Team History
Written by Greg B., Anna W., Emily C., and Lauren W.
Rookie Year -- 2006 Season
Lacking a workshop space, the team built the robot in the newly remodeled kitchen in the home of Chris Miller’s father.
In 2006, Edina High School junior Chris Miller, with a nucleus of friends, formed a robotics team at the high school for the purpose of competing in FIRST Robotics competitions. Chris, who served as the team’s captain, applied for and received a $6,000 grant from NASA as seed money for the team. This provided enough funding to attend the kickoff meeting outside of Milwaukee, WI in January and to receive our initial kit of parts and instructions about the competition game for the year, “Aim High.” The Edina team, one of 1,025 teams from around the world competing as part of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in 2006, was assigned the team number 1816, which will be the team number as long as there is an Edina team. The team adopted the name “The Green Machine."
Our First Robot Zorgatron and Kristofer
Our First Robot Zorgatron and Kristofer
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During our rookie season (2006) about 16 Edina students from Edina’s high school and middle schools collaborated to design, build, and field a 5-foot tall robot. Lacking a workshop space, the team built the robot in the newly remodeled kitchen in the home of Chris Miller’s father. Besides NASA, our major sponsors in 2006 were Medtronic, Inc., and the Edina Education Fund. Their support helped us to have a memorable rookie season. At the Wisconsin Regional Competition in Milwaukee our robot’s strong consistent defense helped us get selected to be an alliance partner of two strong teams, Team #111 Wildstang and Team #1625 Winovation – and together we were winners of the Wisconsin Regional Championship in mid-March. This victory qualified us for the Championship Competition, and after scrambling to raise money for the registration fees, the team was on its way to Atlanta, GA! There, we finished the qualifying rounds as the 6th seed out of the 85 teams in the Archimedes Division and were able to advance to the quarterfinals. Although suffering a hard-fought defeat there, we did win the Highest Rookie Seed Award, as well as several peer-to-peer awards including Best Alliance Partner, Most Creative Design, and Best Rookie Team.
2007 Season
For the 2007 season, it was all about building upon our rookie year achievements.
For the 2007 season, it was all about building upon our rookie year achievements. The team had greatly expanded since the end of the last season, growing to include 33 Edina High School students, grades 9 – 12. Experience from our first year and the larger team size gave The Green Machine the opportunity to explore other areas of FIRST. In our second year the team made community outreach and the expansion of the FIRST program one of the key objectives of the team.
STEM Summit
STEM Summit
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The most notable effort by the team in this regard was participation in the first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Summit for High School Students hosted at the Science Museum of Minnesota by Governor Tim Pawlenty in September of 2006. There we showcased our 2006 robot, Zorgatron, and our vision system, as well as talked extensively with students, parents, and teachers about how to start their own FIRST team. As a follow-up, we visited many area schools with our robot, answering questions and encouraging them to form teams. Due to this outreach, the number of Minnesota FIRST teams jumped from two to sixteen leading up to the 2007 competition season.
Kickoff
Kickoff
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In January 2007, the tremendous growth of FIRST in Minnesota allowed our state to host its first-ever Kickoff event announcing the details of the 2007 game “Rack 'N' Roll.” Our team played host to a total of 22 teams from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota at the Coffman Memorial Union on the University of Minnesota campus.
Adding to our second-year build experience, the team was selected as one of 30 FIRST teams in 20 states to participate in a pilot project involving hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative to standard batteries and energy sources. Coincidentally, the program was called “The Fuel Cell ‘Green Machine’ Pilot Program.” A special bonus to our participation was that all teams involved in this four-part challenge (which included building and testing a hydrogen fuel cell) were invited to take part in the 2007 Championship competition in Atlanta, GA.
On a brighter note, we won the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit Award for showing “extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork”
In March, The Green Machine competed in the Wisconsin Regional tournament in Milwaukee, WI. There we vied with 51 other teams from various Midwest states. After eight qualifying matches, we earned the position of third seed. In the elimination rounds, our alliance advanced to the semifinals where, unfortunately, the robot’s transmission failed, leaving it unable to move, much less compete. On a brighter note, we won the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit Award for showing “extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork,” and our team’s Website received a FIRST Website Excellence Award.
