Robotics Team Earns Second Place at FIRST Robotics Competition
The Gryphons, CSW’s Robotics team, competed in their final FIRST Robotics competition of the year in Revere, MA on Sunday, and came home with the second place prize! Team members meet on a daily basis. They have been working since the beginning of January to build a robot. Their first competition was at the beginning of March. Since then, team members have worked hard to make their robot a strong contender for the 2018 PowerUp Challenge.
The Gryphons, CSW’s Robotics team, competed in their final FIRST Robotics competition of the year in Revere, MA on Sunday, and came home with the second place prize! Team members meet on a daily basis. They have been working since the beginning of January to build a robot. Their first competition was at the beginning of March. Since then, team members have worked hard to make their robot a strong contender for the 2018 PowerUp Challenge.
At the end of the qualification matches on Sunday, the Gryphons, aka Team 5347, ranked 12 out of 42. Following these preliminary standings, the top eight teams paired up to form alliances, shifting the standings so that the Gryphons now sat ranked at number nine. This meant the Gryphons were now the first alternate, meaning that if a robot broke and was not able to compete, the Gryphons would replace them. Holding this rank forced the Gryphons to make an important decision: stick around and hope someone else’s robot broke, or call it a day and head home.
At the end of the qualification matches on Sunday, the Gryphons, aka Team 5347, ranked 12 out of 42. Following these preliminary standings, the top eight teams paired up to form alliances, shifting the standings so that the Gryphons now sat ranked at number nine. This meant the Gryphons were now the first alternate, meaning that if a robot broke and was not able to compete, the Gryphons would replace them. Holding this rank forced the Gryphons to make an important decision: stick around and hope someone else’s robot broke, or call it a day and head home.
Intent on supporting their competitors and still hopeful that they might get the call up, the Gryphons patiently waited to see what would happen. Throughout the quarter- and semi-finals, there were rumors of broken robots, but all were quickly repaired. It wasn’t until midway through the finals that the Gryphons got the news. Team 1965’s robot had broken beyond repair — a stroke of luck for CSW (not so much for Team 1965). As such, the Gryphons were called upon to replace Team 1965 and join an alliance with Teams 2877 and 6763. After two rounds of close competition, the Gryphons and their alliance were able to finish in the second place position overall.
HOW THE GAME WORKS
During qualifications, there are two alliances that consist of three randomly-paired teams. Teams are ranked by the average number of ranking points they have. After teams are matched up they engage in two segments of competition: the autonomous period and the teleoperated period.
In the first 15 seconds of the match, robots must be autonomous, and there are multiple ways to earn points. The first way you can score is by crossing the auto line during the autonomous period. Each robot that crosses the line gets five points. If the alliance gains control of their switch by placing a cube in it, they will gain one ranking point. Alliances receive 2 + 2 points per second that they have control of the switch or scale which totals to 4 + 4 points per second that an alliance has control of both the switch and scale.
During the two-minute and fifteen-second teleoperated period, the amount of points each alliance receives for controlling the switch or scale lowers to 1 + 1 point per second. Robots can take power cubes from the field and bring them to the exchange. Team members can then take the power cube and place it inside the vault. The vault is a structure where power cubes can be placed and activated. It can contain a maximum of nine cubes. Each cube in the vault at the end of the game earns five points.
At any time during the game, if there are enough power cubes in each column in the vault, a team can activate a “power up,” of which there are two varieties. The “force” power up gives an alliance ownership of the switch (one power cube in the vault), scale (two power cubes), or both (three power cubes) for ten seconds. The “boost” power up gives an alliance 2x points for the switch (one power cube in the vault), scale (two power cubes), or both (three power cubes) for 10 seconds. The switch and scale must already be in control of the alliance in order to receive double points. If the switch or scale are not in the control of the alliance, the opposing alliance will not receive points during the time the power up is used. The “levitate” power up (3 power cubes) gives one robot a free climb.
During the end game (the last 30 seconds of the match), robots have the chance to climb. Every robot that climbs (or uses the levitate power up) gets 30 points. If a robot parks on the platform below the rung, they get five points. If all three robots climb, the alliance receives one ranking point.
If an alliance wins a match, they receive two ranking points. If an alliance loses a match, they get 0 ranking points. If alliances tie a match, they both receive 1 ranking point.
After the initial qualification matches, there are quarterfinals. The top eight teams with the highest average ranking points each pick two teams to join their alliance. These alliance teams then match up against each other in the final round.
ABOUT CSW ROBOTICS
ABOUT CSW ROBOTICS
Students interested in joining the robotics team can contact lead mentor Karen Bruker, email robotics@csw.org, or visit the official website at www.team5347.org. Many former team members have gone on to pursue STEM-related fields in college and beyond. Graduating seniors Saramarie Puzzanghera ’18, and Harry Klein ’18 plan both intend to continue with science and engineering in college and feel that the robotics program at CSW has played an instrumental role in helping them find and explore their passions.
The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.