Kickoff!

Today is one of the most exciting days of the year that us robotics kids look forward to. Today is Kickoff, when we find out what this year’s challenge is! The taste of excitement fills the air making even the calmest of spirits loud and proud. We all gathered by the sports entrance to our school, huddling for warmth and poking fun at one another. When the big old yellow vehicle rolled up we let out shouts of joy. Everyone rushed out the door and onto the bus. The team this year is larger than ever making the bus extra cramped. Cheers of laughter echoed in the cramped, metallic space of the bus. Once everyone was loaded on and checked off the attendance list we set off to our destination, Spencerport High School. The ride was a bit uncomfortable for some, since several of the kids were sitting three to a seat. It was so cold that the windows where iced over, which made for a good surface to draw quirky pictures on.

When we made it to Spencerport we rushed off of the bus, eager to get inside to the warm, heated building. Spencerport’s robotics team 3015 Ranger Robotics has been hosting the local Kickoff since last year. They have been doing an amazing job by creating a fun and exciting environment for all. They’re even generous enough to hold a raffle give away! Some of the prizes vary from a simple flash drive to a flat screen TV. They also have tons of yummy, scrumptious donuts in their cafeteria for everyone to enjoy. That’s actually the very first place some of us went when we got in…

Once we all filled up on tasty donuts, it was time for all the teams to gather in the auditorium for the live stream. A slide show played on the projector of various pictures submitted from different teams. Whenever there was a picture of our team we would proudly cheer. When everyone calmed down there was some quick speeches from sponsors talking about various opportunities FIRST gives its members, from experience to scholarships. Once all of that was over, the stream began.



It started with a very fun and interesting music video about steampunk (by the end, some of us were unashamedly singing along). We happened to see one or two pics of our team in it, which was very exciting (one of the pics even had me in it while I was wearing the mascot costume!). The stream then went on to show off some crazy shenanigans by the founders of FIRST. When it was all said and done, they finally showed us the game that we have all been dying to see: FIRST STEAMWORKS.

This year’s steampunk-themed game, FIRST STEAMWORKS, is played by two alliances of three robots each on a 27 ft. by 54 ft. 4 in. field. Each match is 2 minutes and 30 seconds long. Robots operate using pre-programmed instructions for the first 15 seconds of each match, and then drivers control the robots for the remainder of the match. The object of STEAMWORKS is for robots to work together to gain points by scoring green balls, or ‘fuel’, into the low or high goals of a ‘boiler’ to build up steam pressure, or by retrieving and delivering gears to the ‘airship’ in the middle of the field. The human players on the airship (yes! Human Players in the middle of the field!) will collect and install the gears, and if enough gears are installed then they will be used to turn the rotors and award the alliance extra points. During the last 30 seconds of the match, ropes are deployed from the airships, and robots can climb up the ropes to score more points. Check out the game animation here!

Here is a picture of this year's field:


We made our way back to our school to begin brainstorming. Some people already came up with a bunch of ingenious ideas on the bus ride back, but before we can put those ideas in to motion we need to go over the game manual. So for the next few days we will be studying the manual and coming up with neat ideas to make the best robot we can, and make this year a great one!

-Student Blogger James