The 2007 Robot On the Field
The 2007 Robot On the Field
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Due to The Green Machine’s participation in the FIRST Fuel Cell Project, the team attended the FIRST Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. During the qualifying rounds of the Championship, The Green Machine had some bad luck, did not make it to the top eight (of the 86 teams competing in our division), and therefore was not guaranteed to participate in the elimination rounds.
However, using some inspired marketing we successfully pitched our robot’s ramp-lifting abilities to the third seeded team, Team 1124-The Überbots, Avon, CT. and were selected to join their alliance with Team 1592-The Bionic Tigers, Cocoa, FL. The combination of the awesome ring-placing offensive abilities of these two teams and our team’s defense and ability to score bonus points with “Zarthan” made for an extraordinary alliance. Our alliance went so far as to become the Division Finalists in the Newton Division. As it turned out, the alliance to which our alliance lost in the Newton division finals ended up as the overall 2007 FIRST Champions, defeating finalists in the other three divisions. Along with being Division Finalists in Atlanta, we also won a silver award in the FIRST Fuel Cell competition for our “Lazer Maze Craze” game design involving hydrogen-fuel cells. All things considered, it was an extremely successful season for The Green Machine.
2008 Season
Along with 19 other FIRST teams, Team 1816 was tapped to help identify and list resources that could help reduce barriers to entry among rookie teams.
The summer following the 2007 season, the team received exciting news: that it would be one of founding teams in the FIRST President’s Circle. Along with 19 other FIRST teams, Team 1816 was tapped to help identify and list resources that could help reduce barriers to entry among rookie teams. Among other things, our team’s handbook was posted as a helpful resource, with FIRST noting its excellence covering “team structure and functions, including sponsorship levels, team travel information, and adult mentors and their roles.”
Main room of Minnesota Splash
Main room of Minnesota Splash
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In the fall the team continued its focus on outreach. Many of our team members and leaders helped plan and organize a morning of activities specifically designed to help young teams “jump” into FIRST and get their feet wet, appropriately at a pre-season Minnesota Regional event named the “Minnesota Splash.” At the event, held at the Lockheed Martin facility in Eagan, Minn., FIRST teams participated in a wide of variety of learning activities, ranging from seminars about programming and pneumatics to actual robot demonstrations. Topics such as what to expect and do at competitions, fundraising, and game strategy were covered during the seminars and workshops.
Education Day Guests
Education Day Guests
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Even once the build season began, the team continued its outreach efforts. Indeed, one of the most important outreach events for The Green Machine is “Edina Robotics Education Day,” a daylong event right in the middle of the build season. Throughout the day, educators and community members had an opportunity to see a FIRST team in action actually building their robot. The team also was invited to take part in the Edina Education Fund’s Luncheon, presenting news about the FIRST program to attendees.
Though there were some kinks, the scrimmage gave the team confidence.
Even with all the outreach going on, there was a robot to build. The 2008 robot, “Zerkit,” was finished with in time to attend a scrimmage hosted by Team 2518-The Spartans of Simley High School. There the team saw the robot perform its functions on a life-size playing field, alongside robots of the five other teams in attendance. Though there were some kinks to be worked out, the scrimmage gave the team confidence heading into the competitions.
Zerkit, the 2008 Robot, on the field
Zerkit, the 2008 Robot, on the field
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In mid-March, the team packed tools and bags and piled all into a coach-bus for the FIRST Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee. Three intense days of competition pulled upon every resource of the team. Hours of frustration fixing broken parts, combined with a few disappointing matches during which Zerkit remained stubbornly motionless, the team finished 5-3 in preliminary round seeding and out of the top eight. However, the team’s efforts to market Zerkit to other teams paid off when The Green Machine advanced to the elimination rounds as part of an alliance with Team 2606-Rosemount Robotics, a Minnesota rookie team from Rosemount High School, and Team 74-Team CHAOS of Holland High School, Holland, MI. Even with an exit in the quarterfinals, The Green Machine emerged knowing they’d ironed out most every setback. With (hopefully) many of Zerkit’s problems fixed, the team turned their eyes toward competing in the inaugural Minnesota FIRST Regional at the end of the month.
