Team History
First Team Meeting
August, 2013
First meeting ever!
Approximately half of our members had experience on FLL teams and the other half were completely new to robotics
All of us were new to FTC, including our mentors
FTC 2013-14 Kickoff at Kettering University, Flint
September 7, 2013
Built our first robot during the classroom sessions
Drove our robot on the Block Party! field after the game was announced
FTC Scrimmage at Lake Fenton High School, Linden
November 9, 2013
First connection to a Field Control System other than our own
Successful teleop run with good block movement and a pull-up
FTC Qualifier Tournament at Discovery Middle School, Canton
November 23, 2013
Did not compete. Attended in order to get a feel for what an FTC tournament is like
Gave gift bags to all the teams at the tournament
Conversion tables
Standard to metric distances
Axle rotation to distance traveled
Servo addresses to angles
Note pads and pencils
Measuring tape
FTC Qualifier Tournament at Heritage Junior High School, Sterling Heights
December 7, 2013
Winner, PTC Design Award
3rd Place, Inspire Award
Finalist, Think Award
2nd Place Alliance
FTC State Championship Tournament at Marshall Middle School, Marshall
December 21, 2013
4th Place Alliance
FTC Spring Tournament at Brandon Middle School, Ortonville
May 17, 2014
Winner, Think Award
4th Place Alliance Captain
Outreach: Youth Robotics Info / Demo Event at Canton Public Library
June 12, 2014
Co-Host, with 6689 RoboRockets and 7150 TechnoBots
Team Robotium worked together with two other award-winning teams to spread the word about robotics in general and the FIRST (www.usfirst.org) family of programs in particular.
This event was FREE and provided info and resources to help people join or start a team. We focused on teams for Elementary (FLL) and Middle Schools (FTC), but also helped people find info about High School teams (FRC).
This event was open to all who were interested, regardless of community or school district.
We had three FTC robots and one FLL robot available for demos and let visitors drive them on the real competition game fields.
If you have questions about how your team can organize this type of event in your area, we'd love to help. Email us at team7337@gmail.com
If you would like to get started with FIRST robotics and would like more information, you can:
Fill in our I'm Interested form
Check out our What's FIRST Robotics page.
Ask us questions via email: team7337@gmail.com
Outreach: Youth Robotics Info Follow-up Meeting at Canton Public Library
July 28, 2014
We hosted a follow-up meeting for parents of interested students.
Agenda Items
How to Register a Team
What does it cost?
What does it include?
Grants and Fundraising
What grants are available?
Fundraising Ideas
Team Budgets
Registration
Parts
Supplies
Miscellaneous
Tools and Equipment
FLL
FTC
Websites and Wikis
Choosing build-kits and software (FTC)
Safety
Team Member and Mentor Requirements - defined by your team
Code of Conduct
Responsibilities
Disciplinary Action
Team Mentor Requirements - defined by FIRST
Youth Protection Program
Outreach: Youth Robotics Info Follow-up Meeting at Canton Public Library
August 3, 2014
We hosted a second follow-up meeting for interested families. We're now working to convert the outlines and notes from those meetings into an easy to follow set of pages here on our site.
Outreach: Online Guide for How to Start an FLL or FTC Team
August 8, 2014
We updated our website to include a detailed guide for starting an FLL or FTC team.
Age/Grade ranges of FLL (FIRST LEGO League) and FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge)
Team Mentor Requirements - Defined by FIRST
Team Member and Mentor Requirements - Defined by Your Team
Fundraising
Websites and Wikis
Safety
Overview of FLL season
How to Register a Team
Grants
Tools
Equipment
FLL Resources
Overview of FTC season
How to Register a Team
Grants
Tools
Equipment
FTC Resources
FTC 2014-15 Kickoff at Kettering University, Flint
September 6, 2014
Attended classes on programming, strategy, design, PTC Creo CAD software, and team management
Examined the Cascade Effect field after the game was announced
Frozen Yogurt!
October 29, 2014
The team held a "Meet us at Menchie's" fundraiser on October 29. Supporters were given a flier to bring to Menchie's. They could print it out or bring a picture of it on a smartphone, iPod, tablet, etc. If they did, Menchie's donated 20% of their purchase to our team.
We promised to do good things with any money raised: build our robot, travel to tournaments, and continue our outreach efforts.
FTC Qualifier at Brandon High School, Ortonville, MI
December 20, 2014
We had a challenging day (several drive motor failures) but are happy to to report that it was a good day, after all:
Made it to the semi-final matches and were part of the 4th-place alliance.
Won the Connect Award, which is for "the team that most connected with their local community and the engineering community."
Were finalists for the Rockwell-Collins Innovate Award, which is for having "the most innovative and creative robot design solution."
Were finalists for the Motivate Award, which is for "the team that exemplifies the essence of the FTC competition through team building, team spirit and enthusiasm."
Were finalists for the Think Award, which is for "the team that best reflects the 'journey' the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season."
We're looking forward to the FTC State Championship in Battle Creek. See you there!
Why We Choose FIRST
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