TechBrick: April 17, 2008:
Atlanta World Championship
Summary by
Jeff Tjiputra, Professor and Chair,
Technical and Industrial Studies Department,
College of Southern Maryland
1 . Update from Atlanta
We have two teams from Maryland and three teams
from Virginia that qualified for World
Championship through our Maryland FTC
Championship: Team 7 from Forest Hill, MD; Team
Team 159 from Richmond, VA; Team 177 from
Gloucester, VA; Team 519 from Herndon, VA; and
Team 754 from Great Mills, MD. In addition we
also have Team 368 from Manassas, VA that
attended our event but qualified through the
Virginia FTC Championship.
I didn't see all of the events but here are what
I remembered: There were 100 FTC teams separated into two
divisions: Franklin and Edison. - Winners from each division meet in the World
Championship.
- Team 177 (Gloucester VA) lost in the final of
the Franklin division
- Team 754 (Great Mills, MD) lost in the semi
final of the Franklin division
- Team 7 (Forest Hill, MD) lost in the
quarterfinal of the Edison division
- Team 159 (Richmond, VA) lost in the
quarterfinal of the Edison division
So we have four teams advanced into the
championship rounds. Well done!!
By the way George HW Bush was the opening
ceremony speaker. The Governor of Georgia and
Hawaii was also there. Chris Anderson, the
Editor-in-Chief of the WIRED magazine, showed a
UAV built from the LEGO Mindstorms system. There
might be a few other VIPs that I missed.
All in all, it was a great experience to be
there. If any of you have a chance to go there
next year, I suggest that you do that. It's an
experience to see hundreds of robots all in one
place. The walkway between Georgia Dome (the
fields) and the World Congress Center (the pit)
was always lined with students with their robots
going from and to the fields. There were over
500 teams and robots there. Most of the World
Congress Center was used for Pit area.
2. Update on the new FTC Competition Platform There was a few announcements about this in
Atlanta along with the demonstration of the new
competition kit in what they called a "Showcase
Game".
Here are some videos that I took of the new
competition kit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta7IubSdlY8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIG_eMzM74Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kit8FDnZL9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNg-8afdMC4
[SEE ALSO OUR PHOTOS OF THE
NEW SYSTEM]
I apologize about the audio. It's hard to get
good audio recording there..
As some of you already read from the blog (
http://firsttechchallenge.blogspot.com ),
there were some financial incentives along with
the new competition kit announcement.
Returning teams can purchase the new kit (which
retailed for over $4,000; but will be sold to
FIRST teams for $900) for $450. This is offset
by a $450 grant that returning teams can get.
Teams must still pay the $275 to register with
FTC though.
CSM as the Maryland Affiliate Partner will also
receive a grant of $5,000 to help pay for the
tournament. What I envision this will do is that
it will decrease the registration fees to come
and compete at our event. This is not the final
number, but I expect the registration fees to be
between $100 and $150.
So, if you plan to compete in next year's
Maryland FTC, start raising at least $875 ($450
+ $275 + $150).
I think the new kit for $450 is a very good
deal. It will get you started with a complete
set of materials. It will also come with 3
different software with seat license. Obviously
some teams might need to buy more parts, but the
idea is that with the competition kit, you
should be able to build a decent robot. Along
with the existing Vex metals that you already
have, it should be more than enough to compete.
There will also be a two-year grant for rookie
teams ($450 first year $275 second year). So if
you know of any schools who don't have an FTC
team yet, they can qualify for this.
3. CSM's plan for next year In February 2009, we will have the Maryland FTC
Championship. This will be open to any FIRST
registered teams.
CSM has also been working very hard in applying
for some grants. If we get these grants, I plan
to use it to help teams buying the robotics
competition kit.
Jeff Tjiputra, Professor and Chair
Technical and Industrial Studies Department
College of Southern Maryland
8730 Mitchell Rd., P.O. Box 910
La Plata, MD 20646-0910
Phone: (301) 934-7556
Fax: (301) 934-7683
http://www.itc.csmd.edu/tec
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