The most exciting news came at the end of the awards presentation, when it was announced that the team won the prestigious Chairman’s Award.
During the preliminary seeding matches in the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena, Zerkit performed better than expected. Zerkit began the qualification rounds on Friday morning with two losses in a row, but the team rebounded and won each of the remaining seven matches to finish the qualification rounds with a 7-2 record. This made Team 1816 the number four-ranked robot out of 54 robots at the conclusion of the qualifying rounds and eligible to pick two additional teams to form a competition alliance. Sadly, our team’s alliance was eliminated in the quarterfinal rounds, due in part to a mysterious power loss suffered by Zerkit at the beginning of a match. Despite the elimination from the competition, Team 1816 wasn’t done for the day. The most exciting news came at the end of the awards presentation, when it was announced that the team won the prestigious Chairman’s Award. This award is presented to the FIRST team that best-exemplifies the mission of FIRST. By winning the Regional Chairman’s Award, Team 1816 was invited to the FIRST Championships in Atlanta, GA, April 17-19 to compete against 40 other Regional Chairman’s recipients for the National Chairman’s Award.
Zerkit at the Championship
Zerkit at the Championship
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The 2008 FIRST competition season came to an exciting finale with the World Championships in Atlanta, and Team 1816 was right there in the middle of the action. During the tournament, The Green Machine competed with 350 other teams for the robotics title of World Champions. The Green Machine was placed in the Galileo division for the qualifying rounds, and the competition there sure was fierce. Combined, the teams facing off in Galileo possessed 36 regional wins! With all the competition, the team gave it everything they had, finishing a respectable 4-3, ending in 40th place out of about 80 in the division. Surrounded by remarkable robots from which to choose, The Green Machine was not picked by any of the top-seeded teams to advance to the elimination rounds. Yet, there were other bonuses to take away from Atlanta: For the first time, in competition-conditions, Zerkit actually functioned properly in virtually all of its matches!
In addition to entering Zerkit into the competition, Team 1816 considered it an honor to be considered as one of 41 teams eligible for the Championship Chairman’s Award. All of these Regional Chairman’s Teams presented strong programs of outreach and enthusiasm for science, technology, math and engineering.
The Green Machine didn’t even wait until getting back to Minnesota to start brainstorming ideas for next year’s outreach efforts!
The Green Machine did not take home the top Chairman’s award; however the team members who went before the judging panel felt their presentation of the team’s hard work on outreach events, such as Minnesota Splash and FIRST Lego League mentoring, was received well by the judges. Rather than being discouraged though, the team was inspired by the enthusiasm and dedication of other FRC teams. The Green Machine didn’t even wait until getting back to Minnesota to start brainstorming ideas for next year’s outreach efforts!
2009 Season
Zerkit goes to the Fair
Zerkit goes to the Fair
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Though the team had won the Regional Chairman’s Award the previous season, that was only the beginning of Team 1816’s determination to help interest other teens in science, technology, and math through robotics. As such, Team 1816 helped organize a FIRST-style competition at the Minnesota State Fair. Visitors attending the 12-day event were treated to the first-ever tournament and exhibition of Minnesota FIRST Robotics teams. Team 1816 was in attendance three days, demonstrating the capabilities of “Zerkit,” its Overdrive robot, as part of one-on-one competitions held in the Education Building. In addition to actually winning the overall competition, the robot was also awarded a second place ribbon for robot’s design, and the team was invited to demonstrate “Zerkit” during a broadcast of “Twin Cities Live,” an afternoon talk-show aired by KSTP-TV Channel Five.
Rem pulls up a weed
Rem pulls up a weed
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The Green Machine also decided to take its name seriously and begin work towards being more environmentally friendly. The team volunteered at the Bakken Library and Museum, Minneapolis, helping with gardening and other grounds work around their facility. The team also helped collect aluminum cans as part of a recycling promotion. Team members also volunteered as part of the “Ecology Team” at the LPGA U.S. Women’s Open, Interlachen Country Club. There, members helped with waste management and recycling in an effort to make the event the first-ever “zero-waste” U.S. Women’s Open!
