We left Rochester Hills Wednesday morning, pumped for an intense competition and an overall mind-blowing exhibition of science and technology. The bus ride was a lengthy 10 hours, but it was a fun day of talking, laughing, and, of course, doing homework! We arrived at our hotel at around 6 on Wednesday night, and before sleeping in preparation for the long weekend ahead we ate dinner, swam in the hotel pool, and settled in to our rooms.

On Thursday we woke up bright and early for the first day of competition, and arrived at the dome around 8 o’clock. Since matches didn’t start until 1 (apart from some practice matches), we had time to visit the pits and attend some presentations. There was, as always, some great swag in the pits and we were able to talk to some great people from the hundreds of teams as well as dozens of representatives from companies & colleges who were there. Many different activities were available this year around the pits & in the dome, from a practice defibrillator to a photo-to-button booth to the awesome “Ultimate Orafice” game. Some of us also went to see an awesome Chairman’s panel presentation by some of the teams that had won the Championship Chairman’s Award in the past.

At 1:00, the games for the Galileo district started and we were first up. Alongside teams 4627 and 2834, we started our Championship strong with a win of 125-79 against teams 2175, 4158, and 4452. By the end of the qualification rounds, we had won 6 games and lost 2, putting us at 11th position for alliance selection.

During alliance selection, we were bumped up to captain the #8 alliance, and we chose teams 27 and 1732 to join us.

In our first elimination match we were, admittedly, the underdogs- facing the #1 seeded alliance comprised of teams 118, the first seed, 1114, the second seed, and 4039, the 23rd seed. In the first match we lost 213-170. However, we were extremely excited when we won our second game 166-148 thanks to some awesome defense. We gave the #1 alliance a run for their money in the third match also, but unfortunately we lost it by  record-breaking score of 288-186. The game was full of technical fouls as well as great shooting and defense, and we are glad to have gone out on such an intensely memorable game.

After being eliminated, we moved to Galileo to get ready for what were to be some of the most exciting finals matches we’d ever seen. Two of our closest teams, 469 and 33, who compete with us in OCCRA as well as in the Michigan FIRST competitions, managed to make it to the finals alongside team 1519, and we were glad to see two excellent Michigan teams make it all the way. Unfortunately, the lost the final, but their achievement was still exceptional. In the end, teams 610, 1477, and 1241, who had won our division, were crowned the 2013 FIRST champions. It had been an ascent into awesomeness, that’s for sure.

The awards between finals matches ended a superb FIRST season. We were thrilled to see our sister team in Mexico, team LamBot 3478, take home the Engineering Inspiration Award. They definitely deserved it and we are happy to have such a close relationship with such a committed and spirited team. We hope to see them back at the Championship again next year.

Though the FIRST season is over, we are continuing to work in preparation for Relay for Life and our off-season events such as IRI. Stay tuned for wrap-up videos for the season within the next few weeks.

Make sure to check out our photo gallery from Worlds!

The Michigan State Championship was a great ending to an astonishing season of FIRST competitions in Michigan. Every team that was there performed to their fullest and the spirit was spectacular. There were some awesome mascots, from a dragon to a flash of lightning, and the noise of cheering was at one of the highest levels yet in this very exciting season. Match scores were high, with many over 200 and, in the first of two quarter-final matches which we lost, a point difference of only 1!

Congratulations are in order to teams 217,469, and 3539 for winning the elimination matches and becoming co-champions of the 2013 Michigan State Championship. They played some great Ultimate Ascent and will be 3 of the teams to watch come World Championships next week.

We are very happy to have made it as far as we did in such a rigorous competition, and will be hoping to place even better next week in St. Louis, even though doing so would mean getting past dozens of top-quality teams with some seriously well-designed robots. It’s no doubt that at Worlds we’ll see some superb shooting, crazy climbing and perhaps even some new high scores.

Our experience at States was made even better by an appearance by Michigan governor Rick Snyder, and by our winning of the  Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors. It’s a nice recognition of the hard work that our design and build teams did in producing the robot.

