WHAT DOES THE ROBOTICS TEAM DO?

FIRST COMPETITION

Wheeler's Robotics Team competes in FIRST's FTC competition. This is an international competition which has nearly 80k teams participating. FIRST (“For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”) was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway. The goal of the competition is to inspire young people to take an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) topics. Each year FTC (First Tech Challenge) comes up with a new challenge for robots to solve that usually involves blocks, balls, or other easily manipulated game pieces. For information on this year’s particular game and scoring, consult a team leader or the FIRST website.

HOW IS THE COMPETITION SET UP?

Although the game elements change from year to year, the competition always contains three rounds: autonomous, TeleOp, and endgame. During the autonomous period, robots run on a preprogrammed system that can have no human input for 30 seconds. This period usually has a high point potential. After the autonomous period is over, the TeleOp (teleoperation, the control of a device or machine remotely) round begins. During this period human players are allowed to control the robot’s actions. Scoring during the autonomous period and TeleOp period works slightly differently so be sure to understand the team’s goals during each section. The final round of the competition is the endgame, which is also TeleOp. This round allows for additional scoring and is also a crucial part of the game. Usually, the robot can score points in the same ways as the TeleOp round. However, during the endgame, there are additional scoring opportunities. Each round we are matched with an alliance team with whom we will work together to complete game objectives. During competitions go to http://theorangealliance.org/ for live updates on scoring and a live stream of the event.

COMMITMENT

TBD. We will meet twice a week during enrichment period which is on the five day rotation. You are only required to attend one practice per week but should attend both if possible.

BUT I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, CAN I STILL JOIN?

YES! As a robotics team, we need all sorts of skill sets. Of course, we love students who are interested in computer science and engineering, but we also have a need to writers, artists, and more! We build training into practice so you don't have to worry about being inexperienced.