The construction of an ambitious “practice robot” gave the team a chance to incorporate a mecanum drive set-up.
Honing technical skills were also a high priority during the summer and fall. The construction of an ambitious “practice robot” gave the team a chance to incorporate several technical design features never before attempted, including utilizing a mecanum drive set-up. In another step forward for the team, the practice robot was designed entirely using computer-aided drafting (CAD), giving CAD team members valuable experience.
cRIO Seminar
cRIO Seminar
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The team also applied and was admitted to a FIRST program that made the team one of only 18 “beta-test” teams in the nation to test the new control system for the 2009 competition year. In order to learn as much as possible about the new control system, and to educate as many other FIRST teams and members as possible, the Green Machine collaborated with two other veteran teams -- Team 2220-Blue Twilight, Eagan High School, and Team 2129-Ultraviolet, Southwest High School, Minneapolis -- on six weeks of testing, experimenting and working on a seminar presentation. In November, the three teams presented the first of several seminars about the new Compact RIO (cRIO) Control System. More than 13 regional teams filled a lecture hall at the University of Minnesota’s Willey Hall to learn as much as they could about the new cRIO.
In its second year, Splash featured veteran FIRST teams presenting on a variety of relevant FIRST robotics topics to new and inexperienced teams.
Just over a month later the team had another opportunity to share their experience with the new control system, this time as the host of a series of pre-season seminars known as “Minnesota Splash.” In its second year, Splash featured veteran FIRST teams presenting on a variety of relevant FIRST robotics topics to new and inexperienced teams. Standing-room only audiences crowded into Anderson Hall at the University of Minnesota to learn about the cRIO, electrical wiring, pneumatics, marketing, websites, animation and the Chairman’s Award.
With the honor also came the opportunity to participate in the President’s Circle for the second year in a row.
The 2009 Build Season officially got underway on January 3rd, and The Green Machine received an exciting mention during the introductory webcast as a finalist for the 2009 President’s Circle Video Contest, making their entry one of the top three. With the honor also came the opportunity to participate in the President’s Circle for the second year in a row.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming
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With the build season underway, the team quickly got to work brainstorming ideas for the new robot. Split between creating a dumping type robot or a shooter type robot, the team decided to compromise and create a shooter that could also “dump” moon rocks effectively at short range from the shooter. With the decision made, the builders got to work. Five weeks later the first version of the 2009 robot, “Zeus,” was effectively finished. After a scrimmage at Simley High School, Zeus was crated up and shipped.
Though the alliance exited in the quarterfinals, one highlight from the regional was that the team won the “Best Website Award.”
It wasn’t until the Wisconsin Regional, March 12 – 14, that Zeus was back in action. After three days of intense competition there, the team finished with a respectable 6-4 record and in 11th place at the end of the qualification matches (out of 53 teams total). However, the team moved up into the top 8 teams after two selected each other for their alliances. The Green Machine was then able to select its own alliance, and chose Team 1103-Delavan, WI, and Team 2202-Brookfield, WI, for the elimination rounds. Though the alliance exited in the quarterfinals, one highlight from the regional was that the team won the “Best Website Award.”
Zeus getting fixed at the North Star Regional
Zeus getting fixed at the North Star Regional
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After finishing in the quarterfinals, the team felt confident an improvement in standing could be accomplished at the Minnesota North Star Regional, held at the University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena. While the shooter had worked at close ranges there, the team decided a dumper would allow the team to score much higher volumes than had been scored previously. To that end, a small group of builders created a dumping mechanism to replace the shooter previously mounted on the top Zeus. Since the dumper had to be built separate from the robot, much of Thursday’s practice rounds were spent attaching the dumper and getting ready for the start of the qualification rounds on Friday.
