When robots compete, students are the winners at FIRST event
It was a frantic few minutes for the Algonquin Regional High robotics team.
The T-Hawks and their partners, Team HYPER of Quincy and Robotsbythe-C of Manchester Essex Regional High, had just finished off a victory and were catching a quick breather when they were told that their robot, SPAZ-BOT, was expected back on the field immediately.
Algonquin's squad hustled back to the playing field just in time to put away its quarterfinal opponent and advance to the semis in the Boston regional of this year's FIRST Robotics Competition, which was held Saturday at Boston University's Agganis Arena. The win was the day's seventh - and final - victory for the Algonquin team at the annual competion, sometimes described as the "Super Bowl of science fairs."
With hundreds of fans watching, and yelling, the students maneuvered their hand-made robots around a course in a series of matches. Some of the fans sported dyed hair, face paint, pom-poms, and costumes. More than 1,000 youths participated from 51 high school robotics teams, including nine teams from Boston's western suburbs.
Algonquin reached the semifinals and Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Tech of Upton advanced to the finals.
"We made it very close in the end. I could not be more proud," said Algonquin senior and team captain Yussuf Lazzouni.
In their losing match, Algonquin watched as Quincy's robot toppled over on a tight turn. With one partner down, SPAZ-BOT went for a last-second score, but came up short. For a moment, the T-Hawks alliance was ahead, 48-42, and had knotted up the series at one victory each. But a score adjustment gave Algonquin a 54-48 loss, eliminating the team from the tournament.
The game itself is known as FIRST Overdrive, and it is played between two "alliances," one red and one blue, made up of three robots each. The robots race counterclockwise around an oval track, 54 feet by 27 feet, that is partially separated by a lengthwise plexiglass median. A ladder-like rack on top of the median holds four colored trackballs, two red and two blue. The trackballs weigh a few pounds each, are 40-inches in diameter, and were placed a few feet off the floor on the racks.
Matches are split into two periods. During the first 15 seconds, called the Hybrid period, robots are allowed to roam autonomously, and can score by either knocking a trackball off the rack, crossing a lane marker, or crossing a finish line.
The next two minutes are called the Teleoperated period, during which the robots are radio-controlled by team members. Scoring occurs when a robot tosses a trackball over the overpass, or if an alliance ball remains atop the rack at the end of the match. It was the latter scenario that spelled elimination for the Algonquin team on Saturday.
"They determined that the red ball was actually on the rack, and not being held" by SPAZ-BOT, said Marc Nash, a mentor with the T-Hawks. While Algonquin's robot was tossing the trackball over the rack, it had not cleared it in time to be counted, giving the opposing alliance 12 additional points, Nash said.
"We lost on an interesting call, but I'm very proud," Lazzouni said. "Our robot did exactly what we wanted it to do, and we've done everything we expected here and more."
Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton belonged to the alliance that defeated Algonquin, and advanced to the finals. The team took its final series to three games before bowing out to the combined team from Tewksbury, Shenendehowa High in Clifton Park, N.Y., and Trinity High in Manchester, N.H. The winning alliance will advance to the world championships to be held April 17 through 19 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Watertown High also received an invitation to Atlanta as the winner of the Rookie All-Star award, as did Agawam High, winner of the Regional Chairman's Award.
The Millis High team won the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award for its "efforts within the community," according to team captain Jonathan Greco.
"We've recruited kids and have reached out to other towns and helped other teams expand and develop," said Greco, a senior at Millis High. Members of his team educated fans at the school on the nuances of the game, even bringing a cheering section to the regionals. The team also recruits students from towns without a robotics team, such as Hopkinton High freshman Peter Bransfield.
Holliston High was competing with a new mentor; its previous coach, science teacher James Connelly, passed away last summer. New coach Bob Tivnan, a math teacher at Holliston, has relied on the help of other teams, particularly Boston University Academy, during the rebuilding process.
"We've been networking with other experienced teams, talking with them, asking questions about their robots," Tivnan said. "We kind of had to start over, and we feel like we're a rookie team again. But we were able to accomplish what we wanted and did a lot better this year than last."
Paul Shiffler, coach of rookie Wayland High, was satisfied with his team's performance under pressure.
"Our problem-solving in the last three days has been impressive," he said. "Our first few matches, we had a lot of trouble with driving, but we got it worked out in the end."
Competing teams are given six weeks to design and build their robots. They are given a starter kit by FIRST Robotics, and, with funding provided by local sponsors, purchase the hardware necessary to design, build, code, and test their robots.
The competition not only tests engineering skills but also the ability of students to function as a small organization. The demand to build a fully functioning robot in a span of just six weeks takes a huge level of commitment, said regional director Steve Cremer.
"In many cases, the teams have full business and marketing plans," Cremer said. "The purpose is to have students understand what their future could be in the economic world. The businesses who support FIRST recognize that many of the kids who graduate from this program are best prepared for business and management in many of their companies."
Manny Veiga can be contacted at mveiga@globe.com.
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