With a strenuous yet exciting build season behind them, Team 1816, “The Green Machine,” looks forward to competing in their first FIRST Robotics Regional competition of the 2008 season. From March 13th to 15th, Green Machine members will be in Milwaukee at the U.S. Cellular Arena participating in the Wisconsin Regional. With more than 60 teams from all over the region and as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii, the regional will be a good test of the team’s robot. Practice rounds begin on Thursday; the team will take part in qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday morning, with elimination matches commencing and concluding on Saturday afternoon.
Before the team is ready to compete though, there are a plenty of tasks that have to be completed. One of these jobs is making sure that the team has everything they’ll need packed and ready to go. The robot should already have arrived in Milwaukee, but the robot is only a small fraction of what the team will need at the regional. “We really have to bring a lot of materials to competition because anything can happen during an event and we have to be prepared to fix the robot,” comments David C., Team Captain. As such, the team has to lug five large boxes of tools and materials to each regional: Everything from glue to extra wiring materials to wrenches, batteries, chargers, and even some replacement parts have been packed under the supervision of Sophie B., pit boss, and Safety Co-Captain.
Another important job that begins before competition is scouting the capabilities of other teams and, while at the regional, watching competition matches. The importance is two-fold. First, it gives team members a sense of how the competition is played out, and what kinds of strategic errors to avoid. Second, it also helps to know a bit about what other teams will be attending the regional, and what are the abilities of their robots. “Scouting is important because we need to know which teams will be most compatible with us if we get the chance to pick (alliance) partners,” notes Andrew P., leader of Team 1816’s scouting corps. In the last few weeks, members of the scouting corps have been hard at work researching teams attending the Wisconsin Regional.
Not to be overlooked with all the packing and the scouting, there’s also just plain excitement. “I’m really super-pumped to be a driver!” declared Matt H., with a huge grin on his face. Ready to go, the Green Machine can’t wait to see what Milwaukee will have in store!