The Green Machine finished with a 6-1 record in the qualification rounds, placing it in fourth place overall
The time spent re-building Zeus was well worth it. The Green Machine finished with a 6-1 record in the qualification rounds, placing it in fourth place overall and able to select its own alliance for the elimination rounds on Saturday. The Green Machine selected Team 2472-Centennial Sr. High School, Circle Pines, Minn., and Team 2418-Minot, N. D. The alliance did well, making it all the way to the finals, before losing to the second-seeded alliance.
Evan, Mark and Professor Will Durfee with Woodie
Evan, Mark and Professor Will Durfee with Woodie
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In addition to success on the playing field, the team did well in non-build related areas. After winning the award at the Wisconsin Regional for Best Website, the team repeated, also receiving the award at North Star. The team also took home their first-ever Autodesk Visualization Award for their animation “Green Power,” which can be viewed here. Perhaps even more exciting, Mark Lawrence, a founding mentor and the team’s Director of Technical Operations, was named the winner of the Woodie Flowers Award, presented by Woodie Flowers himself!
Though the team didn’t qualify for the Championships this year, the season was by no means a failure. The team did extremely well nonetheless, and will no doubt continue working and come back even better next year!
2010 Season
At Tech Fest
At Tech Fest.
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The 2010 season for the Green Machine started long before the annual January kickoff. Zeus and the team made appearances at various events, including the Minnesota State Fair, Valley Fair, the Mall of America, and at Southdale Mall for the FIRST-ever FIRST Robotics showcase. The team stayed true to its “going green” theme by volunteering at the Bakken Museum for “Bike to the Bakken Day” and at the Wood Lake Nature Center. Weekly “green” tips became a popular feature on the team’s website.
In September 2009, we were again selected by FIRST as a beta testing team. This time, we were asked to test updates to the Windriver programming environment, as well as a brand new driver station, one which promised to be sturdier and “less glitchy” than the station of the 2009 season. Green Machine programmers presented its findings to FRC teams statewide through two different venues: Minnesota Splash, an annual pre-season event hosted by 1816, and at the Twilight Star Mini-Regional.
In September 2009, we were again selected by FIRST as a beta testing team.
The Green Machine this season also faced a new challenge that wasn’t strictly related to robots: Two thirds of the team graduate in June 2010. To compensate, extra effort went toward recruiting sophomores and juniors. The team as a whole devoted many more hours mentoring the four Edina FIRST Tech Challenge teams. We hope to welcome our FTC veterans onto the FRC team beginning in fall 2010.
Zazu
Zazu.
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With the 2010 game challenge revealed as robots playing soccer, it was difficult for the team to quickly settle on the “one” best design. So many ideas and possibilities for the robot, yet with clear weight, dimensional, and time limits, meant long hours spent in front of whiteboards and team computers, using Solidworks to assist with computer-aided design possibilities. The workshop filled up with prototypes, and by ship date, the 2010 robot Zazu was almost fully built. Though the robot was technically working, the team knew that there was much fine-tuning that needed to be done before the competition started in Milwaukee if the team wanted to impress.
The team quickly discovered that Zazu’s kicker, despite countless readjustments, wasn’t quite as up to par as an offensive player, but Zazu made an excellent defensive robot.
As soon as the pits opened at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee, the robot builders set to work on the robot. Fine-tuning took longer than expected, however, and we were not able to get the robot working on the field until the seeding matches on Friday. The team quickly discovered that Zazu’s kicker, despite countless readjustments, wasn’t quite as up to par as an offensive player, but Zazu made an excellent defensive robot. Despite several well-played matches, we didn’t catch the eye of any of the top eight teams, and were not picked for an elimination alliance. That gave us valuable insight into game strategy as well as a laundry list of fixes to be made to the robot with an eye toward a better outcome at the Minnesota North Star Regional.
