In 1736, Benjamin Franklin led thirty volunteers in Philadelphia to form the first fire fighting organization in the city, known as the Union Fire Company. Equipped with buckets and bags, they worked together in an assembly line to put out any fires that erupted in the city. Indeed, the teamwork exemplified by these brave volunteers is the foundation for Edina’s first FIRST Tech Challenge Team, Team 2887-The Bucket Brigade. The first-ever FTC team in the city is comprised of ten students in grades 7-9 from Valley View Middle School. Each student is an essential link in the chain just as each firefighter was an integral part of the team. That teamwork led to a successful rookie competition when the Bucket Brigade competed against teams composed of high school students at the March 2009 “Minnesota Snow Drift” FTC tournament.
FTC competitions pit two alliances of two teams against one another, versus the three-on-three robot alliances of FRC. The 2009 FTC game “Face Off!” was a hockey-style game only played on a square field. The goal was to score pucks in center goals. The pucks are elevated in puck racks, with one puck rack for each team on each edge of the field. In the first thirty seconds of the match, the robots run autonomously, without any human control. Teams utilizing a successful autonomous mode scored double points. After the initial thirty seconds, the robot was under operator control (teleoperated) for two minutes. The final score is determined by the sum of the points earned in autonomous mode and teleoperated mode.
To meet the challenge of the game, the Bucket Brigade focused on having the robot do one task exceedingly well. The design centered on a functional bucket capable of scoring an entire puck rack all at once. One of the students developed a custom gearbox for the mechanical arm; it was also decided that the robot, nicknamed “Betty,” would have six-wheel drive, with powered and lowered center wheels and support wheels at each corner. A mechanical stop was added, which would allow the bucket to end up in perfect position for the pucks to drop. Programming was the final step. Opting for the more intuitive LabView language, three students wrote code for each of the robot’s functions as well as a short autonomous program.
With only a couple days of practice, the team, along with its three mentors from Team 1816, arrived at Prior Lake High School, Savage, the setting for Snow Drift. There were eight other participating FTC teams, most of which were comprised of high school students from out-of-state. Teams from Wyoming, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and even Canada, were present. With Alex P. and Kevin K. as the two drivers, Edina Bucket Brigade emanated strength through its green bucket, as the commentator proclaimed, “Team 2887 is looking to be a powerhouse that cannot be stopped.” In spite of their efforts, the team did not finish in the top four at the end of the qualifying rounds, meaning they did not get to pick their alliance partner. However, they were selected for the second seeded alliance. In elimination matches, Betty swept past the third-seed but found itself facing the undefeated first place team in the finals. It was a tough match, but Betty lost graciously in the end.
Amazingly, the Bucket Brigade held its own against the best team at the tournament, one comprised entirely of high school students with years of previous experience. The Edina rookies also won the PTC Design Award, given to the team with a robot that is both functional and aesthetic. The Bucket Brigade was also named a finalist for the “Inspire Award,” the highest-level FTC award. This award recognizes a team’s “spirit of gracious professionalism and inspiration to others.” In the end, the team came out from the tournament with a sense of success, knowing they had constructed a completely functional and capable robot that ranked as one of the best.
The Bucket Brigade now plans to use its successful rookie season to inspire the formation of additional teams within Edina. FTC teams begin forming in spring, and registration for the 2009-10 season is underway With this past season as an indicator, there’s little doubt that it’s possible!