Team 230 Goes into FIRST Overdrive
Written by Leann Misencik on January 04, 2008
Saturday, January 5th marked the beginning of a new robotics season. At ten in the morning, the Gaelhawks met at Shelton High School to anxiously await the release of the new game.
Finally, the live webcast began, and teams all over the world watched the unveiling of this year?s competition. The game for this season is called ?FIRST Overdrive?. The object of the match is to race counterclockwise around a track, while controlling and ?hurdling? a 40 inch track ball over a 6.5 foot overpass.
Once the webcast was over, the team wasted no time in beginning to develop a winning strategy. The 30 team members that attended the kickoff split into groups to discuss what aspects of the game they felt the robot should focus on in order to win. Several hours later, the groups reconvened and shared their strategies. The Gaelhawks as a whole then decided on a unified strategy.
In order to visualize what the game would be like, the team even set up an interactive human demonstration of the game, using exercise balls and ladders. Team members had fun running around the track, and the team gained new insights into the 2008 game.
By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted from a hard day of discussion and fun, but raring to begin building the new robot!