Unfortunately, in each of the two elimination matches only two of the three robots were moving, as Zazu lost communication in the first round and another robot on the alliance had a similar problem in the second round.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper competition without mysterious technical difficulties and other causes of panic, but the Minnesota North Star Regional overall went quite well for 1816. The team fixed up the roller and the kicker so that Zazu could successfully kick soccer balls into the goals, improving the robot’s performance both in autonomous and teleoperated mode. These improvements were noted by other teams, and 1816 was picked by the fifth seeded alliance lead by Team 2418-Northern Lights, Minot, N.D., to be their alliance partner in the elimination rounds. Unfortunately, in each of the two elimination matches only two of the three robots were moving, as Zazu lost communication in the first round and another robot on the alliance had a similar problem in the second round. However, it was a valuable learning experience, and the team knew exactly what needed to be looked out for in Atlanta for the FIRST Championships. Plus, the team received the “Best Website Award” for the second-year in a row, and the Johnson & Johnson “Gracious Professionalism Award” for its outstanding support for other teams in the competition.
Dan and Dr. Oesterle
Dan and Dr. Oesterle.
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In Atlanta, the FIRST day of the Championships was the polar opposite of the team’s struggles in Wisconsin and Minnesota: Zazu won all three of its matches the FIRST day with its reliably working kicker and maneuverability around the field. Unfortunately, the second day didn’t go quite as smoothly, as once again Zazu succumbed to various technical mishaps, including -- but not limited to -- an exploding smoking jaguar (it was all black and crusty on the inside). Despite these setbacks, the robot was once again in working condition by the end of Friday, but Saturday’s competition proved to be more difficult than the team could handle. Despite the fact that Zazu turned out to be a reliable robot that could score well (Zazu even scored in autonomous in its last match, much to the delight of its programmers), there were simply many other robots that were similarly skilled, and 1816 was not selected to be in the elimination rounds.
Competition was tougher than ever this season, but 1816 benefited from valuable learning experiences. We expect the Green Machine to be fully prepared to take on next year’s FIRST robotics challenge.
2011 Season
Girl Scout Camp
Girl Scout Camp.
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Summer 2010 was filled with activities such as mentoring girls in beginning robotics at a local Girl Scout Camp; washing cars and holding a garage sale as team fundraisers; putting our “Gear Eyes” and sponsor logo on our new green robot trailer, and staffing several food-packing stations during a late-spring community-wide Feed My Starving Children event.
The highlight came at the very end of August, when we and 15 other Minnesota FRC teams gathered at the Minnesota State Fair for ten days of FRC-game style competition. These game challenges were designed to have the current year robots perform tasks they weren’t designed to do. Our robot, Zazu couldn’t quite muster the strength or flexibility to meet most of the challenges, yet the on-field competitions drew tremendous crowds. It was a great opportunity to meet and introduce State Fair visitors to FIRST Robotics.
It turned out that having a recalcitrant robot was a great teaching tool, allowing rookie builders and programmers to get first-hand experience diagnosing and fixing a robot during the stress of competition.
The beginning of school meant our major recruitment effort got underway, with our robots making appearances at an activities fair and teachers recommending students to succeed the twenty-plus members who graduated from The Green Machine in June. Several students from Edina’s FIRST Tech Challenge teams joined 1816, and we anticipate more such FTC graduates to join us in upcoming seasons. Our new students’ enthusiasm about learning as much as possible about how a FIRST robot is built became apparent when we traveled to Prior Lake High School for the pre-season “Minne-Mini” Regional. It turned out that having a recalcitrant robot was a great teaching tool, allowing rookie builders and programmers to get first-hand experience diagnosing and fixing a robot during the stress of competition.
Zeus greets visitors at the Galleria
Zeus greets visitors at the Galleria.
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We also introduced our newest team members to FIRST’s tenet of outreach. Our Facilities subteam built and installed gates to safeguard the upper loft stairways of a local church; we displayed our new robot trailer to our community during Edina’s Homecoming Parade, and we helped clean up an Edina park during the “Edina Day of Service.” We are proud to be counted among the 1,300 volunteers who stepped forward during this community-wide event. We brought Zeus, our 2009 “Lunacy” season robot, to Tech Fest- an event sponsored by The Works, an engineering museum at the Edina Community center, to interest young people in careers in science and engineering. Zeus also made an appearance at the Edina Galleria mall drawing the attention of kids who were out shopping with their parents.
Team 1816 was one of the 59 FIRST Robotics teams selected to beta test new robot software. This time, we tested C/C++ software and libraries.
