FIRST 2009 Season: Lunacy

1 The 2009 Season
2 The 2009 Game

The 2009 Season

FIRST 2009 has many new and exciting challenges for the AdamBots. This years game, Lunacy, is very different from previous years. The competition setup for FIRST in Michigan will also be a very interesting experience. Due to the buyout of Siemens VDO, the AdamBots will no longer be working at its great Auburn Hills build location. The team will continue with its outstanding group of mentors and students. The AdamBots will be attending the Flint Kettering District event and the Lansing District event.

Build Season

For information regarding our progress on building our robot, you can visit the FIRST 2009 Build Season page in the Media Gallery.

(Week 2) Kettering District Event

Kettering was our first event of the season. We came to came to Kettering with hours of practice under our belts and felt confident in our robot's ability to play the game. We won 10 of our 12 qualification matches and never left first place. We selected team 70 for their great scoring ability and team 2619 for their rock solid defense. The alliance blazed through the elimination rounds only losing one match and winning the Kettering District Event. The team also won it's third straight Website Award and the Motorola Quality Award. The AdamBots were ranked #2 in Michigan after Kettering.

Read Newspaper Articles
View Kettering District Pictures
View Kettering District Match Videos

(Week 4) Lansing District Event

After a successful run at the Kettering District Event, the AdamBots were ready for another challenging competition at Lansing. The defense was tough to get by, but the AdamBots won 8 of their 12 qualification matches. We were picked by the number two alliance in the first round. The alliance made it all the way through to the finals, but luck was not on our side. Both alliance members broke down in the finals and the AdamBots fell to the great alliance of teams 67, 68, and 897. In addition to being Lansing District Finalists the team also won the Motorola Quality Award. After week 4 we are again ranked #2 in Michigan.

View Lansing District Pictures

(Week 6) Michigan State Championship

The AdamBots went into the Michigan State Championship event ranked #3 (217 moved to 2nd in week 5) in Michigan. The competition was especially tough, and that AdamBots came out of the qualification matches with a 4-4 record. We were picked by the 6th seed, Team 201 The FEDS along with team 70 More Martians. The Alliance cruised through the quarter-finals, pulling off the upset, winning both matches against teams 2620, 226 and 66. In the semi-finals, the opposing alliance of teams 1918, 247 and 904 played strong defense. Our alliance lost both matches two them and were eliminated. Congratulations to mentor Warren Hildebrandt for winning WWJ and Kettering University's FIRST Teacher of the Year Award.

World Championship

After a good showing at the Michigan State Championship, the AdamBots qualified for the World Championship in Atlanta. We faced tough competition on the Curie field and seeded 29th out of 87 teams. We were drafted as the 6th pick in the alliance selection by team 816 Panthers. Team 341, Miss Daisy, also joined the alliance. We faced off against the alliance of 254, 175, and 2184, and beat them in 3 matches. We then faced the strong alliance of 217, 68, and 247. They beat us in two matches, the last one by only a ball. 217, 68, and 247 went on to earn second in the world. The AdamBots finished the season with an impressive 40-22 record.

The 2009 Game

In Lunacy, Six teams, two alliances of three, compete on the CRATER. The objective is to score the most points in opposing alliances' trailers.

The game is divided into two periods, the autonomous and teleoperated period. The match, including both the autonomous and teleoperated periods, are 15 seconds and 2 minutes long respectively.

The Field

This year's game is played on a 24 by 50 foot field known as the CRATER. The crater is covered in a slippery material called Regolith, which makes maneuvering around the Field tougher.

Each robot pulls a trailer that the opposing alliance can place game pieces in to score.

Autonomous Period

During the autonomous period, the robot completely relies on programming to navigate and score. The autonomous period lasts 15 seconds.

Teleoperated Period

The teleoperated period is the 2 minute period in which DRIVERS operate the robot.

Game Pieces

The game pieces this year are 9-inch diameter round objects, made of braided 1-inch wide strips of fabric-covered polymer. They are commercially available as "Orbit Balls." In the game these pieces are known as "Moon Rocks", "Fuel Cells" and "Super Cells" and are differentiated based on color.

Scoring

2 Points for every Moon Rock placed in opponents trailer
2 Points for every Empty Cell placed in opponents trailer
15 Points for every Super Cell placed in opponents trailers

Super Cells can only be unlocked if a fueling station (corner area of the field) is in possession of an Empty Cell. These Super Cells can not be used until the last 20 seconds of a match.