FIRST Robots: Aim High: Behind the Design

273 Pages·2007·104.44 MB·English

by  Vince Wilczynski

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Behind the Design
30 PROFILES OF WINNING ROBOT DESIGN
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Vince Wilczynski
Stephanie Slezycki
FOREWORD BY DEAN KAMEN
Founder, FIRST
AFTERWORD BY WOODIE FLOWERS
Co-founder, FIRST Robotics Competition
I=II~~)T
Robots
Behind the Design
© 2007 by Rockport Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission of the copyright owners.
All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowl
edge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and
no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for
any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the con
tents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure
that credits accurately comply with information
supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have
occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information
in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
First published in the United States of America by
Rockport Publishers, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
33 Commercial Street
Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930-5089
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.rockpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-366-4
ISBN-10: 1-59253-366-3
10987654321
Cover Design & Design: Collaborated, Inc.
Cover Image: FIRST award-winning teams, including Team 357
Printed in USA
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Vince Wilczynski
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=S tephanie Slezycki
=F oreword by Dean Kamen
Afterword by Woodie Flowers

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• •
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by Dean Kamen
:: tt
FIRST Founder Dean Kamen is relentless
in his pursuit to transform attitudes about
science and technology. FIRST Robotics
.e..n.
Competitions celebrate engineering, promote
o
.Q personal development, and foster friendship
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a: among participants. Showing their appreciation
l of his work, students and mentors collect Dean's
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autograph, which he willingly provides by signing
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their team uniforms and competition medals.
6
ROBOTICS:
INNOVATION
AND INSPIRATION
Designing solutions to problems is great like crazy with mentors to design and and teams to determine the best for
fun. Problem solving has helped our build their robotic solutions. each award category.
species evolve from being cave Borrowing a page from the sports In 2006, more than 1,100 teams built
dwellers to space explorers, advancing playbook, we design intriguing competi robots for the competition. This book
society along the way by continually tions where robots compete with and profiles 30 of the finest robots and the
raising our standard of living. against one another. Teams are formed teams responsible for them. Each team
The only laws that apply in such pur to solve the design challenge and build was judged most impressive in the
suits are the laws of nature, and all else robots for the competition. In the areas of innovative control, quality, cre
is optimization-a trade-off of the factors process, students are exposed to some ativity, advanced technology, or indus
associated with possible solutions. For of today's best role models: engineers trial design. For each award category,
any problem, there are an infinite number and technologists who improve society, six of the 34 winning teams from the
of solutions, with each solution resulting and, along the way, inspire students. regional and championship competi
from a finite set of resources. Finding the Unlike sports, however, our purpose tions are detailed in this book-further
balance between the finite and infinite is is not to see which team can accumu distinction for their terrific work.
what makes design rewarding. late the most points on a competition FIRST demonstrates the reality that
Breakthroughs in thinking provide field. Instead, we are dedicated to young people respond to tough chal
new perspectives and lead to innova changing the way these students think lenges not with excuses and distrac
tion. But even the most creative solu about their world. We strive to instill tions but with energy and innovative
tions are bound by realities that must an understanding that cooperation can thinking. We celebrate the simple truth
be applied before innovation is realized. accompany competition. We work to that in six weeks an adult engineer can
For many products, time, cost, and transform the culture into one that provide a young person with learning
materials are boundary conditions recognizes the value and importance and inspiration that can last a lifetime.
which must be honored to progress of science and technology in our The FIRST experience helps students
from an idea to invention. advanced world. discover the rewards and excitement of
Fifteen years ago, we saw a problem: While FIRST teams immensely enjoy science and technology. As a result,
Not enough young people were recog the on-field competition with their FIRST students don't avoid education in
nizing the opportunity and joy that robotic creations, they covet the chance science and technology; they seek it.
comes with a lifetime of solving prob to be recognized as the team that best I find their work inspiring, and hope
lems through science, technology, achieves FIRST's goal to transform its you do as well.
