Aquidneck Island Robotics (AIR), a 4-H club dedicated to teaching local youths through competitive robotics, will host an informational open house on Saturday, September 19 from 10am to 3pm at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Building 80. This highly interactive event will let area students and their families a chance to participate in robot demonstrations, view photos and videos from past competitions, and discuss this exciting program with club members.
The club is currently recruiting students from Newport County, ages 9 through 18, to participate in their upcoming robotics competition season. Prospective members can come from any middle school or high school, public or private. The robotics competitions allow professional mentors from local businesses to collaborate with student members to create a truly hands-on program. AIR members travel across New England and the country to compete in international robotics events and by participating, student members have access to $10 million in scholarships to colleges and universities throughout the country.
For additional information on the club, contact club leader Rick Blight via email at rick@air4h.org.
Use the Google Map link below to generate directions.
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We had a good turnout for our meeting on Tuesday. We discussed the golf tournament, our new meeting location, off season events, upcoming fundraisers, and recruitment efforts. Details can be found in the minutes here: http://www.air4h.org/meeting-info/
Reminder that the next meeting will be our Annual Meeting. Attendance is mandatory and the meeting will be held at the Educational Outreach Center in Building 80. There is a side entrance on the west side of the building. Plenty of parking is available on the the east and west sides of the building. A map of the Education Outreach Center can be found here: http://www.air4h.org/meetings/Map%20to%20Educational%20Outreach%20Center%20in%20Building%2080.png
Original article can be found here: http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2009/08/few-details.html
Good Morning Teams,
In my travels this week, I’ve heard a few questions from teams. To answer what I can:
- Kickoff will be January 9th.
- Robot Ship will be February 23rd.
- The competition season will be 5 weeks long.
- Championship will be April 15-17th.
- FIRST does not plan to share the list of items teams may reuse from the 2009 kit just yet. I should have more details for you in September as we finalize agreements with some of our kit of parts suppliers.
- I’ll also be able to tell you where to purchase additional quantities of the reusable items then.
- Yes the cRIO will still be available at the discounted price.
- The classmate included in the kit of parts is being built especially for FRC. I’ll give you more information once Beta Testing starts.
I want to remind everyone who is busy with their calculator that the FRC Registration fee is not tied dollar for dollar with the Kit of Parts. FRC registration fees also go toward game development and prototyping costs, competition field construction, shipping Kits of Parts to Kickoffs, Kickoff production and a host of other hidden costs.
We’re almost ready to Beta Test elements of the 2010 control system. An email blast will go out to teams soon, but if you’re interested in helping FRC over the next few months, apply here.
Heads up, Section 4 of the competition manual (Robot Shipping) may change this year. FRC is working with a FedEX packing engineer to review our current crate criteria in an effort to improve efficiency in shipping.
Do you want to get the FIRST newsletter? Subscribe here.
149 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!
Three new sections have been added to the website:
- Calendar: This page will display an interactive monthly calendar with club events. Meetings, events, fundraisers, and competitions will be displayed. Some events will be linked to another part of the website explaining the event in detail.
- Meeting Info: This page will show a table of all AIR meetings. The type and date of each meeting are listed along with links to the meeting agenda and minutes.
- Recent Documents: On the right side of the home page at the top is a listing of recent club documents. Presentations, permission slips, forms, etc will appear here.
This Saturday, July 18th, AIR will be featured at the Eastern Rhode Island 4-H Country Fair from 12 pm to 5 pm. We will be demonstrating various robots and giving kids the chance to drive them. We will be promoting our upcoming golf tournament fundraiser. We will also be recruiting new members and collecting donations. Our club will definitely stand out in this predominately agricultural fair. Look for the tent with all the robots and the loud music! Click here for the fair schedule.
Directions:
From North: Take 195 East to (Fall River, MA) exit 8 to 24 South. Follow 24 South through Tiverton, RI over Sakonnet River Bridge into Portsmouth. Take “Turnpike Ave/Newport Beaches” exit (approx 5-7 miles from bridge), bear right at next light (now rte 138) follow 138 through next three lights. Take next left, Glen Road, after Sunoco gas station (on right). Follow signs to fairgrounds.
From South: Take Rte 138 over Jamestown and Newport Bridges follow signs for Middletown/Portsmouth Rte138. Take left at light at Hi-Li intersection. Follow to second light and take left (Rte 114). Bear right at next light, Rte 138 and follow approx 5-7 miles, through 9 lights. Take next right after last light and follow signs to fairgrounds.
