Recent News

Team 190 WinsChairmans Award and the Silicon Valley Regional

The regional competition season for team 190 has been nothing short of extraordinary this year. At the BAE Granite State Regional Competition in Manchester, NH, the team against 46 other teams from around New England and Canada. The robot and team performed well, and were selected into the fifth-seed alliance along with team 134 and 1277. Unfortunately, we were knocked out of the elimination rounds in the Quarterfinals. However, later in the day on Saturday, the team received the Chairmans Award, for the teams service to the community and helping to spread the message of FIRST.
Two weeks later, the team traveled to the Silicon Valley Regional in San Jose, CA. There, the team distinguished itself as one of the strongest tube scorers and arguable the best ramp robot at the competition. Finishing the qualification rounds with six wins and two losses, 190 was selected by the second seed, team 1516. The alliance then went on to select team 1280. The alliance worked well together, scoring 60 bonus points in all but two matches. By the end of the day, we were victorious, winning team 190's second regional championship. During the awards ceremony, we were also awarded the Motorola Quality Award for a robust robot design.
. Congratulations to everyone! Next stop: Atlanta.

Directions to CSECE

From Worcester/WPI:


- Take I-290 W from WPI
- Take Exit 6B
- Off the ramp, get into the left-most lane
- At the light (by Home Depot), do a U-turn
- Take the first right onto Oxford St S.
- The house is a couple down on your left, it's a bit set back from the road, but there is a sign for the "Captain Samuel Eddy House" by the driveway.

Address is 609 Oxford St S, Auburn. Phone number of the CSECE is 508-721-5175, Ken's cell is 774-232-0751

Team 190 wins BAE Regional Chairman's Award!!

All,

Just had to mention it, Team 190 was awarded the TOP PRIZE at the BAE/Granite State Regional in Manchester NH about 2 hrs ago! Amongst 52 other teams (from California, Canada, Mid Atlantic, and New England, Dean Kamen presented the WPI/Mass Academy team with the coveted Chairman's Award for our outstanding year-around performance in inspiring young folks into pursuing careers and education in technical, scientific, and engineering fields. This is the illusive big kahuna we have been pursuing (and just missing) for 15 years. I couldn't be prouder of the team's performance and they are stoked!

Ken

FIRST Kickoff is Coming!

Hey Team!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 2006 so far and enjoying their much deserved break from classes! But the break's almost over as Kickoff of the 2006 FIRST Robotics season is THIS SATURDAY (7 Jan). This marks the beginning of six weeks of good times and hard work to build the 15th robot of Team 190.

This email has a lot of details of what you need to know and expect this first week and throughout the official season. There's a lot to review and get out, but I'll try to keep it as brief as possible.

* First off, the hint for this year's game is:
five 'bots tangling with pasta
a game piece obsessed with a shovel's show
and seeing Montana's green heights

* Kickoff: The kickoff will be held on 7 Jan at 1000 at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. Here team members will check out the field, take tons of photos, and pick up the kit.

* Remote Kickoff: We will be hosting a remote kickoff on 7 Jan in Olin Hall 107. We invite all of you and your families to come watch the kickoff on the big screens. We will also be inviting area teams to come and watch the broadcast. We highly encourage everyone to come to this viewing (we will NOT replay kickoff at Sunday's meeting). If you know other people on area teams, also feel free to invite them and their teammates to the event. Any questions, contact Chris.

Other information about how to watch the webcast is available here: http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/2006/kfevents.htm. Even if you cannot watch it live, please d/l and watch it prior to brainstorming.

* Day 0 - Unpack, Prep, Etc: Immediately following the kickoff viewing, the team will head over to the lab to download rules, begin reading, deciding what games pieces to build & what materials we need, etc. This is an important first task to start us off on the right foot for the rest of the season. Once the team members with the kits arrive back on campus, we will unpack, build game pieces, and a mini-field as necessary. Again, all are welcome and highly encouraged to come!

* Kickoff CRUD: We will be playing CRUD at Ken's house at the end of the Saturday. Come on by and wear CRUD shirts if you have them! (And order them if you don't, last chance!)

* Brainstorming Part 1: On Sunday at 1100 we will meet to begin the brainstorming process. This meeting is likely to last until at least 1700. During this time we will focus on what we want to do in the game rather than specific robot designs. The more brains the better and everyone (siblings, parents, friends, etc) are all welcome to join in.

* Brainstorming Part 2: On Monday, we will be meeting at 1000 and 1300 to begin brainstorming robot designs. There are two sessions listed on the web, but they are continuous. Everyone will be assigned to a group and that group will meet at both 1000 and 1300 on Monday. Information about your specific group and meeting place will be posted on the website by Sunday night.

* Brainstorming Part 3: Each group will meet once on Tuesday to continue brainstorming. Some groups will meet at 1430 (during Ken's elective), others at 1615 when all other juniors are done with class. We hope that by the end of this session, groups will at least have the basic functionality of their robot design planned out.

* Brainstorming - The Group Decision: On Wednesday all groups will gather at 1615 to present their ideas and begin discussion on the various ideas. We will do our best to make a decision regarding overall design on this day.

* Brainstorming - The Final Frontier: If it doesn't happen Wednesday, we will meet Thursday at 1615 to continue and hopefully finish the discussion

* Brainstorming - The Last Call: Worst case scenario, we will meet at 1000 on Saturday to finalize the decision regarding the robot design. More concrete designing and prototyping on the final 'bot should commence NLT 1200 on Saturday!!

