“Fake” robotics competition invite goes haywire for NB Blitz Robotics

Sarah Bauer|February 27, 2014

The photo above is what the field looks like. Although this is a computer programmed photo, the height and size of the field is quite accurate. The middle truss is 5 feet high, and the high goal (the red boxes on the far right) is 6 feet off the ground.

The photo above is what the field looks like. Although this is a computer programmed photo, the height and size of the field is quite accurate. The middle truss is 5 feet high, and the high goal (the red boxes on the far right) is 6 feet off the ground.

On Sunday, February 16th, 2014, New Berlin Blitz Robotics (Team 5148) was invited to join in on a “Fake Competition” at Hamilton High School in Sussex, Wisconsin. The competition was created for schools from Southeastern Wisconsin to work out any bugs or problems with their robot before the big competition in March.

The Sunday competition ran from noon to 4:30 p.m., but Team 5148 arrived around 8:20 a.m. to get everything set up. With 19 rounds of 19 teams’ competing robots to fill every minute, each round lasted about two minutes and ten seconds. Two teams, red and blue, consisted of three robots each. The teams competed against each other and worked to receive the most points, by shooting or pushing the 25 inch diameter balls into either the high goal or the low goal. Team 5148 was on the red team, until the finals when they had to switch bumper colors to the blue team.

Team 5148’s robot, which they named “Zeus’ Cupcake”, participated in almost every other round. The robot did well until about the second or third round, when the drive train malfunctioned and accidentally rammed into the field wall, causing the arm to break through the thin wood backing on the bucket. The crack was irreparable since the bucket needed a solid back in order for the vacuum motor to work properly.

The photo above is what the robot looked like. Once it made the finals, the red bumper was switched to a blue bumper.
The photo above is what the robot looked like. Once it made the finals, the red bumper was switched to a blue bumper.

But alas, the vacuum motor began to overheat and smoke due to a bad soldering job on the wires. Luckily, there were only five seconds left when the incident happened.  The robot was quickly powered down and taken off the small field for repairs, leaving a terrible burning smell behind as it was wheeled back to the pits in the second smaller gym down the hallway.

The team removed the bucket and motor quickly. Since the robot was still able to drive, it was still able to perform in the upcoming rounds, but it would not be able to shoot the ball into the high goal.

Even without the robot’s most needed property, the team did not give up hope.  They still managed to push the ball into the low goal on the field. With that hope, the team surpassed 13 other competitors and made it to the finals with five other teams. The finals were played the same exact day.