Sharon Youth Robotics Association
Meeting Notes
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Sharon Youth Robotics Association Meeting Notes |
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Link to the Q&A section on the FIRST LEGO League web site Meeting to come after the holidays - Wrap Party! Tuesday - 12-12-06 Last regular-season SYRA FLL meeting Recapped the Quincy/Gillette Eastern Massachusetts State FLL tournament Black Botz finished first for Robotic Performance, Fire Blazers made it to the quarter-finals Recapped the Massachusetts FVC competition Team Unlimited formed the winning alliance and received the "Inspire" award, Angelbots won the "Think" award There will be an after-season FLL tournament at QCC in February, first priority to our teams that have not yet attended an outside tournament (Motorized Molecules, Nano Brothers and Best Bots) Discussed upcoming WPI/Robonautica Central Massachusetts State FLL tournament Elimination runs for state tournament Eris Bots seeded first - competing as Sharon A Tuesday - 12-05-06 Distributed the award certificates to each Sharon FLL team member Showed the amazing video of FLL team Discussed upcoming Quincy/Gillette Eastern Massachusetts State FLL tournament Elimination runs for state tournament Black Botz seeded first (370 in best two runs) - competing as Sharon A Fire Blazers seeded second (335 in best two runs) - competing as Sharon B Sunday - 12-03-06 First Annual Sharon FLL Invitational tournament Tuesday - 11-28-06 Discussed the coming First Annual Sharon FLL Invitational tournament Practice runs for upcoming competitions Tuesday - 11-21-06 Quincy/Gillette FLL state tournament on December 9th First Annual Sharon FLL tournament on December 3rd All Sharon teams invited! (plus the Bricksters!) Review of Blackstone tournament All Sharon teams did well, and had a great time! Referees very shaky early on, not clear on many rules Make sure team checks score sheet carefully BEFORE it goes to the scoring table Check on table setup before each run Drawing for the team spirit award (photos to all 3 teams) No judging at Blackstone Important to rehearse presentations, check for around 5 minutes Be CREATIVE! Check FLL Coaches Manual for pointers on judging parameters New (and final) challenge from Jack - score maximum points from the "shaky table" (3 white blocks, without knocking off any red blocks) Tuesday - 11-14-06 Run-offs for Blackstone Regional Eris Bots - 111, 143, 131 - 274 - third qualifier (Sharon C) Flame Blazers - 51, 51, 136 - 187 Nano Brothers - 44, 94, 54 - 148 Black Bots - 69, 143, 206 - 349 - first qualifier (Sharon A) Devil Bots - 136, 64, 164 - 300 - second qualifier (Sharon B) Motorized Molecules - 124, 46, 97 - 223 Bricksters - 26 (discontinued due to mechanical issues) The Black Bots have won Jack's 200 point challenge! Tuesday - 11-7-06 Mini-challenge from last week is still open - scoring over 200 points Next week - run-off for Blackstone Regional 3 rounds per team, total of two best runs will be used to qualify teams Three teams from Sharon will compete Tee shirt design settled, but we may not have them in time for Blackstone because of lack of lead time (need sizes now) First Annual Sharon FLL tournament scheduled on December 3rd Good for practice, experience before State FLL tournaments Need parent volunteers to help run our tournament Tuesday - 10-31-06 Halloween - no meeting Tuesday - 10-24-06 Q&A for new teams - team members and coaches Note: "FLL Secrets" of the Sharon Mentors team No meeting on 10-31-06, due to Halloween New Nano Quest Q&A postings Tee-shirts - designs are now over-due, ASAP! Jack's mini challenge, first team to score over 200 points on an officially refereed field Practice rounds for team on the competition table Tuesday - 10-17-06 No meeting on 10-31-06, due to Halloween Dues are due - $50 per team member - coaches are free Tee shirt designs since 2002 were displayed - "fashion show" Tee shirt ideas are due by next week's meeting - we need time to have them made! Pointed out challenge setup mistake in "Individual Atom Manipulation" table setup - distances from edge are misstated - pictured correctly Prize for Jack's challenge - "Unsticking the Nanoprobe" - won by the DevilBots (one pound of primo LEGO building parts) - a great effort by all teams! Jack's new challenge - as of next week, first team to score over 200 points in a regulation round of 2.5 minutes! Official FLL Coaches Guide (in .pdf format) linked from out http://www.syraweb.org website New project resources - special Nanooze magazine Nano Quest edition, MOS "Ask a Nanoscientist" Practice rounds for team on the competition table Tuesday - 10-10-06 Led off with extensive Q&A for robot designs with new teams Tuesday meeting schedule continues Need more team names! Dues are due! Need