All updates and finalized details on these sessions, meeting places, etc will be found on the website (wpi.edu/~first). Please check there regularly and often for the more up-to-date team information. All brainstorming sessions will be credited as Meetings (not Ops or Support hours).

* Lab Hours: The following are the typical hours the lab will be open for working (during build time, as the deadline gets closer, the hours get longer)
Sunday: 1200-2200
Mon-Fri: 0800-2200 (Core hours: 1630-1930)
Saturday: 1000-2200, CRUD @ Ken's following

* Expectations: Remember that in order to receive any funding or be eligible to the travel team, you must complete the requirements set at the beginning of the season. They are posted on the web (http://users.wpi.edu/~first/index.cgi?node=forum&s=topic_show&tid=50). Any hours you want to earn toward Operations or Support must be signed off my Chris or myself, respectively. No Ops hours will be earned unless you help clean up before leaving, so plan your work time and rides accordingly. Also, time cards with hours must be submitted within 24 hours of the hours being earned.

* Check your record: Your record on the team website is where all information regarding your eligibility is listed and will be taken from. If it does not say it there, you have not received credit for it. If something is missing, you must contact the person who ran the event or you were working for in order to receive credit. Everyone check their record (http://users.wpi.edu/~first/index.cgi?node=personal_record) and vouch for its accuracy AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

HS STUDENTS: I will be attempting to attach a document that I ask you to download, print, and give to your parents. It provides them with some key information what where you'll be, what you'll be doing, etc. Please give it to them so they may be better informed.

Other news:
- Final Designs for T-shirts are due by Fri Jan 13th.
- There is PLENTY of Support stuff to work on now, contact me if you want something to do.
- Check the web.. it has been updated with, among other things, new demos and information on tryouts/testing.

Order CRUD Shirts, Fleeces, Polos by 19 Nov!

Alrighty- So we will definitely be ordering more CRUD shirts, and if people are interested we will also be ordering fleeces and team polo shirts. If you want to order any of these, you must do so by 19 Nov. Follow the link below for the details and order form.

Team 190 'Gap' - Order your apparel now!

Any questions, drop me an email.

Direction to CSECE

From Worcester/WPI:


- Take I-290 W from WPI
- Take Exit 6B
- Off the ramp, get into the left-most lane
- At the light (by Home Depot), do a U-turn
- Take the first right onto Oxford St S.
- The house is a couple down on your left, it's a bit set back from the road, but there is a sign for the "Captain Samuel Eddy House" by the driveway.


Address is 609 Oxford St S, Auburn.
Phone number of the CSECE is 508-721-5175, Ken's cell is 774-232-0751

Ordering CRUD Shirts and/or Team Fleeces

Team,

Follow the link below to put in your order for CRUD shirts and/or Team Fleeces.

Once we receive orders for 24 CRUD Shirts, I will give a last call for them and orders will be placed. Payment must be received prior to us ordering your shirt. If people want CRUD shirts but don't have a name yet, there is an option to check off and we'll try and hold a team CRUD event so that people can get names.

Fleeces will be ordered once we get a sizable order. Same deal- payment must be received before we place the order.

Click here to order

Directions to RR8

Directions to anyone that may be planning on traveling to RiverRage on their own:

1. Start out going East on INSTITUTE RD toward SCHUSSLER RD. <0.1 miles

2. Turn RIGHT onto SCHUSSLER RD. 0.1 miles

3. Turn LEFT onto HIGHLAND ST/MA-9 E. 0.5 miles

4. Turn LEFT onto MA-70 N/LINCOLN ST. 0.2 miles

5. Merge onto I-290 E toward MARLBORO/I-190. 13.5 miles

6. Merge onto I-495 N via exit number 26B- on the left- toward LOWELL. 24.0 miles

7. Take the US-3/LOWELL CONNECTOR exit toward BURLINGTON/NASHUA N.H.. 0.1 miles

8. Merge onto US-3 N via the exit- on the left- toward NASHUA- NH. 17.4 miles

9. Merge onto EVERETT TURNPIKE (Portions toll). 15.2 miles

10. Take the GRANITE ST. exit- exit number 5- toward DOWNTOWN. 0.3 miles

11. Turn LEFT onto GRANITE ST. 0.1 miles

12. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto MAIN ST. 0.1 miles

(Pretty sure once you get here, you'll see the school on the left and just park somewhere in this area on the street or nearby public parking. Should be signage and lots of cars/people)

13. Turn LEFT onto CONANT ST. <0.1 miles

14. Turn RIGHT onto NOTRE DAME AVE. <0.1 miles

End at 9 Notre Dame Ave, Manchester, NH 03102-3935 US

Directions to the CSECE

Just reposting to keep them at the top. We'll be playing CRUD after RiverRage on the 11th. All are welcome. Likely to start around 1800-1830.... From Worcester/WPI:

- Take I-290 W from WPI
- Take Exit 6B
- Off the ramp, get into the left-most lane
- At the light (by Home Depot), do a U-turn
- Take the first right onto Oxford St S.
- The house is a couple down on your left, it's a bit set back from the road, but there is a sign for the "Captain Samuel Eddy House" by the driveway.

Address is 609 Oxford St S, Auburn.
Phone number of the CSECE is 508-721-5175.

CRUD Shirt Order!

Hey Team-

We'll be putting in another order for CRUD T-shirts at the on Monday or Tuesday (July 26/27) if anyone is interested.

Go here to order. Shirts are $13 each. If you need it mailed to you, you need to pay shipping (~$2-3).

Order soon!