News

2010 build season updates

FIRST Lone Star Regional Competition Results

Gatorzillas got off to a fairly busy Thursday. We were able to make most of the practice matches though. We were finally able to fix a latency issue that has plagued us at 2 different regionals. Friday was qualification matches. The Gatorzillas hung in there despite several robot issues and just plain bad luck. We were able to score in several of our games though. At the end of the day, we were placed 59th out of 66. Saturday was the continuation of the qualification matches. By the end of the day we had risen to 30th place. Unfortunately the Gatorzillas did not get picked to compete in the finals. The Gatorzillas didn’t go home empty handed though. They won the Imagery Award (in honor of Jack Kamen). This award is given to only one team at the regional. This award celebrates the attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance. This is the second regional this year where we won this award! Our safety captain (Becky) also received the honor of being selected one of the top safety captains of the regional. We were runner up for the Industrial Safety Award sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories. Thanks for keeping us safe this season! Great job Gatorzillas! The Gatorzillas competition season has unfortunately come to a close for 2010. Please watch the news section, as we will be doing some community outreach and fund raising events later this year. Once again, great job Gatorzillas for a great season!

FIRST Dallas Regional Competition Results

Gatorzillas got off to a busy Thursday doing a lot of work to get the robot up and running. This unfortunately took most of the day and we didn’t get much time to practice. Thursday was just practice matches. Friday was qualification matches. The Gatorzillas hung in there despite several robot issues. They won 2 matches, tied 3 matches, and lost only 1 match. At the end of the day, we were placed 42nd out of 52. Saturday was the continuation of the qualification matches. We won 2 matches and lost 1. By the end of the day we had risen to 19th place. Unfortunately the Gatorzillas did not get picked to compete in the finals. The Gatorzillas didn’t go home empty handed though. They won the Imagery Award (in honor of Jack Kamen). This award is given to only one team at the regional. This award celebrates the attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance. Great job Gatorzillas! The Gatorzillas now have to get ready for the Lone Star Regional in Houston in 2 weeks!

3.12.2010 A Compliation of videos of our working Robot

Kickoff – Attended the First Robotic Kickoff at UHCL. Game was revealed to be Breakout (a game similar to soccer).

Week 1 and 2 –

Designed and prototyped several robotics systems. Determined cost/benefit analysis for each game strategy, component and system. Build a practice field in the shop.

Week 3 –

Focused on getting frame parts ready for welding. The students also focused on getting a pit setup and build the trident. Built a robot cart and robot bumpers. Worked on end game strategy and force gauge to be able to kick the ball known distances.

Week 4 –

Continued working on the practice robot (bumpers, driver station, software development, motors, winches, drive train, and end game devices).

Week 5 –

Welded “flight” robot frame and began assembly of robot. Worked on end game and kicker components on the practice robot.

Week 6 –

Fast and furious work to complete “flight” robot and get it crated by Monday night.

November 14th 2009 - Kemah Boardwalk Fund Raiser

Gatorzillas showed off the 2009 season to the public and allowed folks to drive to get the word out about the First Robotics competition and raise some money for next year’s season.

News 04/04/2009 - Raising funds for the First Championship in Atlanta...

Anyone for a car wash? The Gatorzillas were at Chick-fil-A in Kemah, TX all day Saturday trying to raise money for our trip to Atlanta. Mentors were also hard at work all week trying to raise money from our sponsors and book the necessary travel arrangements. Go Gatorzillas, we are almost there!

2009 Car Wash Fundraiser:

News 03/31/2009 - Gatorzillas recognized and interviewed by Dickinson High School in the morning announcements.

News 03/26/2009 through 03/28/2009 - FRC Lone Star Regional Results

The Gatorzillas had a lot of work to do on Thursday. We completed the work that needed to be done and got the robot up and running. We did very well in the practice rounds on Thursday scooping up balls and dumping them in our opponents trailers. Friday was qualifying rounds and we did have a few issues with the field wireless commuunication system. We fixed the problem by replacing our Linksys wireless game controller and everything was back to normal. On Saturday, we were picked by rookie Team 2979 to compete in the finals. Team 992 - Team Ultimate completed our alliance team. Our alliance made it through the first round of eliminations with 2 wins in a row. We advanced to the semifinal round and unfortunately was defeated by the red alliance (Teams 3103 - Iron Plaid, Team 3028 - Nice Young Men, and Team 624 - Cryptonite) . The robot, drivers, and shooters all did an excellent job at the competition. We were so happy with our results, especially considering we were a rookie team.

The Gatorzillas were also recognized at the awards ceremony on Saturday along with 2 other teams for the Safety Award. Way to be safe in the pits and out there on the field Gatorzillas!

The Gatorzillas took home the All Star Rookie award at the Lone Star Regional. With this win, the Gatorzillas have the right to go to the FRC Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. The team is very excited with this win and look forward to going to the FRC Championship in Atlanta in April.