Robotics team gearing up for tough game |
| January 24, 2014 |
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By Derek Reynolds On Saturday, January 4, 2014, FIRST Team 2130 met in Mr. Katz’s room at Bonners Ferry High School. Approximately 28 students, 10 mentors and several alumni joined us to learn about the FIRST competition this year, Aerial Assist. This game consists of two alliances, made up of three robots on each alliance. The field is 24’x54’ and is separated into threee different zones; red, white, and blue; with a truss in the middle of the field suspended five feet in the air. There are two high goals and two low goals at both ends of the field. The two high goals are 6’ 10.75” above the carpet and are 11’ 6” wide x 3’ 1” tall. The two low goals are on the floor with the bottom located seven inches above the floor and the side openings are 2’ 5” wide by 2’ 4” tall, and the top opening is 2’ 8.5”x2’ 8.5." The game is played with each alliance possessing a 24-inch diameter ball that they need to shoot at either the high goal, or push or shoot in the low goal. Before the drivers take control of their robot, there is a ten second autonomous period, which means that all the actions the robot performs are not controlled by the drivers. Instead the robot operates on pre-programmed instructions. The robot can be pre-loaded for this part of the game as long as the robot does not extend past its footprint. The high goal during this period is worth 10 points and the low is worth one point. Also, there is a bonus of five points for scoring a “hot” goal. Hot goals are recognized by the light strips that line the top goals and they will light up to designate which goal to shoot at. Also, the alliance gets another extra five points for each robot that drives from the white starting zone into the zone that they’re supposed to be shooting toward. After the autonomous period all balls have to be cleared off the field and then the driver operated period starts. In this large portion of the game high goals are worth 10 points while low goals are worth one point. There is only one ball for each alliance during this period. The alliances gain large amounts of bonus points for passing the alliance's ball off between robots in a different zone, hence the name of the game, Aerial Assist. There is also a truss set over the midline of the arena, robots can pass the ball over the truss for 10 additional points. What’s more, if an allied robot catches the pass over the bar, the alliance gains 10 more points. In order to gain assist points from passing the ball to alliance teammates, it is essential that they possess the ball in a zone different from the passing robot, otherwise it does not count as an assist and the alliance will not gain the bonus points. There is a maximum of three assists per each cycle, each time the ball is put on the field. To gain the assist points at the end of each cycle one of the robots must shoot or push the balls into one of the goals. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly that simple. The alliance with the most points at the end of the two minute and thirty second match wins. If you have any questions or would like to make a donation, call Edward Katz at (208) 267-3149. |