Robot Buys Drink: Customer Happy

Over the past weekend Oakville Trafalgar students and the robot participated in a robotics demonstration at the Ontario Science Centre. Along with students from teams 1114 (Governor Simcoe Robotics) and 2056 (Orchard Park Robotics), OT students demonstrated their robot to visitors as part of the Robots Rule Weekend. Fred, Team 1334's robot, amazed crowds during this event, and even bought students drinks from the food stand. Lego and Vex robotic demonstrations as well as the Canadian National Robotics Games were part of the weekend activies. The event was an outstanding success, and helped to introduce the excitement of FIRST Robotics to everyone who attended.

Leadership Mini-retreat

Recently team 1334 was proud to be chosen by FIRST as a Beta test team for FIRST's new programming platform. We learned the new language, then had to share the information with other Ontario FIRST teams. We chose to share the information by way of a "retreat" at the school Saturday, November 14th. In addition to an excellent workshop given by 1334's student programmer Eric Atkinson, a workshop on team promotion was given by Ed Thompson of AbsoluteMotivation.com and Solid works was demonstrated by Chuck Woods. Concurrently, a Lego Practice tournament was held in the atrium, which attracted alot of attention from the public who were there for a volleyball tournament.

Click here for more information and material on the Team 1334 Beta Test

Red Devils Aim High

The Oakville Trafalgar Robotics team is starting another season with big plans, big hopes and big robots. The team is part of the FIRST organization, and participates in robotics competitions while volunteering in the community. Hoping to build on their performances last year that qualified them for the international championships in Atlanta, Georgia last year, the team has sprung into action early in the school year. Students are already mentoring students in LEGO robotics at schools and libraries across the town, and planning for regional and provincial tournaments is already under way.

Meanwhile the team was also offered a tour of the Hydroform factory in Brampton, where students were able to see first hand what robotics can do. New students are also being shown the ropes and are practicing using the shop's machinery and the various programs on the computers. Thanks to our strong performance last year the FIRST organization has also selected our team to beta test new programs and components for this year's competition. The team's robot, FRED, was showcased at the recent Twilight on the Lake event to give the OT parent community a feel for the high-tech capabilities of this award winning school team. The team has lofty ambitions this year and requires sponsorship. If you know of an employer who can help with a tax-deductible donation, please refer them to: www.othsrobotics.ca

Greetings!

The Red Devils are beginning another exciting year of Robotics. Meetings are underway to prepare for the coming season and the team is keeping busy with various events planned for the fall. Much has happened since the closing of last year and the team is happy to welcome several grade 9 members.

During the Summer, the Red Devils were a star attraction at this year's Midnight Madness in Oakville, pictured to the right. People of all ages visited our stand to experience what FIRST is all about. Team members demonstrated the team robot, FIRST Lego Robotics and outstanding Gracious Professionalism. This was a fantastic opportunity to spread the word and thank our sponsors.

Lego Robotics workshops were hosted with the help of the Fast Cats and Clearview library. Children learned about FIRST Lego League and we are pleased to hear that many have since joined teams.

of 5 Halton Robotics teams benefited from the retreat organized by the Red Devils this September. The event was a great opportunity to create lines of communication between teams and learn about extra-curricular activities in Robotics and engineering. Workshops centered around team building, leadership and the possibility of friendly competitions between teams.

Much is in store for this fall. OT Robotics will once again be participating in Halloween for Hunger and the team is busy revitalizing last year's robot for demonstrations.

First World Championships in Atlanta

For the first time in team history, the Red Devils qualified for the World Championships in Atlanta. This marked the realization of many years of training, hard work and learning for the team. In the tournament we competed with and against teams from Canada, the United States, Israel, Brazil and all over the world.

