Blog Posts

FIRSTKickoff 2018

12/18/2017

Are You Ready to Power Up?

The FIRST kickoff is on January 6, at 8:30 in the Winnebago High school Cafeterium. This is mandatory for all members. We will watch the release video for this years game as a team, also don't forget to bring something to participate in the potluck. If you have not seen it yet the teaser for this years game is below:

List of Baskets

11/22/2017

To View a full list of the baskets in the basket raffle click on the link below:
Basket list

Minibot Rule Update and Field CAD

11/1/2017

FlapJack Challenge!

Pancake Breakfast Game Release!

10/21/2017

Border Patrol
Overview:
Border Patrol is a 3 on 3 match with a field divided into Red and Blue “Countries”. But not to worry! Both alliances will be on each Country! Two Feeder Robots will remain on their corresponding side (Red or Blue) while the remaining Smuggler Robot will be placed in the opposing Country. More information will be given on objectives/scoring.

Game Field: (all dimensions have a ±½ in. tolerance)

Field Dimensions: 16 feet wide (end walls) x 12 feet long (side walls) x 1ft 10in tall
- The floor of the field will be carpeted with the standard FIRST carpeting
- There will be a Fence spanning the width of the field.
- The Fence will consist of two standard 2x6’s stacked on top of each other, held together by wood screws, making the final dimensions approx. 2 in. thick x 16 ft. wide x 11 in. tall.
- Along this Fence, there will be four holes (or Tunnels), with their centers 3½ feet apart, and the center of the outermost Tunnels will be approximately 3ft. 7/16ths in. away from the side wall of the field.
- The Tunnels are 5¾ in. wide by 3 in. tall.
Two hanging baskets (or Vaults) will be suspended with the openings 2½ feet above the ground and secured by a taut rope. The Vaults will be placed centered along the 16 ft. wall and the center of the Vaults will be spaced 1½ ft. off of the Fence, one on each side.
- The opening of the Vaults are 9 3/16 in x 5 ⅝ in. x 6.334 in. tall.
- The sides taper down to a bottom that is 7 in. x 3 1/2 in.
- These Vaults were featured in FIRST Res-Q.
There will be a 2 ft. deep Smuggling Zone spanning the width of the field on each side of the Fence, marked by a tape line (Smuggling Line).
There will be a 4ftx4ft. wide Human Player Station centered on each end marked by tape.
The Drivers may stand anywhere on their side.

Game Pieces:

The game pieces will consist of large foam balls (Platinum) plastic cubes (Gold) and plastic wiffle balls (Silver).
- The Gold is 2x2x2 inches
- The Silver is approx. 2 3/4 in. in diameter.
- The Platinum is a 10” diameter foam ball.
- The Silver, and Gold were featured in the 2015 - 2016 FTC challenge, FIRST Res-Q, and the Platinum was featured in the 2016 FRC Game, FIRST Stronghold.

Robot Specifications:

Robots at the start of the match, while not powered, may not exceed16 in. x 16 in. x 14 in. tall.
Robots may extend infinitely in all directions during the match.
Robots may not exceed a weight of 25 lb. excluding battery.
Robots may not use any CIMs, Mini CIMs, or 775-PRO motors.
Robots may only use a 12V or Vex Battery and their equivalents.
Robots may not be dangerous in ANY way shape or form as deemed by the referees.
Any and all Robot extensions may not move outside of the field.

Objective/Scoring:

The objective of this year’s 2017 FlapJack Challenge (Border Patrol) is to move Silver and Gold across the Fence
- The match will start with 20 Silver and 4 Gold on each side, locations of the Silver and Gold will be random within your Country, and 1 Platinum behind the end wall to be used by the Human Player
- Silver may be scored by passing it through the Tunnels or passing them over the Fence.
- At the end of the match, each piece of Silver on the other side of the Fence is worth 5 points for your alliance.
- Feeder Robots may give Gold to the Smuggler Robot by passing them over the wall in order to allow the Smuggler Bot to place the Gold in the Vault.
  - If a piece of gold is pushed through a Tunnel by a feeder bot, the Smuggler bot on the same alliance may attempt to pass the Gold back through ANY Tunnel in order to allow their respective Feeder bots to pass the gold over the Fence.
  - Each Gold in the Vault will be worth 50 points and every 2 Gold in the Vault is worth 1 additional Ranking Point, up to 2 Ranking Points
During the last 30 seconds of the match, a single Platinum will be introduced to each Country along the 16 ft wall in front of the Human Player Station, by the Human Player.
- This Platinum can be launched by a robot over the Fence to the other Country for 150 points and 1 additional Ranking point.
- While launching the Platinum, Feeder Robots may not cross the Smuggler Line.
- If the Platinum enters the Smuggler Zone in the Country in which it was introduced, it is considered dead and can no longer be scored.