As previously mentioned, we will be competing in the World Championships in St.Louis, Missouri this week from Thursday till Saturday. Watch for Persephone in the Galileo division, along with Michigan teams 27, 70, 2000, 2337, 2474, 2834, 3641 and 3656,  and see team 3478, the LamBots, compete in Archimedes! Every member of our team is excited for the great competition ahead and we wish good luck to every team competing.

For a gallery of pictures from States, click here.

Co-written by Kait Whitfoot.

This past Friday and Saturday, the AdamBots competed in their second Michigan District and third FIRST competition of the year, the Troy District at Troy Athens High School in Troy, Michigan. It was a very intense competition and the outcome was great, as we won the Quality Award and the finals, taking home champions medals along with teams 469 and 4377!

We arrived on Friday knowing that the Troy District would be a competitive one. There were lots of great robots with many different designs- from robots that could shoot all the way across the field such as 67′s bot to tall robots such as 4377′s that are designed specifically to block excellent shooters such as 67′s. But, after winning a regional and placing as a finalist in a district, we were confident that we could put up a good fight in Troy.

The qualification matches were exciting, with an exhibition of many different robots of all shapes and sizes and with different abilities. We saw many 30- and even 50-point climbs and multiple games with scores in the 100s. By the end, we were ranked 5th with 9 wins and 3 losses. For the elimination rounds, we were picked by the second-ranked team, 469, Las Guerrillas from International Academy, to join the second alliance, and our alliance was rounded out by team 4377, Boyne City Blaze.

The elimination matches were exciting, with all but 2 finishing with over-100 point scores for at least one alliance. The #1 alliance, with teams 3539, 67, and 4810, almost broke the 200-point barrier, with a score of 199-104 in one of their quarter finals matches! We won our first quarter final match 155-81 and our second 160-84, knocking out the #7 alliance and moving to the semi-finals. We then won the semi-finals 160-64 and 147-92, making it all the way to the finals!

The finals matches were some of the most intense robotics matches we’d ever seen, with discs flying back-and-forth, excellent defense, and full-court shots and climbing from both alliances. In one of the best victories so far this season, we won our first finals match 175-95, and took home the title after winning the second match 140-91. The finals were true exhibitions of what makes FIRST robotics competitions great- they were exciting with awesome robots on both alliances playing Ultimate Ascent with superb shooting and tenacious defense.  They definitely got us pumped for further games at the Michigan State Championship and the World Championship in St. Louis, both which we have qualified for.

The competition was finished off by the usual award ceremony, which was especially great for us as we got not just first place medals but also the Quality Award as well! We were truly honored to receive the award, which is given to a team with an efficient and well-organized robotics program that exemplifies a quality FIRST team.

See you all at Michigan States next week, and at the World Championship in St Louis at the end of the month!

Click here for the gallery of images from the Troy Event. 

Coming from a win at the Palmetto Regional, we were excited to try our chances in a Michigan District event, especially one that got as competitive as the Grand Blanc District. We saw many awesome robot designs there, from climbers to shooters to robots that could both hang and shoot, and it was a thrilling competition. By the end of qualification rounds, after 12 intense matches, we were ranked 6th overall. We were eventually picked as the 2nd robot in the 2nd alliance, led by team 2619, the Charge, who also picked team 3302, the Turbo Trojans, to finish the alliance.

The elimination rounds were excellent, with high scoring from all around and some great shooting and ascending. We won both the quarter- and semi-finals and were extremely excited to have made it to the final, where we faced teams 33, 1718, and 247 in two very exhilarating matches. Unfortunately we lost both games, but they were close and both alliances played some great Ultimate Ascent. We were extremely happy to be named runners-up at the award ceremony, and are excited to see some more excellent Michigan teams compete next week when we go to the always competitive Troy district event.

As well as being finalists, we were also the winners of the Entrepreneurship Award, which was awarded for our team organization and business plan, which was presented to judges by our pit talker Joe Bolewitz. Mentor Rick Drummer and Safety Captain/ Climbing Team Leader Andrew McBride  and Controls Team Leader/Drive Team Coach Jason Merlo were also nominated for the Woodie Flowers Award and the Dean’s List Award, respectively. We also gave out some awards of our own, “duck awards” which we gave to teams who showed awesome spirit, had great swag, buttons, mascots, and t-shirts, and danced the most awesome dance moves, among other categories. We also had fun trying out our new inflatable duck beachball. 

