The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above, Mantis, the robot, loads a cube for a powerup. (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots are competing in the Palmetto regional robotics competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this weekend.
The Wildbots ended the first day of qualification rounds on Friday with four wins and three losses, Oak Ridge Board of Education member Angi Agle said. In two of the losses, the third robot on the team did not play, and Oak Ridge was 2-on-3 for both of those.
The Wildbots ended the day ranked 33rd of 64, with two more matches today (Saturday, March 3). Number 75 is scheduled for 9:42 a.m., and Number 96 is at 12:09 p.m. Alliance selections should occur at 12:15 p.m.
Agle said Mantis, the robot, has performed better with each successive match, so two more wins could significantly improve Oak Ridge’s standing, “thereby improving our odds of being selected for an alliance for the elimination rounds tomorrow afternoon (Saturday afternoon).”
The 15th annual Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition is at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach. It started Thursday, March 1, and ends today (Saturday, March 3). The competition is an intense three-day competitive event showcasing robots developed and operated by dozens of high school teams from all over the world.
Palmetto is Week 1 of the FIRST Robotics regional competitions, Agle said. The Wildbots will also compete in the Smoky Mountain Regional March 22-24. A win in any regional, or selection for one of several awards, is required to progress to the World championship in Houston.
The FIRST Robotics Competition is a multinational competition that teams professionals and young people together to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way. Each year, the competition reaches more than 70,000 students on more than 3,500 teams in competitions held across the United States and in other parts of the world. The competitions are high-tech spectator sporting events, the result of lots of focused brainstorming, real-world teamwork, dedicated mentoring, project timelines, and deadlines, FIRST Robotics says.
Colleges, universities, corporations, businesses, and individuals provide scholarships to the participants. Involved engineers experience again many of the reasons they chose engineering as a profession, and the companies they work for contribute to the community while they prepare and create their future workforce, according to FIRST Robotics. The competition shows students that technological fields hold many opportunities and that the basic concepts of science, math, engineering, and invention are exciting and interesting.
The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above is the drive team introduction. (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above is Mantis, the robot, loads a power cube on the scale. (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto regional robotics competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above are Ruth Hammond and Olivia Mahathy dancing between matches. (Photo by Angi Agle)
The Secret City Wildbots compete in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics competition on Friday, March 2, 2018. Pictured above is the drive team. (Photo by Angi Agle)
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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