It was an action packed last weekend in March at the Minnesota North Star Regional, where FRC 1816-“The Green Machine” emerged as the regional champions—the first time since our rookie year in 2006—alongside Team 2549-The Millerbots, Minneapolis, and Team 3082-Chicken Bot Pie, Minnetonka.
The improvements made to the robot after our first event in Duluth, the Lake Superior Regional, were evident as we ranked 2nd after qualification matches with a 7-2-0 record. Our robot’s robust and reliable climber design paid off in consistently earning us an additional ranking point each match, making up for the initial 2 losses.
For elimination matches, we were joined by The Millerbots and Chicken Bot Pie as they fought through the bracket, eventually beating the 4th seed alliance to become regional winners—with a perfect 6-0-0 record.
The team’s pit crew worked hard during the event as well. Minimal repairs were needed due to the robust and rigid nature of this year’s robot, and the team instead focused on speaking to the slew of judges that approached our pit. We were visited six times by robot judges alone!
The Green Machine was awarded for both their season-long work and competition day efforts by the Entrepreneurship Award, recognizing the team’s comprehensive business plan and effective management of goals and objectives.
Not to rest on our laurels, 1816 is already back to work making improvements to both the mechanical and software components of the robot in preparation for the World Championships, Detroit. Follow us on Twitter for the most up-to-date news! @FIRSTteam1816.
—By Andrew H.