Prototypes are a huge part of our build season; through the rapid creation of different proof-of-concept prototypes, we are able to more effectively decide on a final design. This year, we tried three different materials to create prototype shooters: pneumatics, surgical tubing, and a simple, motor-driven catapult.
It’s the best six weeks of the year again! During the FIRST Robotics Competition kickoff, the 2014 challenge, Aerial Assist, was reveled. This year, teams will be working with other teams to carry 24-inch game balls down the field, over a truss, and into a goal.
THOR (Thundering Herd of Robots) was North Carolina’s first off-season tournament, where FIRST Robotics teams competed with an official field in an unofficial event. We had been looking forward to it for almost a year, so when we finally rolled up to Reidsville High School, we were very excited.
For this event, we had decided to give new students a chance to drive Trillian in competition. This choice, however, did have its trade-offs; Trillian was broken on several occasions and we lost many matches due partially to inexperienced driving.
In order to better prepare for the looming elimination rounds, we eventually decided to bring out our more experienced drivers. It was amazing; Trillian scored over 60 points in one round!
With this, we had the confidence we needed to finish up qualifications.
Our time in eliminations started out well; we won our first match with a score of 42 to 40; however, we had some issues in the second match and we ended up losing. This forced a third match to decide who would enter the finals.
Unfortunately, things would go downhill from there; toward the beginning of the sudden death match, we ran into a problem. Literally.
As we were driving to the feeder station, Trillian received a bump that knocked her off her trajectory and directly into one of the tower legs.
Due to this, we were unable to shoot for the rest of the match, which eventually led to our loss and elimination.
We had a blast participating in THOR (Thundering Herd of Robots), North Carolina’s first off-season tournament. Though we may not have won, we really enjoyed driving Trillian and reconnecting with other teams.
One could label a robot demo “showing off with a purpose.” That is exactly what we have been doing for the past month.
With two, high-performance robots at hand, we have traveled to local events such as the BEST FEST in Raleigh, Robot Rumble in Durham, and the SR7B Conclave in Carthage to spread the word about our team and others in our area.
After a decent run in Palmetto, we knew we had what it would take to succeed in North Carolina; Trillian was performing outstandingly and would often score more than fifty points a match. At the same time, however, we realized we would have to continue to perform in order to stay competitive with the fifty-five teams from around the world attending the regional.
Thankfully, by the end of the second of our nine matches, Trillian was performing so well that we were the top ranked team. After a couple of challenging losses, however, we fell back to seventh place on Friday, but we managed to gain back a spot to sit in sixth place at the end of qualifications on Saturday.
Because we were in the top eight, we knew we would select or be selected by two other teams to join them in a permanent alliance for the elimination rounds, which would eventually determine the winner in a best-two-out-of-three tournament. In the end, we were selected by Blue Eagle Robotics.
In the quarterfinals, our alliance, which included Blue Eagle Robotics and The Flying Platypi, faced G.R.E.A.T., Team Spork, and the Pitt Pirates, all of whom had performed outstandingly in the qualification rounds. After winning the first round 61-48, we barely edged out our opponents on a tie-breaker, advancing with a score of 88-87.
“After alliance selections, I was feeling pretty nervous,” said team spirit lead Megan McGrew, “But we all came through.”
Next, we found ourselves in a close contest in the semifinals against the Hedgehogs, Gorillas, and Aluminum Assault. Losing the first match, we bounced back and won the remaining sudden-death matches to make it into the finals. It was exciting to hear the crowd chant the team cheer, “Don’t Panic,” as the drive team steered the robot off the field to prepare for the finals.
Against the top-seeded alliance of the Robodogs, Mechanical Mayhem, and the Robo Eagles, we arranged that the other alliance members would play defense while Trillian scored as many points as possible.
“We managed to block a lot of Mechanical Mayhem’s shots and delay the Robodogs quite a bit,” said mechanical lead Keegan Pierce. “We did really good.”
The strategy almost worked; our alliance got within four points of upsetting the top alliance in the second round. Eventually, however, we lost both matches.
Though we may not have won the regional, we still won the Regional Finalist Award and take pride in how we performed despite their challenging match schedule and other difficulties.
“It’s a very good end to the season,” said Megan. “It was so close, but we are still really happy.”
We are looking forward to another great year. Thanks to all the volunteers and fellow teams who made this all possible!
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