Match Outcome and Ranking:

Each Match will be 2 minutes and 30 seconds long.
At the end of the Match, the Alliance with the most points will be declared the winner.
In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by the following rules:
- The team with the fewest penalties will be declared the winner.
- If still tied, the team with the most Gold in their Vault will be declared the winner.
- In the event that the match is still tied, the winner will be determined by the team that successfully scored their Platinum first.
A win will be worth 1 Ranking Point, and a loss will be worth 0 Ranking Points.
There will be a possible 4 total Ranking Points per Match.
Overall Ranking will be determined by each team’s Ranking Score
- The Ranking Score will be the average number of Ranking Points earned per match
If there is a tie in Ranking Score, the team with a higher average score per match will be ranked higher.

Game Rules and Penalties:

No part of the Smuggler Robots may exit the Smuggling Zone. (5 pts.)
- Exiting is considered as breaking the plane of the Smuggling Line
A Smuggler bot may NOT push an enemy gold through a Tunnel. (25 pts.)
Feeder Robots may not push the Smuggler Robot out of the Smuggling Zone. (30 pts.)
Robots may not pin other Robots for more than 5 seconds. (5 pts.)
Robots may not intentionally harm other robots (1st offense: Verbal warning for the offending robot. Automatic loss for Alliance, scores will still count for Average PPG(points per game), and Alliance Partners will still receive other Ranking Points earned; 2nd offense: Automatic disqualification. The referees hold the power to skip the verbal warning and move straight to disqualification if deemed fit.)
Robots may not damage game pieces or field elements (15 pts, if repeated, disqualification at referee discretion)
Robots may not influence any game pieces to leave the field. (5 pts per item if repeated, 1st offense: Verbal Warning)
- Exception: a gold piece that is trying to be scored that falls out of the field will NOT be assessed this penalty. This gold piece will not be reintroduced and will count as voided (0).
Only Smuggler Robots may intentionally contact the rope and Vault (5 pts., if it impedes the flow of the game, a larger penalty may be assessed depending on severity)
Robots may not be in contact with the platinum at the same time as the Human Player (50 pts.)
Robots may not pin another robot for more than 4 seconds. A pin is defined as one robot pushing another robot against a wall, the fence, or another robot.

14th Annual Robotics Kickoff!

9/19/2017

Come be a part of our Robotics team! We are part of the FIRST Robotics Competition which is a global program where high school students create a robot, travel all over the United States to participate in competitions with teams from all over the world. Winnebago and Pecatonica High Schools have banded together to allow students to create their own robot from scratch to participate in these events. We are a highly community based organization who is always happy to learn from and hopefully teach our fellow community members. Whether you are a student, a parent, or an adult looking for a robot filled time, the winnovation is the organization for you.

Without participation from our community, the team will not be able to continue, support is always welcome and well appreciated. On Monday September 25, 2017 at 7:00 P.M., the team will be hosting the Fall Kickoff at the Winnebago High School’s Cafetorium. If you have any interest in mechanical, electrical, welding, Computer Aided Design, programing, scouting, marketing, and spirit, please come to this meeting! If you are a student interested in coming to this event, please your parent or guardian. If you have any questions please contact: team1625@gmail.com

SUMMER CAMP PLANS ARE UNDERWAY!!!

5/10/2017

Winnovation members are excited to be hosting our 8th Annual Legos, Slime, and Other Fun Camp on June 19-23, at the Winnebago Public Library. Members are planning new experiments and games to encourage curiosity and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. On Wednesday, camp will be held at the Bot Shop! And as is tradition, we'll end our week with Things that Fly and Float and Getting Wet! Register now!! If you have any questions, please email team1625@gmail.com

Midwest Results & World Championships!

4/3/2017

We are proud to announce that Winnovation FIRST Robotics Team 1625 won the Midwest Regional in Chicago, Illinois. This victory has qualified the team to participate in the 2017 FIRST Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. At the Championship, more than 1,000 teams representing the four programs of FIRST from over 30 countries worldwide compete in this year’s game. Going into alliance selection, Winnovation was ranked 11th out of 53 teams. We were picked as the third team to round out the second alliance. The team captain was Rolling Thunder, team 1511, and the second team was Pwnage, team 2451. Rolling Thunder is based out of Penfield, New York, and Pwnage is from St. Charles, Illinois.
The teams developed a strategy in which Winnovation would score a gear in autonomous mode and play defense for the rest of the game, Pwnage would shoot fuel into the high goal, and the other team would run gears. After advancing to the finals, the alliance won their first match, lost the second, and won the final tie-breaker match, which enables Winnovation to travel to St. Louis to compete in FIRST’s FRC World Championship.
Winnovation would like to send out a thank you to all of our mentors, alumni, and generous sponsors who made this possible. Our mentors and alumni provide valuable training and insight into how to build the robot, and our sponsors support us through in-kind and monetary donations.

1625 at Central Illinois Regional

3/14/2017

1625 is headed to Central Illinois Regional this weekend - for those following along from home here are some details. We'll post match schedule here, but watch our Facebook page for real time updates during the event as well.
Match list will be available here on Friday - https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/1625/2017
Webcast will be available here on Thursday afternoon - end of event -
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/firstcir