Robotics Highlights
Update from the US FIRST FTC Regional Qualifier at Yonkers Riverside High
Team 10949 and team 12414 finish second and seventh respectively in a field of 21 robots in the qualifying rounds of the US FIRST FTC Regional Qualifier at Yonkers Riverside High, reports Steve Zoeller, coach of John Jay's robotics teams and engineering and robotics teacher.
"The teams won the 5th round together as alliance partners," said Zoeller. "Team 10949, Classy Chassis, will be an alliance captain in the Semi finals. Team 12414, Metal Benders, has a good chance of being selected on a three team alliance as their robot was very reliable and earned one of the highest scores with 74 points."
John Jay Robotics teams compete at the US FIRST Regional Qualifier
John Jay’s two robotics teams, Classy Chassis and the Metal Benders, competed in a field of 22 teams at the US FIRST FTC Challenge hosted by Peekskill High School. The competition had random robot alliances compete in a 30-second preprogrammed autonomous portion followed by a two-minute period in which robots work together to stack Lego-like Skystones.
Classy Chassis finished seventh and the Metal Benders finished thirteenth in the qualifying round in which each robot competed with an alliance partner in five matches. They won the fifth round together as alliance partners!
"Metal Benders had a rock-solid 30-second autonomous period in which they scored the maximum number of points," said Steve Zoeller, John Jay's engineering and robotics teacher. "Warwick Robotics selected Metal Benders and Jelly Fish, the team from Blind Brook High School, to be on their alliance team. They finished as the 2nd place alliance in the nine-hour event."
FTC Challenge
Both teams have two weeks to fine-tune their robots. They will compete again at Yonkers Riverside High School on Saturday, January 25. Both teams hope to be on the winning alliance and move on to the Excelsior Region Championships at SUNY Polytechnic in Utica on March 19-21.
US FIRST is a worldwide competition started by former MIT Professor, Woodie Flowers. The competition is designed to develop 21st century skills to prepare students for the collaborative nature and fast pace of change in today’s workplace. FIRST programs are available for all levels of K-12 education and the students who participate are eligible to receive scholarships from a pool of $80,000,000!