and engineering. That's when we community into one which values sci
founded FIRST and created the FIRST ence and technology and inspires stu
Robotics Competition. dents to pursue technical careers. To Dean Kamen is President of DEKA Research &
Development Corporation, a dynamic company
The FIRST Robotics Competition that end, each competition recognizes
focused on the development of revolutionary
inspires high school students to directly outstanding performance in creativity,
new technologies that span a diverse set of
experience science and technology, entrepreneurship, spirit, design, and applications. As an inventor, physicist, and
entrepreneur, Kamen has dedicated his life to
fostering creativity and discovery other areas. At our 33 Regional
developing technologies that help people lead
through hands-on exercises to solve Competitions and the Championship,
better lives. One of Kamen's proudest accom
real-world problems. We provide a teams are evaluated by a panel of plishments is founding FIRST.
problem to solve, and students work judges who closely review the robots 7
, -
The world of robotics is rapidly expand
ing and already spans diverse fields such
as medicine, education, entertainment,
automation, and transportation. Robotic
applications are becoming common; no
longer are robots mere fantasy in sci
ence fiction, but we find them in our
homes, schools, and businesses.
Robots are integrated engineering
systems: a combination of mechanical,
electrical, electronic, and computer
technologies. They have been used to
inspire students and are popular tools
for learning for several reasons: avail
ability of components to build them, our
familiarity with their use, and the multi
disciplinary nature of their design.
The FIRST Robotics Competition is
one example of using robots to inspire
students. FIRST is an acronym: For
Inspiration of Science and Technology.
The premise of FIRST is to partner youth
with practicing professionals to solve
challenging engineering problems. FIRST
Robotics Competition participants build
sophisticated robotic devices that com
pete in mechanical sports.
:::: With balls being shot into goals and robots
fighting to climb on platforms, FIRST competi
tions are exciting events. Since each match only
lasts a little over two minutes, every robot
maneuver is important and can determine the
outcome of a match.
.e..n.
o
.Q :::: Three teams form an alliance for each match,
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a: where they compete against an opposing alliance
l of teams. Each alliance is random; an alliance
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a: member in one match could be an opponent in
u.
the next match.
8
FIRST teams consist of high school most are based on attributes such as gories: control, quality, creativity,
students and faculty, engineers, techni spirit, entrepreneurship, inspiration, advanced technology, and industrial
cians, business leaders, university stu teamwork, and effectiveness. The design. Winning an award at a FIRST
dents and staff, and concerned citizens. teams compete aggressively but treat Robotics Competition is a great accom
Each year, a new "FIRST game" is each other kindly in the process. plishment and an acknowledgement of
developed which requires robots to per The judging panels at each competi superior performance by the team. A
form a variety of tasks such as moving tion included engineers, educators, tech list of participants from each profiled
across a field, climbing ramps, hanging nologists, and business and government team is included in this book.
from bars, and placing objects in goals. leaders. The judges' review is compre As exemplified by their willingness
In addition to being manually operated hensive, and they visit with each team to share their design successes, these
by remote control, the robots also oper and observe the robots in competition. teams are fulfilling FIRST's mission to
ate under autonomous control for a This book salutes the high levels of inspire others. We hope the assembled
segment of each match. creativity, ingenuity, and design that go work serves as a template for learning
Teams only have six weeks from into building FIRST robots. The 30 robot about robot design, and that it is a
when the annual game is announced teams detailed in this book are exam resource for all who are interested in the
and they receive the Kit of Parts to ples of superior design in five cate- field of robotics.
design, build, program, and test their
robots. Following these six weeks, teams
compete at regional competitions held in
32 locations in North America and one in
Israel. The competitions are wildly excit
ing, energetic, and motivating.
FIRST competitions are unique in
their structure and purpose. Alliances of
robots compete in each match, so
teams have to work together to play the
game. Competition on the field is paired
with cooperation between teams to
create an atmosphere of gracious
professionalism. The FIRST Robotics
Competition Awards support this goal;
tt
The playing field in front of the goals is a
popular place for robots. Half of the robots want
to be in front of the goal to score, but by doing
so they draw the attention of defending robots.
~ Offense and defense are both important
parts of the game. Defending robots maneuver
to stop the most pressing scoring threats from
opposing robots that are shooting or climbing
the ramp.
~ The driver's station is a safe place to be
for human competitors, protecting them from
robot collisions and the occasional flurry of
flying robot parts.
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