tee-shirt design proposals - lead time for printing before tournaments Conflict for Mentor team and FLL tournaments Blackstone OK, Quincy & Worcester same days as CT and MA FVC competitions Proposal - 1st Annual Sharon Invitational FLL tournament At Girl Scout House, proposed for Sunday, December 3rd 2 tables, multiple competition rounds Judging for teamwork, technical and project Proposed joint project for SYRA FLL teams Ran Jack's special challenge - won by Devil-Bots Ran field missions More Q&A, meeting wrapped Tuesday - 10-03-06 Jack not available next meeting - John will preside Dues set at $50 per team member - no charge for coaches - due now Tee-shirt designs due now - we need lead time to assure they are ready before the competitions If you are not getting our email, please contact us with your proper email address LEGO had licensed Pitsco to handle their products for education (as legoeducation.com) Anyone can purchase direct from them, both NXT and RCX Mindstorms (not just schools) Bricklink.com, can recommend "Precious Princess Palace" as reputable, ships quickly (unless they are on vacation, which will be noted on the site). Q&A When storing the Atomic Microscopy (Unstick the Nanoprobe) mission, keep the magnet disconnected, at it will semi-permanently bend the long axle with time. The Nanotube Strength mission should spring up quickly when triggered - if not, it was probably miss-assembled. Careful not to lose the orange round "bucky-ball" piece - it is from LEGO Bionicles sets, and not easily replaced. Several teams ran their robots in exhibition. Jack issued a challenge - a prize to the first team able to "Unstick the Nanoprobe". Much informal discussion. Tuesday - 09-26-06 Goal for next week - bring in your base robot with at least one mission running by next Tuesday I competition, referee will take one "dirt piece" for each penalty If the molecule hangs on the edge of the molecular motor mission, it is legal Shared mission (Space Elevator) clarified, more that one way to activate elevator, it could matter what side has the lower car Q&A "quiz" Many good questions and clarifications on missions and rules The Space Elevator will not be on the marks, but at the center of the middle of the two tables Sign-up sheets are overdue Tuesday - 09-19-06 Field setup Missions - overview, starting setup, point values Hands rule - starting, during run, penalties How points are counted at end of run Order of missions is up to the teams Legal vs. illegal approaches - in answer to questions No explicit field damage rule (yet) Prioritize missions, limited time Penalty points - dirt blocks; first removed from field scattered blocks, second from blocks still in bin, third from blocks returned to base Q&A Referee mistakes More discussion of missions Fairness bonus - RCX, points in 3 missions; NXT, points in 6 missions Not out of base until last part is clear of line, free retrieval in needed, robot can't act until clear of base Good to think "Outside the Box", but within the rules SYRA competition to determine who attends each tournament TEAM SHEETS ARE DUE! Tuesday - 09-12-06 Informal - description of sample competition robot - modular, reinforced in all three dimensions, Eagle OverDrive to go straight, internal 3rd motor for attachments, sensor use Competition field overview (mat and models) Introduce some members of the SYRA Mentors team - a resource to help our FLL teams to address the challenge - all graduate FLLers, all from top teams How to approach field in competition, penalty points Challenge releases on Friday (9-15), subject of next meeting Blackstone is first tournament, November 18th - all new teams should attend, even if they don't qualify in the run-off - experience and ideas Team rosters due ASAP - dues to be set Tee-shirt design competition Unattached members need to be matched in/with teams Rule review - FLL 9-14 (4th-8th grade) Q&A "We're doing this for glory - there are no cash prizes" Table assembly and alternatives (2x4 frame, single 2x4 placed when appropriate) Competition mat ownership and rotation Back to table for informal session Action: this weekend, teams should build sample robot and Brainstorm the new challenge! Wednesday - 09-06-06 Review meeting schedule Overview of FLL & SYRA Structure of season Nano Quest Challenge LEGO Mindstorms - RCX vs. NXT SYRA website - www.syraweb.org Discussion of team formation Team roster forms SYRA fees ~ $50 per member this year Robots and robotic components References and resources - documents and people SYRA mentors team - alumni coaches and team members Programming - movement and sensors Lots of Q&A Close examination of sample robots and the new filed & models |
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Last modified: 09/09/09 All Rights Reserved, © 2008 by Team Unlimited [FTC 1] |
