Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816’s robot Zazu performed better than ever at the 2010 FIRST Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. Though there were some minor difficulties involving late flights and a hastily-organized pit, the team got off to an excellent start on the first day of competition. Zazu effectively proved to be a strong robot during both practice matches Thursday morning, and the team won all three qualification matches later in the afternoon, putting 1816 in sixth place in the Galileo Division.
But of course, with FIRST inevitably comes unexpected challenges, and challenged the team was by the second day of the competition. Despite Zazu’s stellar performance the day before, the robot once again succumbed to various technical mishaps, this time the most alarming being an exploding Jaguar mid-match. The team has made a very strong mental note to use Victors (the older version of the motor controller) for next year’s robot. The team lost two of its five matches on Friday, but by the end of the day Zazu was once again working in fine condition, and the team had high hopes for Saturday.
However, the team did not fully anticipate just how tough the competition can be at the FIRST Championships. Though Zazu was in near-perfect working condition and performed well in both Saturday matches, the opposing alliance still managed to beat 1816 in both matches. We ended the qualifying rounds in 43rd place overall.
Sadly, 1816 was not picked to be an alliance partner for the Galileo elimination matches. Though Zazu was plenty capable, there were so many other robots that were similarly strong and were selected in favor of Zazu.
Nevertheless, the team ended on a strong note, scoring during autonomous for the first time of the season and playing a very close match. The team didn’t win, but is happy with its performance and is proud of everything its accomplished this year. The team was also pleased to be a help for other teams who were in need of spare parts or technical assistance; it’s not just Minnesotan teams who know of The Green Machine’s gracious professionalism. And of course, we had fun meeting people from across the globe and hanging out with them at the Championship Finale!
Best of all, we gathered for a group photo op with the eight other Minnesota FIRST teams appearing at Championships. Team 2169-KING TeC; Team 2500-Herobotics; Team 2574-Robo Huskies; Team 3299-Warehouse Crew; Team 2667-How Bout Dem Apples; Team 3038-ICE; FTC Team 2887-Bucket Brigade, and FTC 3855-Tempered Steel. Everyone seemed to be having an awesome time in Atlanta.
And don’t think that Zazu’s career is over quite yet. As always, The Green Machine has already begun forming plans for future outreach presentations for the 2011 season, during which we’ll get to see Zazu and the rest of the team in action in the near future.