The team arrived in Atlanta after a gruelling 16-hour overnight bus ride from Oakville. The tournament kick off began with speeches by FIRST founders Dean Kamen and Woody Flowers, and even a robot parade. The round-robin matches then began, and 349 teams in 4 divisions began play. During the round-robins our robot suffered several disappointing technical glitches, and this severely handicapped our performance. After the round-robins were complete, the team finished well out of the elite playoff rounds. The team then viewed the final matches, watching the best of the best going head to head. Closing ceremonies and awards were held in between the penultimate matches. FIRST then hosted a grand finale, with carnival games and a great festive atmosphere to top off another great season. During their spare time the team also did some sightseeing on the side, visiting Coke World and the Georgia Aquarium.




This tournament marked the end of the 2008-2009 competitive season. This has been Oakville Trafalgar's best year ever, winning the Engineering Inspiration Award at the Waterloo Regional. As finalists in Waterloo, semi-finalists in GTA and qualifying for the World Championships, it was a fantastic season for all our team members, teachers and mentors. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our great volunteers, mentors, sponsors, parents and students for another great year. While the tournaments are over, the team is still busy preparing a Midnight Madness exhibit, a leadership retreat, and other activities.

We all hope we can build on our great results for even greater achievements next year.

Waterloo Alumni Newsletter features Red Devils

The latest Waterloo Alumni Newsletter featured a great article on our team's recent history, and provided a resource for people considering mentoring a team.

'UW-hosted robotics competition teaches both technology and teamwork' - Beth Bohnert

GTA Regionals

The Red Devils competed in their second tournament of the year at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga on March 26,27 and 28. The team was enthusiastic to prepare and modify the robot for the World Championships in Atlanta. We also looked forward to competing in one of the most prestigious and competitive tournaments in FIRST.

The team took the Thursday practice rounds to complete mechanical and technical upgrades, resolve issues and replace worn out parts. The round-robin started on Friday, and the team performed well, competing in a field of over 55 robots. The round-robins proceeded through to lunch on Saturday, and Oakville Trafalgar finished with a rank of 6th. This qualified our team for the playoff round, and as a top 8 team we were able to draft teams to our alliance. We chose teams 1241 (Theory six from Rick Hansen school in Mississauga) and 854 (The Iron Bears from Martingrove Collegiate in Etobicoke) to be our alliance partners for the upcoming elimination matches. In the first round our team was triumphant, and won a hard fought best of 3 series. We then progressed to the semi-finals, where the eventual champions defeated us in a high scoring series.

The team is extremely proud of our results. Our robot performed well, excelling in defence and endurance. The team made many valuable upgrades and modifications to the robot, which we can use in the World Championships in Atlanta. We would like to thank all our team-mates and allies, especially teams 1241 and 854 for their valiant performance with us in the playoffs.

Waterloo Regional Finalists

This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday the Red Devils competed in the 2009 FIRST Waterloo Regional Tournament, hosted by the University of Waterloo. The team utilized their time during Thursday's practice rounds to modify and perfect a competition ready robot prepared to take on any opponent. Friday was a bit of a disappointment, as defects and glitches resulted in poor performance in the round-robins stage of the tournament. However, the team showed poise and determination and was able to fix the robot so that we went undefeated during the final round-robins matches on Friday. Our excellent finish placed us in 12th overall at the end of the round-robins, and we were picked by the 6th place alliance to go into the elimination rounds.

Our alliance of Team 781, Team 2200 and Team 1334 went through the quarterfinals in emphatic fashion, winning our best of three series in two games. The semi-finals were a bit tougher, with a close first match going to our alliance. The second match resumed after a mechanical timeout by the other team, and we lost in another hard fought game. Mechanical problems still dogged the opposition, and our alliance graciously donated our timeout to the other team in the true spirit of FIRST. We emerged victorious at the third match, with a close game that was blown wide open in the final seconds. Our alliance then entered the final match, heavy underdogs against the number one seed of the tournament. Our team fought hard, but was defeated after two games.

