2017

2017 Season – FIRST® STEAMWORKS

 

 

Game Description:  FIRST® STEAMWORKS the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition game, invites two alliances from an era in which technology relied on steam power to prepare their airships for the ultimate long distance race. Each three-team alliance prepares to take flight in three ways:

 

  1. Build Steam Pressure. Robots collect fuel represented by green balls. They score it in high and low goals in their boiler. As fuel is scored steam pressure in the tank on the alliance’s airship builds – the high goal builds pressure faster than the low goal.
  2. Start Rotors. Robots retrieve and deliver gears to pilots on their airship who then install them on the appropriate rotor. Once a gear train is complete the rotor can be started.
  3. Prepare for Flight. Alliances want their robots to climb aboard their airships so they can assist the pilots during the race.

 

Robots operate independently from pre-programmed instructions for the first 15 seconds. Alliances score points by: Reaching their baseline, delivering gears to the airship and scoring fuel into the boilers.

 

Operators take control for the final two minutes and fifteen seconds. Alliances continue to score points by: Collecting and delivering gears to their airship, scoring fuel in the boilers, climbing the ropes on their airship to prepare for flight, populating gear trains to start rotors and defending against other alliances.

 

The adventure club with the highest score at the end of the match is best prepared for the race and wins.

 

 

Robot Description: Team 237’s robot was built on a crab drive base. A crab drive base has a drive “pod” at each corner of the base. Each pod has two motors, one to drive the wheel and the other to turn the wheel 360 Degrees around. The unique drive system allows the robot to drive in any direction at any time. The robot has 3 key mechanisms to play the game. At the front was a passive chute that could be used to collect gears from the human player and drop them off at the airship. In the middle of the robot was a fuel collection and shooting system that could pick up fuel from the ground or be dumped into from the hoppers. These balls could then be shot into the boiler using a wheel. Lastly was a spinning claw mounted to the top back of the robot that could grab and climb the rope to board the airship at the end of the match.

 

Events:
  • NE District – Waterbury Event
  • NE District – Greater Boston Event