FIRST Tech Challenge Competes in States Qualifier
This past weekend, the upper school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics team participated in the FIRST Chesapeake Tech Challenge qualifier. The daylong event hosted 22 teams from across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts in a qualifier for the upcoming state event later this year.
How Does it Work?
Teams are challenged to design, build and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Teams are paired with mentors to help them experience engineering problems solving first-hand using a robot that performs Java-based programming. The mentors and students work for months leading up to the competition on building their robot and programming it to complete the challenge.
Norfolk Collegiate’s team, O.A.K.S., is comprised of students Sarah M. ’23, Jackson D. ’23, Porter F. ’23, Carleigh L. ’24, Parker H. ’25 and Joshua T. ’26. The team consists of two driver operators, an experienced player, a coach and a robot. Each match is played with two randomly selected alliance teams, so your opponent in one match may be your alliance team in another.
This Year’s Challenge
This year’s theme is POWERPLAYSM, where teams will test limits, balance energy and maximize power and performance in an energy-driven match. Teams place on the floor and stack on poles as many cones as possible in a designated time frame. Matches are played on a 12-foot, foam tile field with junctions of various sizes. Junctions are mounted on flexible springs, making the challenges more difficult.
“The junctions are supposed to be a circuit and once you get a connect four of cones in a line, you have completed the circuit,” said Sarah of the challenge.
Every year there’s something that has to be lifted, so the team decided to use a linear actuator that rotates on a line to move their cones up and down. “As the strings constrict, it pushes up,” said Sarah of the design. Imagine a high-tech pulley system, of sorts. To grab the cones, they went with a pair of tongs.
In The End
The O.A.K.S. were in 10th place and headed into the semi-finals.
“We got picked to join an alliance in the semi-finals,” said Brendan Hoyle, the team’s advisor. “Our alliance won their semi-final matches so the team advanced to finals” where they ultimately fell to a team from Massachusetts. “The team represented the school brilliantly. It was a great day. Our alliance did not win the final, but I’m so proud of their fantastic work.”
Way to go, O.A.K.S.!