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Photo by Joe Menassa
After 7 long months of the FTC game Face Off, it all came to an end on April 16-17 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. FTC Team 121, Rhode Rage, competed as one of the 100 teams at the FTC World Championship. The team went 5-1 in qualifying to seed 5th. Through discussion and performance on the the field, we were picked by team 2945, Power Surge (the same team we won the New Jersey FTC Championship with). Team 110, The Foxes, rounded out our alliance. We cruised through the division semifinals, but technical problems on Power Surge and The Foxes caused us to lose two straight matches in the division finals. Our team finished third in the world and got medals and trophies for the first time in Atlanta. Pictures will be posted soon!
This was announced during opening ceremonies on Friday at the Championship. Good time to be a 4-H FIRST team! The video below is available in high quality. Just hit the ‘HQ’ button.
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Members and others, please fill out this survey to let FIRST and PITSCO know about the shortfalls in the kit. You may win a free FTC base kit!
Greetings FTC Teams!
Thanks for taking a few minutes to help us make FIRST Tech Challenge
even better next year. This season was the first for the new FTC kit of
parts based on the new Tetrix building system. We included quite a bit
of material in this year’s kit from multiple software options to
rechargeable batteries, and lots of metal. You’ll be able to use these
same kits to compete next season in FTC.We’d like to get your feedback on what can be improved with the kits.
The following survey is about 40 questions on what you liked, what you
used, and what may have been missing. The survey should take approximately 20 to 30 minutes and should be submitted no later than April 3, 2009.As a small incentive we’re offering a free Tetrix base set as a raffle
prize. Anyone who completes the survey will be entered into the
raffle. We will hold the raffle drawing on Tuesday, April 7th.You can find the survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228XCU6VDE7 and a BOM list with pictures of the current kit parts at http://www.legoeducation.com/sharedimages/pdf/FTC%20Competition%20Kit%20with%20Photos.pdf.
Thank you again for your input!
Photo Courtesy of Joe Menassa
On March 7, Rhode Rage competed against 34 other Rhode Island FTC teams at the 3rd annual Rhode Island FTC Championship. The team had visibly the most support of any team there. We had 7 student members and about 20 additional mentors, family members, and sponsors. Our cheering was loud, with good reason.
The team went undefeated in qualifying rounds to secure first seed. In alliance selection, we picked team 154 from Burriville High School and team 657 from Hanley Vocational in Providence. Our alliance swept both the semifinals and finals to go undefeated and become event champions! This is the second year in a row that we have won with 154, and they have won the RI event every year. Team 657 was a team that Mike DeSousa, our lead technical mentor, was helping thoughout the last few weeks. All teams involved worked hard and deserved the win.
Rhode Rage was also awarded the Inspire Award. From usfirst.org:
This formally judged award is given to the team that truly embodied the “challenge” of the FTC program. The team that receives this award is chosen by the judges as having best represented a “role model” FIRST Tech Challenge Team. They are a top contender for all other judging categories and are a strong competitor on the field. The Inspire Award Winner is an inspiration to other teams, acting with gracious professionalism both on and off the playing field. This team understands how to communicate their experiences and knowledge to other teams, sponsors, and the judges.
The judges cited our creation of Aquidneck Island Robotics, our commanding performance on and off the field, and our technical accomplishments. This award would not have been possible without the support from our members, mentors, and sponsor, BBN Technologies.
Next up is the World Championship in Atlanta!
Read our article in the Providence Journal
Pictures by Joe Menassa
This Saturday March 7, 2009, will be the Third Annual RI FTC Championship. 40 teams from throughout RI will battle it out in Face Off. Everyone is encouraged to attend and cheer on RHODE RAGE!
The competition is from 9AM to 5PM. Information on member carpooling will be released soon.
Directions
Access Road Campus
RI FTC Championship
Access Road Campus
100 – 110 Access Road, Warwick, RI
From Post Road, north or south:
Follow RT 95 North or South to Exit 13- Take the Green State airport exit.
Once you take the exit, take the 1st exit of the road you are on, Jefferson Boulevard. At the bottom of the exit take a left onto Jefferson Boulevard.
Follow straight thru the intersection with the Honey Dew Donuts.
Follow past the flashing light to the light at the D’Angelo’s Sub shop.
Take a left onto Service Avenue.
Take the first left onto Plan Way (don’t go over the bridge). UPS will be on your left. Opposite the UPS facility will be a street on the right marked Access Road. Take this right and you will come to the NEIT Access Road Campus.
Follow Access Road around to the right and you will face the new Automotive Building.
