As the Minnesota and Wisconsin Regional Competitions draw ever closer, Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816, The Green Machine, has put the finishing touches on its 2008 robot. The team’s hours of effort were evident and put to good use Saturday, February 16, when 18 team members woke up early to attend a pre-tournament scrimmage hosted by Team 2518, Simley High School, Inver Grove Heights. Edina Robotics was one of nine metro-area FRC teams to attend the scrimmage to test their robots’ speed and power. It was a terrific opportunity to see how well “Zerkit,” our 2008 robot, would stack up against the competition while playing this year’s game, FIRSTOverdrive.

Although Zerkit initially experienced some technical difficulties, the glitches were figured out and it was discovered that Zerkit was able to execute one of the most effective strategies to complete this year’s task. The task requires robots to place an almost nine-pound inflatable “Trackball” on an Overpass, push it off that Overpass, then roll or push it around a NASCAR-like track course, before again placing the ball on the Overpass, and starting around the track once again. Teams competed in alliances of three robots, and each alliance was marked with either a red or blue flag. While it was clear some additional tinkering by the build and programming subteams needed to be done, including downloading the hybrid mode programming codes to Zerkit, the robot’s performance was a big inspiration and raised the team’s hopes for doing well in the regional competitions. Those team members not directly controlling Zerkit’s moves on the track kept up a steady stream of support for the team. The Green Machine thanks Team 2518 for hosting an incredible event that will definitely help all FRC teams to do well at their regional tournaments.