FTC-Iowa Championship Tournament
Iowa Memorial Union, The University of Iowa
In its first season the METRO Robotics team made a big splash in the robotics world. They not only competed in the state tournament; they also designed and programed two fully-functioning robots, pepped up two Barns n' Noble book fairs, took their robot to the state capital building, met the governor, presented a grant proposal to the Giacoletto Foundation and still had time to be part of the winning alliance for the tournament and win the Connect Award for getting involved in their communities and promoting robotics
Metro's first year of its new robotic program began in August with the unpacking of boxes containing shiny new metal screws and robot pieces in a classroom full of eager, yet skeptical students and concluded at the FTC-Iowa Championship Tournament this past march on the University of Iowa's campus.
Through out the fall students and staff had alot to do. Attending the Season kick-off event at Prairie Point Middle School to learn about the new game for this season; starting to learn how the pieces and parts fit together and how we can make them move; students presented to the Giacoletto Foundation board to request additional funds to purchase two program lap tops and spare parts; and students from the robotics class participated in Langford Team Training and worked with Clipper Wind of Cedar Rapids to solve an internal problem in their company.
The winter brought scrimmage season and Metro, being a new team, needed as much practice and experience as they could get. Metro had the start of a robot that would change drastically before the tournament in March and they used the two scimmage events they participated in to help them improve their designs and work out potential flaws. By March Metro had two fully functioning robots to use in competition. Bring on the tournament!
Metro students took their robot out on the road. Robotics students introduced their robot to the community at Metro's night @ Barns n' Noble explaining the program and allowing customers to test drive the robots. Robotics students also traveled to the state capital in Des Moines to meet with governor Terry Brandsted at the states Alternative Education Legislative day. The governer took the robot for a spin and posed with students for a picture.
Before Metro's Robots could compete on the "mat" there were a few additional hurdles that had to be overcome first. Hardware and software inspections occured first and after several attempts both robots passes inspection. Metro team members then met with the tournaments judges for an official judging period during which the judges asked students about their robots, their planning and designing, and how they interacted with the community.
Four students represented Metro at the FTC-Iowa Championship Tournament; Dan & Nathan Goodsen, Jessie Titus, and Rudy Young. The students worked tremendously hard throughout the day, driving, problem solving, and repairing with often minutes to spare and no rest in between. In the end their hard work paid off and after the qualifying matches they were selected to be part of an alliance in the elimination portion of the tournament. They helped their alliance navigate through all three rounds of the tournament including the finals which they swept for the championship. Metro's alliance teammates included a team from Mount Vernon, IA and a team from Wisconsin.
During the awards cerimony Metro was also awarded the CONNECT Award for promoting their team and robotics in their community.
Following the FTC-Iowa Championship Tournament Mark Geery from KCRG visited school to learn more about our program from the students.
I am very proud of my students for their hard work this season and I am looking forward to doing it again next year. Go Metro! For more information about how you can support our program go to the METRO Robotics website. For more information about FTC-Iowa or FIRST go to their websites.
No comments:
Post a Comment