Gallery: Arcadia Students' Robot Rocks Competition

The Long Beach Convention Center filled with white smoke and screaming students Friday as a robot from the Los Angeles Regional 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition blew its limit and sparked itself out on the game floor.

The was one of 64 student teams to participate in the annual competition. Teams--made up of students from robotics and engineering classes or clubs--are given six weeks to design, construct, program and test their robots before the event. Kits are provided to the schools, along with a video showing the competition game, but students, guided by mentors and faculty, must do all the work. 

“Everyone gets the same kits,” explained Fritz Schmitt, an adviser to Arcadia’s team, who has been involved with the project for four years. Schmitt noted that the robots, once complete, are shipped down to the competition where students then have to “try to get it working.”

This year’s “Logo Motion” game required robots to maneuver a 27 by 54 foot “field” while blocking and racing one another. Schools played in competing alliances each consisting of three robots, controlled by students using joysticks from behind a clear safety partition. Alliances competed to hang as many plastic inflated shapes as they could on to pegs set above the field during a two minute and 15 second match. The higher a team hung a shape, the more points their alliance received.

Each match started with a 15 second Autonomous Period during which robots had been programmed to fetch and place a ring on their own. If successful, extra points were awarded.

The match ended with robots deploying mini-bots that raced to the top of vertical poles set on the field. Each mini-bot that reached the top of its pole earned bonus points for the team.

The competition was intense, with robots fighting for shapes and position, sometimes littering the field with metal bits. An energetic crowd filled the stands while students clustered along the sidelines cheering for their alliance and their own robots. Furry school mascots showed their support while rock music pumped up the vibe; it was far more like a Staples Center sporting event than a high school science fair.

Arcadia felt good about its robot, dubbed Trinity X.

“We’re doing really well,” student Brandon Carroll said. “But the penalties are killing us.” Teams are penalized for pinning other robots, misusing lanes, or other technicalities such as an on time start.

“It’s fun,” said Kanon Shiu, a former student and current mentor who flew in from Sacramento to work with the team. “I’m here because it’s great to be a part of.”

Behind the scenes, teams set up in a pit area where students worked like NASCAR crews on the their robots. Surrounded by tool chests and banners, teams used their spaces to fine-tune and repair their robots, problem-solve, and just hang out. Safety goggles were mandatory and signed out on an honor system to visitors.

Trinity X performed well and moved fast compared to other robots, but the team suffered a bit due to a radio shorting out. Students huddled over the robot in their pit area, carefully diagnosing and planning how to proceed. Mechanical skills put to the test, the team successfully sent Trinity X back to score points thanks to it’s long, extending arm and grasping claw.

“It’s part trial and error,” Schmitt said. “We had the white smoke of death last year.”

For Carroll, the competition was about more than a chance to show off the robot and earn points. “I love mechanics and working on a team,” he said.

Teams traded buttons, bracelets and T-shirts. “Gracious professionalism” is a major part of FIRST’s philosophy, with a board set up in the pit area for teams to post what good deeds they’ve witnessed, such as the sharing of tools, parts and knowledge. Wild applause filled the space when the previously smoking robot rose from the ashes and scored heavily in its match.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is part of NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project, which aims to encourage student interest in study and careers in robotic systems, and offers scholarships and college funding opportunities. Jet Propulsion Laboratories sponsors 11 teams, including Arcadia's. Winning teams go on to compete in the FIRST Championships to be held April 27-30 in St. Louis.