Oak Ridge Today

Secret City Wildbots competing in Palmetto robotics competition

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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 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).” [Read more…]

Great American Eclipse in Oak Ridge Schools

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Glenwood Elementary School students worked with OBED Park Rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

Glenwood Elementary School students worked with Obed park rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools

The Great American Eclipse was unique in Oak Ridge, as we were on the coveted path of totality. Some solar eclipse fanatics will travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars just to get themselves into The Path. We took advantage of this rare opportunity that came to our back yard for the breathtaking experience of totality with our students and staff.

We had an interesting challenge, though. The edge of the path of totality cut through town in such a way that four of our schools would only experience a partial eclipse if students and staff stayed on campus. The total solar eclipse has several attributes that are not visible outside the path of totality, such as the sudden appearance of stars and planets, the solar corona becoming visible, and a temperature drop. To ensure all of our students had the opportunity for this rich total eclipse experience, we provided transportation to move everyone who wanted to participate into The Path. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 from Oak Ridge is heading to world competition

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The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The Wildbots were named captain of a finalist team, and they won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The Wildbots were named captain of a finalist team, and they won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Oak Ridge High School Robotics Team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265, competed at the FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional March 23-25 with 47 other teams at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

After 10 qualification matches, they ranked third with a record of 7-2-1. As the third-seated alliance captain, they chose to ally with Category 5 Team 3489, from Charleston, South Carolina, and Sigmac@t Robotics Team 108, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Together, this three-team alliance moved through the eliminations, earning the top three total match scores for the entire competition. These scores were: 445, 450, 455. In the finals, they succumbed to the impressive defensive measures of the sixth-seated alliance comprised of Delphi E.L.I.T.E. Team 48 from Warren, Ohio; Flagship Team 3140 from Farragut High School; and Shark Attack Team 744 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In addition to being named the captain of the finalist team, the Secret City Wildbots Team 4265 won the Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA and an invitation to the National Championships in Houston, Texas, with the $5,000 entry fee being paid for by NASA. This is the second time the team has won this prestigious award, a press release said. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots going to robotics championship

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The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge, celebrate their second semifinals win to advance to the finals at the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville on Saturday, March 25, 2017. (Photo by Angi Agle)

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge, celebrate their second semifinals win to advance to the finals at the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville on Saturday, March 25, 2017. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots won the Engineering Inspiration Award in the Smoky Mountain Regional on Saturday, and the Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge, will advance to the FIRST Robotics Championship in Houston on April 19.

The Wildbots had advanced throughout the day on Saturday, said Angi Agle, an Oak Ridge Board of Education member who attended this week’s robotics competition at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

The team finished qualifying in third place, so it advanced to the quarterfinals. They won the first quarterfinal 455-273.

They tied the first semifinal round against a Hardin Valley-led alliance and then won the second semifinal against Hardin Valley, Agle said. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots advance to quarterfinals in Smoky Mountain Regional

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Members of the Secret City Wildbots crew work on Luna, the 2017 robot, during the opening practice matches on Thursday, March 23, 2017. At left (in black long sleeves) is Eric Thornton; center (also in black) is Jacob LaRose, Luke Buckner (next in yellow) as a graduate advisor, Caden Webb (in pink), mentor Chuck Agle (in black, back to camera), and Olivia Mahathy (in black, back to camera). (Photo by Angi Agle)

Members of the Secret City Wildbots crew work on Luna, the 2017 robot, during the opening practice matches on Thursday, March 23, 2017. At left (in black long sleeves) is Eric Thornton; center (also in black) is Jacob LaRose, Luke Buckner (next in yellow) as a graduate adviser, Caden Webb (in pink), mentor Chuck Agle (in black, back to camera), and Olivia Mahathy (in black, back to camera). (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots finished qualifying in third place, so they will compete in the quarterfinals in the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville on Saturday.

The qualification rounds started Friday and continued Saturday. Alliance selections were scheduled to take place at noon on Saturday, with the final rounds from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 from Oak Ridge, are competing in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Their 2017 robot is named Luna. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots start qualification rounds Friday morning at Smoky Mountain Regional

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Members of the Secret City Wildbots crew work on Luna, the 2017 robot, during the opening practice matches on Thursday, March 23, 2017. At left (in black long sleeves) is Eric Thornton; center (also in black) is Jacob LaRose, Luke Buckner (next in yellow) as a graduate advisor, Caden Webb (in pink), mentor Chuck Agle (in black, back to camera), and Olivia Mahathy (in black, back to camera). (Photo by Angi Agle)

Members of the Secret City Wildbots crew work on Luna, the 2017 robot, during the opening practice matches on Thursday, March 23, 2017. At left (in black long sleeves) is Eric Thornton; center (also in black) is Jacob LaRose, Luke Buckner (next in yellow) as a graduate advisor, Caden Webb (in pink), mentor Chuck Agle (in black, back to camera), and Olivia Mahathy (in black, back to camera). (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots start qualifications rounds Friday morning at the Smoky Mountain Regional in Knoxville.

