Several FIRST Robotics teams met on January 10, 2015 at Baker College in Flint Michigan for the 2015 MidMichigan FIRST Robotics Design Review. Students discussed their ideas for the competition robots and strategies for this year’s game.
Recycle Rush, the 2015 competition, is different from previous competitions for many reasons but chief among them is a lack of defense in the qualifying rounds. Several different scoring methods and game theories were discussed.
Points are scored by stacking totes on scoring platforms and accumulated by stacking more totes, recycle bins or pool noodles on top of scored totes. The most contentious issue in terms of game theory was how to most efficiently use time.
The benefit of the design review is to discuss your strategies and theories with other teams to make sure everyone understands and interprets the rules in the same way. Several veteran Michigan teams, some of them with FIRST national championships under their belts, have advice for newer teams about construction and ambition.
Many possible paths were discussed by teams to perform the main tasks of the game: moving objects and stacking objects. It’s always interesting to see how others would design a robot to perform the same tasks using wildly different implements and strategies.
This real world experience is incredibly helpful to students as they prepare for STEM careers. Having a set goal in mind with solid design constraints and requirements helps to see a project completed from start to finish. The constant updates on the Q&A page and game updates force the teams to monitor changes that might be made to the requirements and then adapt to those changes.
http://i.imgur.com/64NrPJU.png
The following teams were present at the design review:
Team 70, Goodrich High School More Martians
Team 5251, Way Academy WAYbots
Team 5150, Kearsley High School Hornets
Team 1243, Swartz Creek Dragons