Spring 2007 News
Robotics Joins in Celebration of Edina School’s New West Campus By Greg B.
April 26, 2007 -- Edina Robotics Team 1816, The Green Machine is happy to have participated in the Edina School District’s “Hats off to Edina!” open house at the high school on Sunday, April 22nd. Positioned in the high school’s newly expanded Commons, visitors were able to watch team-produced videos of this year’s and last year’s robots in action. Guests were also were given the opportunity to operate the robot from last year, as the one from this year had not yet returned from the Championship in Atlanta. Many teachers and administrators from the district showed up to watch and drive the robot; even Dr. Ric Dressen, Edina’s superintendent of schools, took a turn at the controls. Aside from a few instances of driving the robot into the wall – and a few close encounters off-the-carpet from overzealous young controllers, in the end no one was hurt. Besides watching and operating the 2006 robot, visitors were encouraged to page through the photo album the team submitted for this year’s Chairman’s Award, see up-close the team’s awards from regional and national competitions, as well as learn about FIRST Robotics and Edina’s recent activities from team members on hand. The Green Machine now looks forward to moving into new workshop space and meeting room at Edina High School!
Edina Robotics Wins Big at International Competition
April 14, 2007 -- Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816, The Green Machine, was a Finalist in the Newton Division of the FIRST Robotics Championship Competition at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome April 12-14, 2007. FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” The team of 33 Edina High School students participated as one of the 86 teams represented in the Newton Division of the competition. The FIRST Robotics Championship is an international competition in which 344 teams and 8,600 high-school students from five countries participated. The Edina team was in a three-team Alliance that advanced all the way to the division finals. FIRST’s competitive game this year for the robot challenge was called Rack ‘N’ Roll. Read More...
Edina Robotics Team Prepares for FIRST Championship By Anna W.
April 9, 2007 -- Because Edina Robotics Team 1816 has been selected as one of 30 teams to participate in the FIRST Fuel Cell project, the team has automatically qualified to participate in the FIRST Championship. The tournament will last three days, April 12-14, and is held in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Team members will be dismissed from school on Wednesday, April 11 to fly to the competition, where they will meet with 340 teams and over 8,500 high school students from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil to compete in this exhilarating competition. There, the team will present its Fuel Cell Project, and, of course, demonstrate its robot’s extraordinary defense skills in the matches. All matches can be watched live via NASA webcast. We’ll provide a link and competition times when they become available.
Edina Robotics Formally Commended for Promotion of FIRST Robotics in Minnesota
March 20, 2007 -- Minnesota State Senator Geoff Michel (R-Edina) formally commended Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816 through a formal Minnesota Senate Recognition resolution, issued on March 20, 2007. The resolution recognized the team for “unselfish teamwork while promoting the FIRST Robotics program throughout the State of Minnesota.” It also notes the team’s semifinal appearance during the Wisconsin Regional, as well as receiving the “DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit Award” for its mentoring of Minnesota rookie teams. This season, Edina Robotics worked closely with several rookie teams including Team 2129 Ultraviolet, Southwest High School, Minneapolis; Team 2052 KnightKrawler, Irondale High School, New Brighton; Team 2207 Beartronics, White Bear Lake. The Edina team was also instrumental in introducing students, teachers, and parents to FIRST Robotics through their exhibit at Governor Pawlenty’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Summit for High School Students at the Science Museum of Minnesota in October 2006.
Edina Robotics Highly Ranked at Regional Competition
March 10, 2007 -- Edina Robotics, The Green Machine, rolled home from FIRST Robotics’ Wisconsin Regional Competition this weekend bearing the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit Award which “celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork.” Edina Robotics Team 1816, a team of Edina High School, has been instrumental in FIRST’s huge expansion in Minnesota this year, increasing the number of FIRST teams from two last year to 16 teams competing from the state this year. The team’s green RoboRag (our version of the Homer Hanky) became the “must-have” marketing trinket of the competition. FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” The Green Machine was a mighty competitor at the regional meet held in Milwaukee March 8-10, emerging as the third seed in the preliminary competition and advancing to the semifinals. Unfortunately, the team’s robot blew out its transmission during the semifinal rounds. The team will compete again in Atlanta at the FIRST Championship Competition April 12-14. At that time, the team will also exhibit its work in the FIRST Fuel Cell Pilot Program. Of the 1,300 FIRST teams around the world, the Edina team was one of 30 teams selected for this special challenge.
“It was exciting to see the robot we created actually perform in competition,” says Chris Miller, team co-captain. “We plan to use our FIRST-granted work hours to weld our transmission so the gears won’t fall out in Atlanta!”
The team thanks all its sponsors, contributors, and supporters. Top sponsors this year were Honeywell, Medtronic, NASA, The Edina Education Fund, and Ecolab.
The Green Machine also extends congratulations and best wishes to fellow Minnesota Team 2169 Prior Lake High School, Savage, Minn., which emerged as Wisconsin Regional Champions along with its alliance partners Team 537, Sussex, WI, and Team 2194, Fond du Lac, WI. Woodbury Math & Science Academy Team 2175, Woodbury, MN, was awarded the “Highest Rookie Seed,” finishing 16th in preliminary competition and participating in the final championship match. In all, five Minnesota teams participated in the semi-final and final matches, including the Green Machine’s own alliance partner Team 2129 Ultraviolet, Southwest High School, Minneapolis, and White Bear Lake’s Team 2207 Beartronics.