The first match for the Wildbots, Team 4265 from Oak Ridge, is scheduled at about 9:45 a.m. Friday. It’s Match Number 7 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Wildbots are competing in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge, which is scheduled from Thursday, March 23, to Saturday, March 25. Their 2017 robot is named Luna.

There were practice matches on Thursday. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots to compete at Smoky Mountain Regional this week

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The Secret City Wildbots are primed for competition this weekend in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville from March 23-25, 2017. (Submitted photo)

The Secret City Wildbots are primed for competition this weekend in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville from March 23-25, 2017. (Submitted photo)

 

The Secret City Wildbots are primed for competition this weekend in the FIRST Robotics “FIRST Steamworks” challenge.

This year’s event is scheduled from Thursday, March 23, to Saturday, March 25 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. It invites teams and their robots to join an adventure club and prepare their airship for flight. Teams were challenged to build their robot for collecting and placing gears on their airship for their pilots (the team’s human player) to populate gear trains to start their airships rotors, scoring fuel (“wiffleballs”) into a low goal or firing them into a high goal of their boiler in order to build up steam pressure, and lastly, climbing a rope to board their airship so they can help their pilots win the race.

The Secret City Wildbots, along with their alliance, were semi-finalists at the Palmetto Regional in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, from March 2-4. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots struggle in opening rounds, but rebound in later regional rounds

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Secret-City-Wildbots-Team-4265-2016-Smoky-Mountain-Regionals

The Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School are pictured above at the 2016 Smoky Mountain Regionals in Knoxville this week. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:45 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—The Secret City Wildbots struggled somewhat in the opening qualifying rounds at Smoky Mountain Regionals on Friday, falling to a rank of 32nd after lunch, but the team rebounded strongly in the last three of the day’s eight rounds, finishing with a ninth-place rank.

At the end of qualifying rounds at noon on Saturday, the top eight teams select an alliance partner, and those eight groups of two select their third partner team. In the event that one of the top eight chooses another from the top eight, the next ranked team moves up to team captain post.

Following Q41, the Wildbots moved up to number 13 by playing on their core strength of crossing defenses and scoring low goals in rapid succession. In Q51, they continued playing to core strengths but added a feat that only a few robots in this competition have mastered: climbing the tower.

In Q59, the final match of the day, the Wildbots again finished strong and in an excellent position to face the final two rounds Saturday: Q-70 at approximately 10:26 a.m., and Q-81 scheduled for 11:57 a.m. (the next to-the-last qualifying round of the tournament). [Read more…]

FIRST Robotics Competition streamed live online

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Live streaming of the First Robotics Competition in St. Louis, Missouri—a contest that includes the Secret City Wildbots from Oak Ridge—can be viewed here.

Secret City Wildbots (Team 4265) are in the Hopper Division. Today’s qualification rounds were scheduled for #12 at 9:47 a.m., #23 at 11:04 a.m., #38 at 2:44 p.m., and #48 at 3:54 p.m.

There are 600 teams competing in this year’s international championship.

Secret City Wildbots win Engineering Award, prepare for World Championship

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Secret City Wildbots Compete at Smoky Mountain Regionals

The Secret City Wildbots (Team 4265) compete at the Smoky Mountain Regionals in Knoxville on Saturday. (Photos by Angi Agle)

 

KNOXVILLE—Team 4265, the Secret City Wildbots, finished the qualifying rounds ranked Number 10 and successfully negotiated the three-round quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.

The team suffered a disappointing loss in the semifinals, but at the end of the awards ceremony, members were presented with the coveted Engineering Inspiration Award sponsored by NASA. The award qualifies them to compete at the World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 21-25, with the entry fee paid by NASA.

This is the Secret City Wildbots’ fourth year, and the team has earned the right to compete in the World Championship each of those four years. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots ranked No. 9 in Smoky Mountain Regionals

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Smoky Mountain Regionals Team 4265

Photos by Angi Agle

 

By Angi Agle and University of Tennessee

With the first day of competition complete, the Secret City Wildbots are ranked Number 9 in the Smoky Mountain Regionals competition held at the Knoxville Convention Center. Continuing competition Saturday morning will determine final standings for the elimination rounds Saturday afternoon.

Team selection for the elimination rounds are based partly on standing (the top eight teams are automatically entered and choose two other schools for their teammates), but partly on individual capabilities and other factors.

At the end of the elimination rounds, the winning team of three robots earns the right to enter the World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 22-25. [Read more…]

Smoky Mountain Regional robot competition kicked off Thursday with practice

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Smoky Mountain Regionals Team 4265

Photos by Angi Agle

 

By Angi Agle

The Smoky Mountain Regional robotics competition kicked off Thursday with practice rounds, and qualification matches began Friday morning.

The theme of this year’s game is “Recycle Rush.” Robots are to pick up recycle bins, put foam noodles in trash cans, and stack all of them in the center of the field. Additional points are gained for the number of containers stacked.

Human players feed foam noodles into the trash cans as the robots hold them up to a hole in the plexiglas, as well as feeding gray recycle bins into the field for the robots to stack.

Team 4265, the Secret City Wildbots, experienced some technical challenges, which were expected to be resolved Friday morning. [Read more…]