Team 1816 was one of the 59 FIRST Robotics teams selected to beta test new robot software. This time, we tested C/C++ software and libraries. We asked Team 2169-King TeC, Prior Lake; Team 2175-The Fighting Calculators, Woodbury, and Team 2846-FireBears, Roseville MN, to join us in presenting findings during the annual “Minnesota Splash,” day of seminars hosted by our team at the University of Minnesota.
After checking dimensions in CAD and discussing pros and cons of various lift mechanisms, our team decided to move forward with a double jointed arm on the main robot.
In January, we kicked off the build season with a weekend of brainstorming. Team members broke into small groups with mentors to discuss plans for the robot and the newest challenge, building an FTC-style minibot. After checking dimensions in CAD and discussing pros and cons of various lift mechanisms, our team decided to move forward with a double jointed arm on the main robot. The great collaboration between subteams helped make this choice easy to make. Once again, the CAD subteam proved indispensible, making computer models of our robot designs so we could catch problems before building.
Zaboomafoo, before it was redesigned
Zaboomafoo, before it was redesigned.
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Our FTC graduates, now in their rookie year on 1816, took charge of building the minibot for the competition. Our team took one minibot design to the new Lake Superior Regional, but after seeing the smaller and faster minibots used by other teams, we redesigned our minibot so it was able to climb the tower quickly and more reliably. At the same time, Zeebo, our robot for the 2011 competition was finished ahead of deadline, giving the programmers time to test out their programs. We shipped Zeebo to its first regional in our awesome new crate painted bright green with giant gear eyes.
The new Lake Superior Regional, Duluth, MN, attracted more than 40 teams, including many rookie teams. As the oldest established FRC team in the state of Minnesota, we were called upon to help many teams program, repair, and even build their robots so they could compete.
Team 1816 had a very successful competition at Lake Superior! We made it to the semifinals in competition and won many awards. On Friday, Emily C, 1816’s safety captain, was awarded the Underwriter’s Laboratories’ Safety Star of the Day. We also won the Industrial Safety Award, the “Best Website” Award, and the Engineering Inspiration Award. The Engineering Inspiration Award gave the Green Machine the opportunity to attend the Championship Competition in St. Louis and included a NASA grant of $3000 to help pay the entry fee. In addition, our team captain, Emily B, was named one of two Deans List Finalists.
At the Championships competition, The Green Machine competed in the Galileo Division against many long-established and great FRC teams. We placed a respectable 53rd out of 88 teams in our division.
A few short weeks later, we competed at the Minnesota North Star Regional. At this competition, we again made it to the semifinal rounds and again earned the “Best Website” Award. At the Championships competition, The Green Machine competed in the Galileo Division against many long-established and great FRC teams. We placed a respectable 53rd out of 88 teams in our division. Will.i.am and the Blackeyed Peas gave an exclusive concert to all attending Championships, which was filmed for a ‘back-to-school’ special program airing on the ABC television network in August. At the beginning of the show, team member Ben L., dressed as our team’s mascot, had a brief cameo appearance saying “ FIRST is fun!” We quite agree.
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Talking about Robotics and FIRST
Talking about Robotics and FIRST.
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Even after competition season ends, Team 1816 continued its efforts to spread science and technology in our community. We gave a presentation at an Edina City Council meeting and were invited to be guests on a local television program, “In Edina,” where we talked about our successful competition season and about the many opportunities for students and adults alike to get involved in the many FIRST programs offered in Edina. The City Council meeting is available for viewing on the Edina City Council website and both presentations aired on community television.
2011 was one of our best seasons yet, and we look forward to another great season in 2012!
2012 Season
The Green Machine began its summer by participating in the SciMathMN STEM Showcase at the Minnesota Science Museum. This June event brought together companies, organizations and groups involved with science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and activities to show others what they are doing and how the general public can get involved with these programs. In July, 1816 members were the primary robot build mentors at a Robotics Girl Scout Camp in Fridley. It turned out to be a relaxing way to wrap up the busy 2011 season and launch into 2012.
