Day 2 of competition - part 2

Day 2 competition – part 2

Number 8 in the standings! And even better we were picked by the 4th seed team to be in their alliance. So it will be Teams 1218, 2377 and 1629 against the rest.

Quarterfinals – Match 1

The finals are a best two out of three series of matches. So there will be the quarterfinals, then the semis, and then obviously, the finals. So potentially, we could have 9 matches to play still.

In the quarterfinals, after a shocker where the 8th seed alliance beat the 1st seed alliance, it was #4 vs. #5. Not a particularly good match for the good guys in the red alliance. We were able to hurdle only once and the auton mode didn't produce as many points as in previous matches. And one of the arms is a bit wonky – not sure what the trouble is, but it looks like it's not working properly. The 5th seed alliance wasn't exciting, but they were able to produce the points where and when they were needed.

Quarterfinals – Match 2

A must win for the good guys. An incredible match with the blue alliance putting up a ball on the top of the hurdle right at the last minute for an additional 12 points. The final score was 82 to 70 – and we all waited breathlessly to see if penalties would make a difference. Unfortunately for us in the red alliance, the penalities were against us, dropping us 10 points and to our second loss – knocking us out of the match.

All in all, it bodes well for the nationals in Atlanta – the coolest bot, with an experienced team.

Thanks to all the sponsors, the parents, the mentors, and the kids – it was a great ride while it lasted! And now on to Atlanta!

Day 2 of competition - part 1

Day 2 of competition – Match 1

A commanding win, thanks to the drive team. Coached by Conor, Jack maneuvered flawlessly among the traffic on the field, including a bot hung up on the hurdle in the middle. Rob used the arms to advantage, scooping up rebounds of the trackball, and hurdling with ease. Matt had the auton/hybrid mode under control with his VCR remote, circling the track. All in all, a very satisfying win with very strong alliance partners. For the moment, we are in 12th place.

Match 2

Another win – this time with alliance partners Haverford and Agnes Irwin – against a blue alliance with Episcopal! What are the odds of 4 Inter-Ac teams being on the field at the same time? In spite of 30 points in penalties (ouch!) eating into the red alliance's 98 point score, it was a commanding lead and win. Again, we had an amazing performance out of our drive team. The blue alliance wasn't able to mount an effective defense again Team 1218's auton mode – which gained 40 points in the first 30 seconds of the match.

Match 3 – end of the qualifying matches

Oh man! A squeaker – decided by a penalty … and … the BLUE alliance wins! And guess who was the major producer for the blue alliance – Team 1218. Haven't been to the board yet to see where we are in the standings, but we're at 6 – 2 which is pretty impressive. Alliance picks will be in about ½ hour. Even if we aren't in the top 8, it's pretty much a sure thing that we are going to the finals – we certainly have the coolest bot!

Day 2 of competition 0 part 1

Photos from today's competitions

Day 1 of competition – Part Deux

Phew! What an afternoon! To go from 9^th in the morning, to 25^th at 2:30 to 15^th at 3:30 was a wild ride! To quote Charlie Frank, "I guess the other teams figured out that they needed to do some defense on us."

Match 3 was not a success – the auton mode did not work well, and we were blocked by other robots. We went down in that one. Likewise in Match 4, the auton mode did not work well at all, and we weren't able to hurdle as well as we had earlier. Both losses were close.

So we went into Match 5 with lower spirits – but lo and behold, our auton mode worked flawlessly and the drive team was amazing, scooting around other bots, hurdling with ease. It was a big win for the team, and spirits are soaring again. We still have the high score to beat from this morning.

We'll go into the second day of competition 3 – 2, and have 3 matches tomorrow (at 9:36, 10:30 and 11:18 – approximately). How we do tomorrow will decide whether or not we end up in the finals. If we end up in the top 8 - we're definitely in. Anything below that, we'll have to wait to see if one of the top 8 picks us as an alliance partner. Keep your fingers crossed that we are not done at noon.

Look for an update from me shortly after noon tomorrow. I've already checked to see if the Starbucks here has wireless, since I won't be able to use the hotel's wireless.

Stay tuned for pictures in about 1/2 hour.

Day 1 of competition - part 1

Day 1 of competition – Match 1

First match was fabulous, Accompanied to the oooos and aaaahhhhs of the crowd, Team 1218 won their first match handily – and scored most of the points for their team alliance doing it, In the autonomous mode, they earned 40 points for dislodging one of the overhead balls – a feat we haven't seen anyone else do here yet. Their alliance's 86 points is now the total to beat today.

Everyone is on hand, scouting and driving, Matt Chang is wearing a daisy headpiece from Wissahickon's team (Driving Miss Daisy), like a Mohawk.

As a matter of local color, the mascots for each team are having a meeting – funny to see a colonial soldier talking to a gorilla and a Trojan.

Match 2

Not as high a score as the last match, but we are now 2 – 0. The autonomous mode wasn't as successful as the last time, but hurdling was great, as was our rabbit mode. More oooos from the crowd as the bot effortlessly sailed over the 6-foot barrier.

Three more matches today. Will post after the day is done.

Photos from practice day

Partway through practice day

For those who haven't been to a FIRST event, the excitement is catching. There are more than 65 teams here, almost all in uniform (or costume, I should say). A team from Hawaii, all in red Hawaiian shirts lamenting the cost of shipping their bot ($3500). Another team from Maryland (the RobotBees) wearing yellow and black striped antennae. Miss Daisy from Wissahickon High School with a member wearing huge flower pot and a flowerheadpiece. Team 1111 (an easy number to remember), all of whose wheels are set diagonally and which never goes exactly straight. There's even a fellow here wearing a giant yellow cowboy hat on which there is a sign "Ask me to wash your safety glasses."

No dancing in the aisles yet, although I know that will come tomorrow. Imagine hundreds of geeks lined up doing the macarena in the aisles - all in their team uniforms. Lots of networking going on with scouts from every team visiting all the other team pits.

The bot passed inspection - electrical, size, weight. It's nerve-wracking waiting for the inspectors to pass on the bot, particularly when you are scheduled for a round in 10 minutes.

The practice rounds are going well. As a gross generalization, there seem to be three kinds of bots: the rabbits, the pushers and the shooters. The rabbits buzz around and around the field scoring for each time they pass the "finish line." The pushers manuever the balls enough to be able to push them across the finish line. Then there are the shooters - and that includes the CHASS bot. The shooters have a little bit of everything, and can shoot the ball over the 6-foot hurdle as well. The first time the CHASS bot lobbed the ball over the hurdle, a collective "ooooooooo" went up from the crowd.

Four practice rounds today, last one at 5:20 - and then the real thing tomorrow.

Made it safely

Just so you all know, the entire team made it to Annapolis safely. Team meeting at 8 p.m., then free time until bed. Tomorrow is the practice day. The drive team of Conor, Jack and Rob will get a chance to drive the bot on the regulation field with other bots. The rest of the team will be scouting the competition and making Team 1218 memorable to potential partners.

Off to Annapolis

Today we leave for the first competition in Annapolis at the Naval Academy - 15 young men and women from CHA and Springside, plus 4 teachers/guides/engineers. This is the first time out for the "bot" - we have only seen others in competition at Trenton. I'll be adding news after each match, and if I can figure out how to do it - pictures as well!