals!
Five Minnesota Teams Receive NASA Challenge, Funding By Greg B.
Congratulations to the five Minnesota teams that have received NASA grants as part of the NASA Robotics Alliance Project for the 2008 build season. The $6,000 grant pays for the kit of parts received at the beginning of the build season, and entry into a specific regional event. In short, this NASA grant helps to provide the funds to cover all the basic start-up costs of running a robotics team. Likewise, these grants go to help rookie and second year teams get off the ground. To become eligible, teams must be registered with FIRST and submit an application. Upon receiving the funding, a team must also fulfill a few conditions to stay within the terms of the grant. This includes having each student fill out a NASA questionnaire at the beginning and end of the competition season, as well as completing a Chairman’s Award submission detailing their efforts to spread the word of FIRST. Congratulations again to Southwest High School (Team 2129, Ultraviolet), Minneapolis; Studio Academy Charter High School (Team 2488); Rochester, MN; Columbia Heights High School (Team 2545), Columbia Heights, MN; Washburn High School (Team 2549), Minneapolis, and Duluth East High School (Team 2512), Duluth, MN. Good luck to all this season!
FIRST Unveils Team Resources: For Teams, By Teams
One of the most difficult things about starting up a new FIRST Robotics team is figuring out not only how to build a robot in six short weeks, but how to find mentors, how to find corporate sponsors, and what to expect when your team arrives at a regional competition.
To answer these and other pressing questions, FIRST turned to the best resource it could find: its own teams! Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816, The Green Machine is one of 20 teams taking part in a new initiative called the FIRST President’s Circle. These teams are working with FIRST throughout the 2008 season to identify and develop resources for start-up teams to grow into successful, long-term robotics teams. These pages include listings of the top websites new FIRST teams should visit; suggestions on where teams can begin the search for financial support, and a catalog of “must have” resources.
Participants in the President’s Circle were selected after submitting a two-minute video aimed at inspiring, recruiting, and mentoring new teams. The Green Machine was the first team to upload a President’s Circle submission video to the FIRST Channel on YouTube in May. This video, produced and edited by team members, illustrated The Green Machine’s involvement with the start-up of seven rookie teams in 2007.
Teams participating in the 2007 FIRST President's Circle include: The Green Machine, Team 1816; Raider Robotix, Team 25; Team RUSH, Team 27; TeknoKats, Team 45; Team Hammond, Team 71; The Navigators, Team 79; Pink Team, Team 233; Techno Ticks, Team 236; The CIA, Team 291; Starbot, Team 337; Churchville-Chili FIRST, Team 340; Miss Daisy, Team 341; MOE, Team 365; Midnight Mechanics, Team 812; Falcon Robotics, Team 842; Simbots, Team 1114; Eagle Engineering, Team 1138; Xaviermania, Team 1846; Apple Pi, Team 2067, and Panteras, Team 2283.