This past
weekend we went to our first competition, at Auburn Mountainview high school.
This was our first time coming to Auburn Mountainview since 2015, and it was
certainly an unforgettable experience.
On Friday,
we were able to set up our pit efficiently, giving us plenty of time to work on
much-needed robot repairs. We then proceeded to go through inspection, tweaking
our robot along the way, until we passed inspection on Saturday morning.
Team members working hard on the
robot
Our first
few matches were rough. Multiple robot issues prevented us from executing our
strategy of scoring hatch panels and climbing to level 3, and we ended our
second match ranked 24th.
However,
after reevaluating our strategy and our robot’s capabilities, we made the
decision to switch from focusing primarily on hatch panels and climbing to
cargo pods. The result was gradual improvement that culminated in a 5-match
winning streak as we gradually scored more and more cargo. We ended
qualification matches on Sunday ranked 15th, a drastic improvement
from where we were ranked before.
Our
robot Raven picking up cargo
After
qualification matches, we gratefully joined an alliance led by alliance captain
SeaBot (1258) and Reign Robotics (5588), where we faced the #2 alliance in the
quarterfinals, who consisted of Code Purple (5827), Spartabots (2976), and
Phoenix Force Robotics (2097).
Our alliance, made up of Reign
Robotics (left), us (center), and SeaBot (right)
We won our
first quarterfinal match but had to replay it due to a field fault. Although we
did win the replay, we lost the next two matches in a long and hard-fought
battle, failing to make the semifinals.
The team
headed back to the stands to watch the rest of the elimination matches and the
awards ceremony. While we were there, we received good news: we had earned the
Motorola Quality Award for our detailed CAD model, usage of 3D-printed parts,
and innovative level 2 climb!
All in
all, this was a very exciting and thrilling competition to be a part of. We are
taking the next few days off to rest and hope to see many of our fellow teams
two weeks from now at Glacier Peak!
Our team giving out high fives
GO
ROBOTOTES!!!