Oak Ridge Today

Photos: Secret City Wildbots at FIRST Robotics Competition in Myrtle Beach

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Secret-City-Wildbots-Palmetto-Regional-Feb-26-2016

The Secret City Wildbots are competing in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this weekend, Feb 26-28, 2016. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots are competing in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this weekend. Here are pictures by Angi Agle.

The competition is an intense three-day event showcasing robots developed and operated by dozens of high school teams from all over the world. (See the Palmetto Regional website here for more information.)

You can watch the competition online here: http://www.htcinc.net/portal/streams/robotics/.

The Wildbots competed Friday. They will also compete at 9:31 a.m. and 11:19 a.m. Saturday to qualify for the elimination rounds Saturday afternoon. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots competing in FIRST Robotics Competition, watch online

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Secret-City-Wildbots-Logo

The Secret City Wildbots are competing in the Palmetto Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this weekend, and you can watch the competition online.

The competition is an intense three-day event showcasing robots developed and operated by dozens of high school teams from all over the world. (See the Palmetto Regional website here for more information.)

You can watch the competition online here: http://www.htcinc.net/portal/streams/robotics/.

The Wildbots’ first match was at 9:35 a.m. Friday. They will compete again at 10:20 a.m., 1:08 p.m., 2:38 p.m., 3:27 p.m., and 5:11 p.m. Friday. Then, they will compete at 9:31 a.m. and 11:19 a.m. Saturday to qualify for the elimination rounds Saturday afternoon. [Read more…]

Roane State to celebrate its LEAP grant on Leap Day

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Roane-State-Mechantronics

The mechatronics program at Roane State Community College prepares students for technology-driven manufacturing careers. (Photo by RSCC)

 

Roane State Community College received a workforce development grant last year, and the school will celebrate the LEAP grant on February 29, Leap Day, with mechatronics demonstrations, robotics teams from area high schools, and refreshments.

“Because Monday, February 29, is Leap Day, it’s the perfect time for Roane State Community College to celebrate its LEAP grant,” a press release said.

The $970,000 Labor Education Alignment Program, or LEAP, grant helped Roane State expand its one-year mechatronics program into a two-year degree and to offer dual credit mechatronics course for students at area high schools.

The Leap Day celebration is scheduled from 9-11 a.m. on Monday, February 29, at the college’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton at 214 Nave Street. The public is invited. [Read more…]

Video: Check out these robots stacking totes, garbage cans, ‘noodles’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

This is a video taken by Angi Agle on Saturday, April 25, 2015, at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

This was the first round of the Hopper Division quarterfinals for an alliance that included the Secret City Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Other members were Team 987, the Highrollers of Las Vegas, Nevada (team captain, #1 ranked in the division), and Team 2826, Wave Robotics of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (ranked #2 in the division). This round began at 9:51 a.m. Central time Saturday.

The first 15 seconds are the autonomous period, where the robot executes a pre-programmed routine with no human control. 2826 Wave achieves points by stacking three yellow totes in the designated area, while 987 Highrollers snag three garbage cans from the center area. While this achieves no autonomous points, the garbage cans stacked on top of gray totes multiplies the point value of the stack, so it is important to get them first—before the other alliance does so. [Read more…]

Secret City Wildbots alliance wins division, going to championship matches

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Secret City Wildbots Hopper Division FIRST Robotics Competition

Photos by Angi Agle

 

The alliance that includes the Secret City Wildbots won the Hopper Division at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, and is headed to the Einstein world championship matches.

The Wildbots, Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School, were picked to join an alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams. Their first match was this morning.

Here are photos of the team accepting its award. [Read more…]

Update: Secret City Wildbots alliance ranked No. 1 headed into finals at Robotics Competition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Secret City Wildbots at First Robotics Competition 2015

The Secret City Wildbots have been competing at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, this week, April 22-25, 2015. (Photo by Angi Agle)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:37 p.m. April 25.

The Secret City Wildbots made it into the elimination rounds today (Saturday, April 25) at the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

Team 4265 of Oak Ridge High School was picked to join an alliance with the first- and second-place ranked teams. Their first match is this morning.

Updates: The Secret City Wildbots’ alliance won the first quarterfinal round 235-205 and is now ranked number 1. The alliance maintained its number 1 ranking headed to the semifinals and then the semifinals. The alliance won the first round of finals 268-185, Angi Agle reported at 1:07 p.m.

Below are two videos of the Secret City Wildbots competing during qualifying rounds this week. The videos are by Angi Agle. The robotics competition runs from April 22-25.

After all matches, the Secret City Wildbots, an Oak Ridge High School team, were ranked 45 as of Friday evening. [Read more…]

Update: Secret City Wildbots compete in qualifying Friday, could make elimination rounds Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

FIRST Robotics Competition Secret City Wildbots 2015

The Secret City Wildbots are pictured above at the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition Championship on Thursday, April 23, in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photos by Angi Agle) 

 

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

The Secret City Wildbots of Oak Ridge High School are competing this week in the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

Here are pictures from the competition on Thursday by Angi Agle. Oak Ridge won its last round and was ranked #37 as of Thursday evening.

Here is a Friday morning update from Agle: [Read more…]

FIRST Robotics Competition streamed live online

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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.

Smoky Mountain Regional robot competition kicked off Thursday with practice

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

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…]

Education Foundation grants support robotics, Lego learning projects

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jefferson Middle School Master Builders

Two members of the Jefferson Middle School Master Builders team are preparing their robot to solve missions at a FIRST Lego League mission table. (Photo by Yvonne Dalschen)

 

At Linden Elementary School, Lisa Buckner’s third-graders are building robots and Lego floats representing continents in a months-long project aimed at engaging them in learning, problem solving, and creative and critical thinking.

The 38 members of Oak Ridge High School’s Secret City Robotics team are solving real-world problems as they build and program a 120-pound robot to enter FIRST Robotics Competitions as an extra-curricular activity.

Teachers view robots and Lego sets as tools giving Oak Ridge students opportunities to collaborate, design, build, and solve problems as they learn engineering, science, and technology skills, both inside and outside the classroom.

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation supported these activities with $18,700 in grants last year to teachers at the Oak Ridge High School, Jefferson and Robertsville middle schools, and Linden Elementary School. The grants included a UT-Battelle donation of $10,000 directed to FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Lego League teams, all extra-curricular programs at the high school and middle schools. [Read more…]

White House Maker Faire: High school team with ET ties competes with cutting-edge 3D

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

White House Maker Faire 3D Exhibitor

Photo courtesy WhiteHouse.gov

From WhiteHouse.gov

A high school team with East Tennessee ties, including in Oak Ridge, was among the exhibitors and honored “makers” at the White House Maker Faire on Wednesday.

The team includes Fletcher Blue, 17, of Hardin Valley Academy FIRST RoHAWKtics Team 3823 in Knoxville; Joshua St. John, 33, a teacher in New York, N.Y.; and Scott Turner, 48, 3D Systems of Venice, Calif., and Knoxville. They received mentoring help from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Here is more information about the team’s project: [Read more…]

Photos, video: Secret City Wildbots at FIRST Robotics Competition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Secret City Wildbots Robot

The robot is double-loaded for autonomous mode (first 10 seconds of the match). In autonomous mode, each robot is given one ball. However, if one team on the alliance believes that another team’s robot is a more capable shooter, it can relinquish its ball to the more capable teammate. (Photos by Angi Agle)

 

The Secret City Wildbots were 5-4 in the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis on Friday night, with one qualifying round remaining this morning (Saturday morning). Here are pictures and video sent by Angi Agle from the Aerial Assist competition on Friday. [Read more…]