As well as our finalist finish, the team was also awarded the Engineering Inspiration Award, one of the most prestigious awards of the tournament. This award also qualified the team for the 2009 FIRST World International Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. This tournament features elite teams from around the world competing against each other for the title of world champion. Our great showing is unsurpassed in our entire history, and the team is ecstatic to go to the World Championships for the first time.

This upcoming Thursday to Saturday the team will be competing in the Greater Toronto Regional at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. We encourage you to come in a witness a FIRST tournament for yourself, as the Red Devils look to build on their great start.

We'd like to thank Team 781 and Team 2200 for their support as alliance teammates!

Look Below for full match videos courtesy of our friends from Team 781!

-Quarters Match 1 Win 30 - 52
-Quarters Match 2 Win 32 - 49

-Semis Match 1 Win 50 - 68
-Semis Match 2 Loss 52 - 44
-Semis Match 3 Win 69 - 91

-Finals Match 1 Loss 66 - 48
-Finals Match 2 Loss 97 - 54

Post Build Season News

 The Red Devils' robot has been successfully shipped! February 12 saw the robot packed into a crate, on the way to our first competition of the season at the Waterloo Regional. The team worked hard to complete the robot on time, overcoming many technical challenges. Now the Red Devils are busy preparing for the competitions that will begin after March break.

The shipping of the robot does not mean the build process is over, however. The programming and electronics teams continue to develop the robot's programming and driver's control panel. Human players are busy honing their basketball skills in preparation for the game. Team members have also been observing recent competitions, taking note of advantageous techniques and strategies.

The Red Devils are anticipating success at this year's two competitions. We will once again be competing at the Waterloo and Toronto Regionals, with up to 70 other teams. All sponsors are invited to join the team on the following dates to experience FIRST Robotics. Waterloo Regional: March 19-21 at the University of Waterloo, Toronto Regional: March 26-28 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Anyone interested in more frequent news can receive the team newsletter; a weekly letter that updates parents, mentors and sponsors on the goings on of the team. Interested parties should contact Evelyn at evelyn.robotics@hotmail.com to be added to the sending list.

Midway Update

The halfway mark of the build season has arrived. The chassis is driveable, the final prototype for the arm has been built and programmed for running both the chassis and arm have been designed and implemented. The team is ready to really put their noses to the grindstone to finish off the robot in the next few weeks. Back in the fall season, team members built a practice chassis to hone their skills and techniques and train new team members. This practice has paid off since the team was able to successfully implement the mandatory wheels into a functional chassis extremely quickly. The fast progress enabled the programming team to write up a drive control system and the team can now practice driving and test out strategies.

Meanwhile, this year's game requires a ball launcher/manipulator that is being developed by the team. The past weeks have been spent prototyping and brainstorming for this integral and diverse function. The team has settled on a design that incorporates rollers to pick-up and propel a ball through the turret on top of the robot, which has a 360-degree radius of firing (It can fire in every direction). A final prototype for this idea has been built. The programming team has also developed a colour sensitive camera that can lock on to other team's robots trailers ensuring much greater accuracy for the turret.

The marketing team has been writing newsletters and a letter to the editor was published in the local paper, The Oakville Beaver. We have been overjoyed by the community response to both article and letter and would like to thank Lapp Canada and the Optimist Club of Oakville for their contributions in these difficult economic times.

Build Season

Saturday the new game for the 2009 build season was announced. "Lunacy" is unique in that it's played on a special plastic surface, with special wheels, that lead to 1/6 the friction of a normal surface. As the name of the game suggests, this is to simulate driving on the moon. Game details can be found on the video below, or if that doesn't work here.

The team is busy brainstorming and developing ideas for this new game. With the game this year being especially unique, new ideas and strategies will have to be implemented. While the process is highly secretive at this point, we are very optimistic that our plans and designs will lead to the creation of an excellent robot. The slippery surface and the hauling of 45-pound trailers present many problems to be overcome.

Only 42 days until the build season is over!