2006 Season: Aim High

MARS 2006 Team Highlights

Entering its second year, MARS Team 1523 has a clearer understanding of what being a FIRST robotics competitor entails. During preseason members learn Inventor software and 2006 marks the team's first Inventor Award submission. The team struggles to balance the amount of student and mentor involvement with design and build, encouraging more student ownership of tasks. A totally student driven effort to create a 1/3rd scale model of the 2006 competition robot using a vex kit results in a fully functional mini-catapult shooter that can be easily shown at club PR events (video). The importance of scouting is recognized for the first time and students create a program to store information gathered using their PDA's (FRC Scout app). At the FL Regionals Competition, MARS finishes on the 2nd placed alliance. Attending its first National Championship at the GA Dome, the team finishes on the 8th placed alliance in the Galileo Division. Immense pride is expressed with the robot's robust, reliable and innovative performance, including being one of the furthest distance shooters that was able to consistently make goals from half court.The team's captain and only senior, Brian Wise, receives a $40,000 FIRST college scholorship to attend the Florida Institute of Technology in the fall of 2006.

A big thanks to all of our 2006 supporters. They made this season possible!

The Game

Aim High, is like a robotic form of Basketball and is played by two alliances, each consisting of three robots. During a 10 second autonomous mode, robots will be programmed to score into any of the three goals: one raised center goal marked by a green vision target and two corner goals at floor level. At the end of the autonomous period, the alliance with the most points will gain a 10 point bonus and will be placed on defense for round two. Rounds two, three, and four, which are each 40 seconds long, are human-controlled rounds. Between rounds two and three, the alliances will switch from offense to defense, or from defense to offense accordingly. At the start of round 4, any alliance can score into their corresponding goals. At the end of the match, an alliance can receive bonus points by placing its three robots on a platform below the center goal. The alliance with the most points wins. Scoring will be as follows: 3 points for any ball scored in the center goal, 1 point for any ball scored in the corner goals; 10 bonus points for scoring the highest in the autonomous round; and 25 points for placing all 3 robots on the platform at the end (10 for 2 and 5 for 1). Major Rules include:

Intentionally damaging another robot or the playing field is not allowed.
No balls may exit the robot at a velocity greater than 12 m/s (39 ft/s).
The shooter mechanism must remain within the original starting dimensions of 28 inches by 38 inches by 60 inches tall. (Intentionally "flopping" to drive or score with the 60" dimension on the ground is prohibited.)
No part of the robot may ever extend more than 60 inches above the floor. If a robot is more than 60 inches high, and it shoots a ball or blocks a ball from being shot, a 5 point penalty per ball will be assesed.
Power supplies are limited to compressed air, a 12-volt motorcycle battery, and a 7.2-volt RC battery

Our Robot

View pictures of this season

Name: "Ball-istic"

Design Inspiration: Professional pitching machines

Noteworthy Feature: Energy efficient shooter design; power only required for 1/2 rotation of arm on single throws and approximately a 1/4 rotation for continuous throws

One-of-a-kind shooter: Only continuous catapult shooter participating in FIRST, worldwide
Continuous rotation catapult arm powered by a van door motor
Uses one way roller clutch bearings allowing the arm to be driven over center point, causing the power-band (surgical tubing) to overrun motor speed and throw balls.
Throwing velocity is adjustable by length of power-band and attachment point on arm
Highly repeatable arm speed combines with fixed geometry for very accurate throwing

Watch some of our first shooting in this video or view a recap of the season here. Test your knowledge of our robot and visit our 2006 Robot Quiz!

Insider Observations:

A significant increase in awareness of MARS Team #1523 was shown in the local community, as well as with others in the FIRST community. This "successful branding" fed greater team spirit. The team grew and recruited its first female student. Some uncertainty was expressed when the team first explored design possibilities for the year's challenge. The feasibility of a catapult shooter was questioned, and much relief was shown when the arm worked as well as the engineers and math predicted. Stating a desire to build an innovative robot robust enough to play all matches without mechanical problems, team members were overwhelmed to win their first trophy at Florida Regionals as a finalist. Although unsuccessful in their bid to win a FIRST engineering or design award, MARS was thrilled when "Ball-istic" appeared to be a "crowd-pleaser" that also elicited positive comments on Chief Delphi's Forum site.

Check out our videos from competition