Early September found 1816 at the Minnesota State Fair to compete and to show off Zeebo to people who may not know what we do. It was with great pride that we stood with Senator Al Franken as the announcement was made that FIRST Robotics in Minnesota is now an endorsed activity by the Minnesota State High School League. The first State Championship will be held in May 2012. The Green Machine’s mentors and team captain were in the spotlight on KARE 11 TV in September, part of an hour-long TV special on how mentoring students can make a huge difference in the world. The Edina Patch online news service asked our team to give a step-by-step demonstration about how to build a robot. Our two co-captains did a great job at this, assisted by one of our team members who not often is caught on camera. Then, 1816 swung into full recruiting mode for the 2012 season. Although not all of the students that came to our meetings stayed with us, it was great to see that more students than ever gave us a chance. Even more of our community got to see what we do at Edina’s Homecoming Day Parade, where we displayed our trailer, threw candy out to the crowd, and shook hands with tons of people lining the streets.
In October, we took part in the now-annual Edina Community Day of Service. We helped pick up trash in Lake Edina Park and then we drove over to Calvary Church to work on a landscaping beautification project. More than 1,300 people showed up to work on more than 130 community-centered projects. FIRST Robotics encourages all teams to do community service projects like this and it’s always fun to do anyway. We continued our tour of schools during September and October, demonstrating our robot before packed gyms of students at Seven Hills Classical Academy and Beacon Academy, among others. By late October, it was time for a team social/bonfire, where some members dressed up in their Halloween costumes and we had a pumpkin carving contest. The pumpkins looked amazing, especially when we put candles inside! There was everything from Phantom of the Opera to a soccer ball to a headstone. We ate pizza and had lots of snacks. All in all it was pretty awesome.
November found the Green Machine at a Star Wars and Robots event at the Ridgedale library. There were many small children who hugged and loved Zeebo and R2D2. We had a few Storm Troopers give our Zeebo a friendly look-over, but we all tried to avoid Darth Maul and his double-edged light saber. It was a very family-friendly event and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After the event was over, we got to take pictures with some of the adults that had dressed up as Star Wars characters. Plus, the person who built and managed R2D2 opened up our favorite little ‘droid so that we could take a look inside. It was a flash mob to see the inside of R2D2, which was quite interesting.
At last, a chance to ‘see’ what a competition is all about! The Minne-Minni Regional, co-hosted by us, 2169-KING TeC and 2220-Blue Twilight, was staged at Prior Lake High School. This mini-regional turned out to be a taste of the real thing. Our robot, Zeebo had some problems, but it turned out to be a good thing because some of the rookies got to experience what it was like to have to diagnose and fix a robot during a competition. Rookies also learned how to scout other teams and helped to both assembly and take down the competition field. It was a very unique experience and it was a lot of fun.
We spent a good part of our fall pre-season contacting and visiting with corporate sponsors, both returning and new prospects. Our efforts paid off! We are welcoming several new sponsors this season, and are thrilled that some of our longtime sponsors, Medtronic and Dow, are still with us. Thank you to everyone who agreed to meet with us and listen to our presentations. We hope to live up to your expectation!
We spent a good part of our fall pre-season contacting and visiting with corporate sponsors, both returning and new prospects. Our efforts paid off! We are welcoming several new sponsors this season, and are thrilled that some of our longtime sponsors, Medtronic and Dow, are still with us. Thank you to everyone who agreed to meet with us and listen to our presentations. We hope to live up to your expectation!
Ever eager to try new things, this year our team decided to go live on the web with Minnesota SPLASH. We thought it might enable teams outside the Twin Cities to actually hear the presentations without running into the possibility of December snows like in 2010. At the Microsoft Technology Center, 1816 along with 2177-The Robettes and 2169-KING TeC, had a chance to show FRC teams how to prepare for the build, how to wire and build a robot, and how to use different programming techniques. Scouting and fundraising also were covered. All of the presentations are posted on the Minnesota Regional website. It was really cool because the set up looked very professional and everyone knew what they were doing. We hope it gave everyone a better understanding of what awaits in the 2012 Season. We can’t wait for the 2012 competitions!
