Rhode Rage Finishes 3rd Place in the World!
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.
We just finished competing in the 2009 NJ FTC Championship and won! Team 2945, Power Surge, seeded first and picked us and team 248.
We went 3-1 in qualifying and seeded 5th in our division of 20. We went undefeated the entire afternoon, winning our division and the competition.
We would not be able to compete and be successful without the generous sponsorship of BBN Technologies.
2.9.2009 UPDATE: Pictures have been added here: http://www.air4h.org/pictures/09-nj-champ/
Tasks
- Small arm weight reduced
- Small arm programmed
- Manual control now, automatic to be determined
- Lexan slide cut and mounted
- All wiring was cable tied down
- On/Off switch secured
Reflections
- Pickup arm harder than expected
- Lemon Pledge makes pucks slide nicely
- Autonomous actions can make things much easier on the driver
- Clean wiring makes a huge difference
EN 65
We can let the videos do the talking. 
16 Pucks Scored:
Teleop rack to goal:
Next 4 are Autonomous Mode testing:
