Katie, Steve and Joe left on Wednesday for the Michigan Robotics Championship. This is the first time that the team has gone to state finals, which are by invitation to higher ranking teams throughout the state. Yesterday was the first day of qualifying matches. The kids' team, Strykeforce won the 4/5 matches. After the Niles competition, some other teams helped our team with programing the autonomous mode. The Strykeforce autonomous mode is now working and the arm for hanging tubes works more consistently. One of our mentors helped create a smaller minibot that is faster.
The matches were available over the internet through webstreaming. We really enjoyed watching the matches. Some of the Detroit area teams are formidable. At the end of one day's competition, Strykefore is ranked 5 out of 67 teams.
I communicated with Katie through texting last night. She said that everyone is having a great time and really enjoying the competition. It's a great experience, but very time consuming. I'll enjoy the extra time when the season ends.
Showing posts with label robotics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label robotics. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Robotics Competition
Kate, Steve, and Joe spent Thursday-Saturday up at GVSU for a district robotics competition. The team had another good event. During the ranking matches, their team ended up is 6th place. The advanced to elimination matches and were eliminated in the semi-finals by the alliance that won the competition. It was an exhausting weekend, but they all had a great time.
In the photo, the robots are lined up and entering the part of the competition where the robots use only the autonomous mode (all movement is through computer programing.)
These photos show the computers lifting inflated tubes and moving to place them on the scoring pegs.
During the last 10 seconds the robots can release a minibot which climbs a pole and sets of the lights at the top. The first minibot to reach the top of the pole earns 30 points for the team. The minibot race is the strongest feature on our team's robot. It always deploys properly and almost always reaches the top of the pole first.
In the photo, the robots are lined up and entering the part of the competition where the robots use only the autonomous mode (all movement is through computer programing.)
These photos show the computers lifting inflated tubes and moving to place them on the scoring pegs.
During the last 10 seconds the robots can release a minibot which climbs a pole and sets of the lights at the top. The first minibot to reach the top of the pole earns 30 points for the team. The minibot race is the strongest feature on our team's robot. It always deploys properly and almost always reaches the top of the pole first.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Photos of My Children At Competition in Traverse City
Joe, wearing the striped shirt, working on the robot.
Katie sleeping while leaning on Steve in the van on the way up to Traverse City. She always falls asleep when traveling in a car.
Katie and Joe hanging out with friends.
The robot.
Steve at the hotel, being Steve.
Joe's Competition hair style.
Joe taking the robot to the match floor.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Robotics Competition
My 3 high school aged children participated in the Travers City FIRST Robotics competition this weekend. I wasn't able to watch this competition for a number of reasons, but was able to watch the entire competition using Webstreaming. One of the competitors (Code Red) hosted the webstreaming.
The team did very well at this competition. The game this year was to have robots place various ring shapes on some pegs that were at different heights. At the beginning of the match, there are 15 or 30 seconds (I don't remember which) when the robots do the task using no assistance from human players or drivers. Then two drivers from each team can direct the robot using joy sticks. A human player also returns rings that fall outside of the playing field. During the final 10 seconds of the match, the robots deploy minibots that race to the top of a pole. The first minibot that reaches the top gets 30 points.
Our team had the first working minibot at the event! Our team consistently reached the top of the pole first throughout all matches, except the final match of the day. We won all our matches during the ranking matches. On Saturday, our team was seated 2nd in choosing teams for the alliance for the finals.
Our team won the first final match. The winning alliance needs 2 out of three wins. During the second final match, the opposing alliance continued to ram our robot, eventually breaking our minibot deployment system. Our alliance lost the final two matches, so we ended up ranked second.
Even though I dislike the damage done to the robot, it is part of the game. The team was super excited after this competition and is eagerly awaiting the next one.
My kids got home at 1:30 am. They slept late and then napped this afternoon. It was a huge weekend for them. My wonderful husband drove 40 minutes each way to pick them up. We had all got up at 6:30 that morning, so he had a very long day.
The team did very well at this competition. The game this year was to have robots place various ring shapes on some pegs that were at different heights. At the beginning of the match, there are 15 or 30 seconds (I don't remember which) when the robots do the task using no assistance from human players or drivers. Then two drivers from each team can direct the robot using joy sticks. A human player also returns rings that fall outside of the playing field. During the final 10 seconds of the match, the robots deploy minibots that race to the top of a pole. The first minibot that reaches the top gets 30 points.
Our team had the first working minibot at the event! Our team consistently reached the top of the pole first throughout all matches, except the final match of the day. We won all our matches during the ranking matches. On Saturday, our team was seated 2nd in choosing teams for the alliance for the finals.
Our team won the first final match. The winning alliance needs 2 out of three wins. During the second final match, the opposing alliance continued to ram our robot, eventually breaking our minibot deployment system. Our alliance lost the final two matches, so we ended up ranked second.
Even though I dislike the damage done to the robot, it is part of the game. The team was super excited after this competition and is eagerly awaiting the next one.
My kids got home at 1:30 am. They slept late and then napped this afternoon. It was a huge weekend for them. My wonderful husband drove 40 minutes each way to pick them up. We had all got up at 6:30 that morning, so he had a very long day.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Empty House
Katie, Steve, and Joe have left for their first First Robotics competition today. They are headed to Travers City for three days. We spent the morning running around getting the last minute laundry completed, making 2 trips to Walmart for contact lens solution, and new sneakers, and picking Kaitlyn up from school.
Katie had to attend school today because it was the last day of her testing. One nice thing about the school testing is that she was able to get her SAT and ACT tests without having to fork up the money for the tests. She wasn't too happy with how the science portions went, but I'm sure that she did fine.
Madelyn, Paige, Allie, and I will be spending the quieter time completing a fairy house and making some fairy clothing. The younger two girls also want to do a little letter boxing, but the weather reports aren't very favorable to long walks in the woods.
I always miss the older children when they are gone, but relish the extra time with the younger girls. All to often, the little girls are made to wait while I run someone to another activity or complete a math lesson. In some respects, they miss out on some of the best parts of homeschooling because the older children need transportation.
Katie had to attend school today because it was the last day of her testing. One nice thing about the school testing is that she was able to get her SAT and ACT tests without having to fork up the money for the tests. She wasn't too happy with how the science portions went, but I'm sure that she did fine.
Madelyn, Paige, Allie, and I will be spending the quieter time completing a fairy house and making some fairy clothing. The younger two girls also want to do a little letter boxing, but the weather reports aren't very favorable to long walks in the woods.
I always miss the older children when they are gone, but relish the extra time with the younger girls. All to often, the little girls are made to wait while I run someone to another activity or complete a math lesson. In some respects, they miss out on some of the best parts of homeschooling because the older children need transportation.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Robotics District Competition
On Friday and Saturday, the kids and I got up early and headed to Grand Valley State University to watch Kate and Steve's robotics team compete against 41 other robotics teams. Amy is a senior at Grand Valley and was able to join us in the stands rooting the team on to a 33rd place finish. Okay, we didn't do too well, but we had a blast!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Weekend Robotics Competition
Katie and Steve and I spent Friday and Saturday in Ann Arbor at a District Robotics Competition. It's the first time that we have attended this type of event. A Kick-off is held in early January when everyone receives the rules and parameters of the current year's game. This is the animation of the game for this year. The teams have approximately 7 weeks to design, build, and program their robots. The robot is bagged up and teams are only allowed 6 hours to work on the robot between each competition.
These are a few of the robots that played in the competition. Each team purchases a kit of parts and then makess parts that will help the robot in the game.
Our team is wearing the white lab coats and royal blue shirts. Steve is the lab coat on the right, waiting for a ball to come through the goal. He had tried out and was selected as one of the human players for our team. Our team's robot is blue in this round and is directly in front of Steve.
This is our other drive team and student coach. Steve is again the human player in this match. He is standing closest to the camera.
During the competition, Steve struggled to get the other players to let him handle the trident (pole) due to his short stature. I was so proud when he stood up for himself. He reached the human player area first and grabbed the trident. When the other human players arrived they asked Steve to give one of the taller players the pole. Steve refused. It ended up being the highest scoring match of the day, with 9 goals scored for our alliance. Steve managed to get all the balls returned in a timely manner. After the match, the taller alliance players (from other teams) through Steve up in the air and caught him in their excitement. Steve had the biggest smile on his face when the match was done. Here are some photos of Steve using the trident.
Most of the teams struggled to get their robots to hang from the tower. One robot consistently hung from the tower in their matches throughout both days of competition. The design of this robot was amazing. The crowd cheered each time the team earned the two bonus points.
Katie was on the programing team and helped with some of the build. She didn't try out for any of the player positions. Instead, she and several other team members sat in the stands cheering for the various teams. Here are some shots of some of the supporters. Katie is wearing her lab coat. Madelyn (wearing green) is sitting with one of her friends. We all had a good time. Our team finished 23 out of 36. We are a fairly new team and learned a lot from this experience.
I knew that this was a wonderful experience for my kids, but I didn't realize that many teams have try-outs and interviews. Only top students are eligible to be members of many teams. The stadium was filled with wonderful kids having a blast.
These are a few of the robots that played in the competition. Each team purchases a kit of parts and then makess parts that will help the robot in the game.
Our team is wearing the white lab coats and royal blue shirts. Steve is the lab coat on the right, waiting for a ball to come through the goal. He had tried out and was selected as one of the human players for our team. Our team's robot is blue in this round and is directly in front of Steve.
This is our other drive team and student coach. Steve is again the human player in this match. He is standing closest to the camera.
During the competition, Steve struggled to get the other players to let him handle the trident (pole) due to his short stature. I was so proud when he stood up for himself. He reached the human player area first and grabbed the trident. When the other human players arrived they asked Steve to give one of the taller players the pole. Steve refused. It ended up being the highest scoring match of the day, with 9 goals scored for our alliance. Steve managed to get all the balls returned in a timely manner. After the match, the taller alliance players (from other teams) through Steve up in the air and caught him in their excitement. Steve had the biggest smile on his face when the match was done. Here are some photos of Steve using the trident.
Most of the teams struggled to get their robots to hang from the tower. One robot consistently hung from the tower in their matches throughout both days of competition. The design of this robot was amazing. The crowd cheered each time the team earned the two bonus points.
Katie was on the programing team and helped with some of the build. She didn't try out for any of the player positions. Instead, she and several other team members sat in the stands cheering for the various teams. Here are some shots of some of the supporters. Katie is wearing her lab coat. Madelyn (wearing green) is sitting with one of her friends. We all had a good time. Our team finished 23 out of 36. We are a fairly new team and learned a lot from this experience.
I knew that this was a wonderful experience for my kids, but I didn't realize that many teams have try-outs and interviews. Only top students are eligible to be members of many teams. The stadium was filled with wonderful kids having a blast.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Robotics
My two high school children and I will be off tomorrow for a robotics competition. The two of them have learned web design (for the team website), some programing, and have helped with some of the build. Overall, the experience was a good one for my children. We are looking forward to the excitement of competition and also for next years team. I'll post results and photos when we return.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Kids Activities
Katie and Stephen have joined a robotics team. The team has 6 or 8 weeks (I don't remember which) to build a robot. The robot needs to be programed to do various tasks. After it's completed, the team will go to various activities to compete with other robotics teams. The kids are really excited to be a part of this group.
The team is very generously sponsored by Stryker. Steve decided to join the team in October and has received rides to most of the activities from friends. Katie joined 3 days ago. When Steve joined, I explained that we were doing extensive remodeling on a home that we would be moving into in January. Steve decided to be part of the web design group because he would be able to do a lot of the work at home and wouldn't need to spend as much time at Stryker.
Katie joined the programming group. She will need to be at Stryker a lot. Saturday was the team kick-off in Grand Rapids. Sunday there was a meeting at Stryker (which no one told us about) and Monday there is another meeting at Stryker. I'm going to need to do some serious schedule adjusting. An adult babysitter will need to be located for some of these meetings. Joe is very good with Paige and Allie, but I'm uncomfortable leaving him in charge for long periods of time when Mike and I are both out of town.
I'm really glad that the kids have this opportunity. Stryker is providing mentors in programing, web design, marketing, and engineering. The kids will have the opportunity of working with these talented people and learning marketable skills from them. Robotics will help keep my high school students in touch with some of their friends on a day-to-day basis in the midst of the moving to a new area.
***Correction***
Steve did know about the meeting on Monday, but didn't tell me about it. He is having a lot of pain from his chipped tooth and went to bed without talking to me. We called the dentist's emergency line Saturday night and still haven't heard back from him. The office is closed on Mondays. Four of the kids are scheduled for cleanings on Wednesday. We may turn a couple of cleaning/check-ups into an appointment for Steve. I will be so glad when we move and change dentists!
The team is very generously sponsored by Stryker. Steve decided to join the team in October and has received rides to most of the activities from friends. Katie joined 3 days ago. When Steve joined, I explained that we were doing extensive remodeling on a home that we would be moving into in January. Steve decided to be part of the web design group because he would be able to do a lot of the work at home and wouldn't need to spend as much time at Stryker.
Katie joined the programming group. She will need to be at Stryker a lot. Saturday was the team kick-off in Grand Rapids. Sunday there was a meeting at Stryker (which no one told us about) and Monday there is another meeting at Stryker. I'm going to need to do some serious schedule adjusting. An adult babysitter will need to be located for some of these meetings. Joe is very good with Paige and Allie, but I'm uncomfortable leaving him in charge for long periods of time when Mike and I are both out of town.
I'm really glad that the kids have this opportunity. Stryker is providing mentors in programing, web design, marketing, and engineering. The kids will have the opportunity of working with these talented people and learning marketable skills from them. Robotics will help keep my high school students in touch with some of their friends on a day-to-day basis in the midst of the moving to a new area.
***Correction***
Steve did know about the meeting on Monday, but didn't tell me about it. He is having a lot of pain from his chipped tooth and went to bed without talking to me. We called the dentist's emergency line Saturday night and still haven't heard back from him. The office is closed on Mondays. Four of the kids are scheduled for cleanings on Wednesday. We may turn a couple of cleaning/check-ups into an appointment for Steve. I will be so glad when we move and change dentists!
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