ORLANDO
—
What
does mechanical obstacle climbing and Frisbee disc launching have in
common? Why, nothing else but the annual FIRST Robotics competition
of course.
Celebrating 15 consecutive years in Orlando, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics program held its Orlando regional competition at the UCF Arena from March 7 through March 9 as 3,000 mechanical wizards battled through the most difficult game FIRST has ever devised.
As the skill of the competitors increases and the technological achievements continue to excel, so increases the challenge raised by organizers to those willing to compete in this advanced level of modern engineering competition.
(Click above to watch video)
“This climbing stuff is difficult,” said Todd Lovelace, a volunteer member for Team Resistance who has over 17 years of experience with FIRST. “Some of the teams make it look easy, but you’ll notice there are not many successful climbers out there.”
This “ULTIMATE ASCENT” challenge is centered on team-built, remote-controlled robots that average around a maximum weight of 150 pounds expected to climb up multiple levels of a metal bar pyramid. In addition to showing off their skills in vertical accent, the robots’ primary objective is to score points by shooting flying discs into raised goals of varying heights and sizes on their team’s side of the competition field.
Some
of the robots miss the goals and have to make minor adjustments to
hit their targets, while others load up, go to predetermined
locations and fire a flurry of discs in rapid succession with the
utmost precision.
Andrew
Geltz is a Valencia College student who has also worked for the last
two years with “Mekheads” team #1604. This year Geltz is acting
as the lead programer and providing additional electrical assistance
for his group.
“It
doesn't take long when it’s done, but then you have to troubleshoot
things and it’s a lot of stressful work,” said Geltz.
One
standout addition to this year’s Orlando regional for FIRST was a
group of experienced robotics enthusiasts who established a new
broadcast group to cover the competition called “The RoboShow.”
James Austin is a former Valencia Voice editor and a long standing participant in FIRST Robotics, who combined his skills in journalism and robotics to make on-air coverage of the competition a reality.
“It’s
been weird for me to watch the news coverage and see them miss so
much of the stuff that I love about it,” said Austin. “We have
the talents here, so why not just do it ourselves?”
It
addition to covering the side stories and first two days of the
competition, the group from “The RoboShow” also did a live
streaming broadcast during the final day to give extra insight and
information between rounds to those watching on the internet.
Teams
were eventually eliminated as the competition drew to a close. At the
end, only six teams aligned as two groups of three remained to fight
for the first place finish, earning them placement for the FIRST
national finals at the end of April.
The
six final teams included “Shark Attack” #744 from Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., “The Brazilian Trail Blazers” #1772 from
Gravatal, Brazil and team “Krunch” #79 from Tarpon Springs, Fla.
representing the red alliance.
The
teams representing the blue alliance were “Neutrons” #125 from
Boston, Ma., “ROBOTZ Garage” #4451 from Fountain Inn, SC., and
“The Pink Team” #233 from Cocoa Beach, Fla.
The
first round went strongly to the blue alliance led by the veteran
“Pink” team and the impressive climbing skills of the rookie team
“ROBOTZ Garage.” A come from behind push from the red alliance
led to a narrow victory for them in the second round leading to a
third and final elimination match to determine the winner.
Discs
were flying and battle worn robots clashed in defensive maneuvers
during the final round of the Florida region, which led to the final
point tallies combined with additional penalties identified by the
judges.
The
final score of 103 to 82 confirmed that the red alliance had won,
which led to a joyous celebration from members from “The
Brazilian Trail Blazers,” who cheered, hugged and wildly celebrated
their victory in the middle of the competitive field.
Though
games like this are often measured by winners and losers, all of
those that are involved with FIRST Robotics stand to be rewarded by
the millions of dollars in scholarships offered, and the future
employment opportunities in technology industries fostered by this
organization.
By James Tutten
info@jamestutten.com
(All photos and video by James Tutten)
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| Team member from “The Brazilian Trail Blazers” celebrate their victory at Florida Regional. |
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