The Grand Blanc District Event was, overall, a great competition- our robot and drive team did an excellent job, we won two awards and we had a great time as around 50 of our students attended either one or both of the days.

See you at the Troy District competition next week, and stay tuned for more AdamBots updates!

View pictures from the district event here.

At 4 pm on Tuesday February 27, 2013, the AdamBots left for their first competition of the 2013 FIRST season, the Palmetto Regional, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

On Wednesday night we arrived at the hotel and had dinner on the boardwalk near the hotel. The next day we went to the convention center to watch the practice matches.  At lunch time, the majority of the students on the trip went out for lunch. They were given 4 hours and most of them went to the beach to play in the water, write the team number in the sand, and collect seashells.

On Friday, the qualification matches began. We lost the first match but we came back and won the next two.  In all, we won six and lost two matches. We had to replay one of their matches because of a technical issue.  We were selected by team 11, Team M.O.R.T., in the 3rd alliance slot.  Together, we selected team 2187, Team Volt.  As an alliance, we won our quarter-final matches, semi-final matches, and finally, the finals matches.  We also held the highest scores of the competition as well as the highest score in the world (for a time), 166 points. This was a very successful competition for the AdamBots, Team M.O.R.T., and Team Volt.  It was also a learning experience for all in attendance and a great way to see Ultimate Ascent in action for the first time.

See us in our next regional in Grand Blanc!

Watch elimination matches from Myrtle Beach here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgIkJ2WBVf3WomLTksm1m-aTFuA7hlL91

We decided to build two robots: one to take to the competition, and one to practice with once the competition bot is bagged. We built the practice robot first so we could figure out any problems that needed to be fixed when we build the final robot.Luckily, by this Saturday, the first robot was almost done, and the chassis for the second was almost complete. Throughout the weekend and on Monday and Tuesday, which were days off school, we have been hard at work to complete and then test both robots.

The Chassis Team are basically done with their work, as both chassis have been made. They have been helping other teams complete their building.

The Climbing Team are practically done with the CAD and, despite a few roadblocks, are making good progress on their build.

The Shooter Team have finished both shooters. They tested the second shooter, using the Field Team‘s goals, with much success, on Saturday.

The Programming Team and Controls Team have been busy testing the code for this year’s robot and finishing the control board, respectively.

This week the Marketing Team focused on creating the commercial that the team is going to put in the pits. They started shooting on Saturday and have most of the video done. next, the marketing team started designing/creating the decals for the robot so that it will be read before bag and tag day. Finally, they updated their sponsor poster that is going to be put in the pit.board, respectively.

The Digital Media Team and Business Plan Team have been working to have their respective documents ready to be uploaded on STIMS, with their deadlines both fast approaching. Both have made good progress.

The Scouting Team finished this year’s scouting sheet.

This week was a busy one, with meetings every day as well as a team photo shoot on Saturday. We also had additional team photos taken for the Rochester “Community First” Award, which honors groups that give back to the local community.

All the sub-teams have been working diligently to  fulfill their goals.

The Chassis Team have started working on a chassis for the second robot, which we will use to practice and will fully build once the main robot is complete.

The Disc Shooter Team has finished the first shooter and has currently been working on mounting it to the chassis. As they continue to work with the Disc Acquisition Team, both teams are figuring how they will fit together on the completed robot, keeping in mind how they will place motors and the camera. As the current task finishes up, they will most likely move on to making a second shooter, testing the current one, and continuing to work with Disc Acquisition.

The Climbing Team have finished working on their CAD, and have done some testing. They will be working endlessly in coming days to finish putting their mechanism on the robot in order to be ready in time for bag-and-tag.

Over the past week, the Programming Team has been finishing the overall structure for the robot code. The behavior classes which control shooting, driving, and targeting have been completed along with the logic classes which control climbing and image processing. The drive code has been completed along with the dashboard. Data logging has been implemented and the cRIO board has been tested for each of its motors. They have worked alongside the Controls Team to make sure everything that will be put on the robot works and can be controlled. A lot of time over the weekend was spent testing the camera and sensors with the pained goals made by the Field Team.

The CAD Team worked all week to finish all of the computer drawings of the components of the robot. Due to the tireless work of the team, most of the CAD is now complete.

The Scouting Team has nearly finished their design for a scouting sheet, which they will use at competitions to keep track of the progress of other teams in order to form strategic alliances if we make it to elimination rounds.

This week the Marketing Team prepared to set up the pit for the Palmetto Regional that is coming up. They checked that each part was present, and made sure to take note of what was missing. Furthermore, they started to brainstorm and design the commercial that will be put in our pit. Also, they began cleaning the parts in the pit to make it to look neater for competitions.

The Business Plan Team worked on making last-minute adjustments to the plan and making sure everything was completely up-to-date for when the plan is sent in this week. Those who have been chosen to present to judges in pits also practiced this week. 

The Digital Media and Photo and Video Teams have been working on updating the website and organizing the new student profile pages and the photo galleries. Unfortunately, we have decided to postpone our podcast ideas indefinitely as we want to prioritize on making our website as current and as high-quality as possible.

The Animation Team has been learning practicing some animation skills.

To say the least, our fourth week of build was a hectic one. Going into it, we seemed to be on time with deadlines for CADing and building, but on Monday we had a snow day. As fun as snow days are, it turned out to be bittersweet as we were unable to work on our robot at school that day and as such we were very short on time for the rest of the week. Still, progress was made by every team and we should be able to adjust and complete our goals as the build season nears its deadline.

Here are the progressions from the sub-teams this week:

The Chassis Team has finished their first chassis, weighing only 41 pounds! They’ve finished making the transmissions, and started placing bumpers on it. The second chassis is placed on hold until the other teams finish.

Despite the temporary lull, the Climbing Mechanism Team began construction and already has the primary components for the mechanism ready. Although the team has its parts prepared, it is awaiting a finalized design for the robot in order to affirm the mechanism’s exact placement. The transmissions and motors are prepared, so the preliminary trials of the device have begun, starting with basic trials on Saturday.

After some great success with the prototype shooter, the Disc Shooter Team has started building the real shooter with the same design, except for a few small modifications. On Saturday, they started by cutting all the pieces and drilling the necessary holes in them. Since then, they’ve been assembling it. Very soon, the shooter should be finished and the disc shooter team will begin on building a second one.

The CAD Team is finishing the parts for the shooter and disc acquisition systems on the robot. Because details are still being worked out on these, the computer assembly is not yet finished, although major components are entirely or very nearly finished.

Unfortunately, the Disc Pickup Team has had problems this week with getting their system to be compatible with the rest of the robot. Hopefully, we can get our pickup design finalized and built as momentum builds.

The Programming Team has continued to work on image processing, employing a new method which identifies the retroreflective targets through the use of high-power green LED lights. Programming is developing “fancy” classes for intelligent interfaces with the robot’s sensors and motors and mapping out the arrangement of the main classes’ interactions. The sub-team has also developed a script to help automate the documentation of the robot’s code.

Over the past two weeks, the Business Plan Team has been constantly making updates to the business plan. Aside from this they also began preparation and training for those who will be talking to judges about the team and the business plan. They are now working on proof-reading the final version of the business plan.

This week the Marketing Team started on getting the ducks ready for the Palmetto Regional. Then, they started planning out what types of awards they will give to teams in the stands while at the Regional. They thought a great priority was finding out how to get the news of the team getting the community first award in the Rochester Post. Also, the commercial that they will make for the team and the invitation to send for the sponsors was given to be brainstormed with. Finally, it was planned how the team will distribute all of the items they have in the pit in an organized way. They also tried a practice run of setting up the pit on Saturday. Besides a few missing parts, which the build team will remake, the team looks to be in efficient shape to set it up in competitions.

The New Media Team had a productive meeting Friday editing and updating the website. Unfortunately, they have not gotten around to making the podcast, although the idea is still in the works and hopefully they can get one started soon. Along with the Photo and Video Team, they have been working on updating our Youtube Channel with recap videos as often as possible. The next recap should be uploaded within the next few days.

Stay tuned for more AdamBots updates!