Scott Rippetoe – Page 19 – Texas Torque: Team 1477

Texas Torque at the Dallas Regional

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Scott Rippetoe

After this year’s busy build season and the continued work on the robot throughout the last 9 weeks, Texas Torque was eager to compete at its first official FIRST Robotics Competition event since last year’s Championship — the Dallas Regional.

Following the first day, which consisted primarily of travel and pit setup, the team entered its first day of competition at the Dallas Regional. While key members in each of the build subteams spent nearly the entire day working on final adjustments on the robot, other teams members took time to help out other teams at the regional. As a team that considers Gracious Professionalism one of the driving influences on the team’s character, a solid portion of our team’s members went out into the pits to make sure that all teams would be in tip-top shape for the following day of competition. Work on the robot finished successfully as well; near the end of the day, our team played two practice matches to get a feel for the gameplay and performed very well on the field.

This year’s robot performing in the qualification matches at Dallas. (Photo credit: FRC 1296)

On the second day of the competition and the first day of qualifications, Texas Torque started the day off with a bang , winning its first qualification match 165—28. As the day went on, Texas Torque suffered some mechanical and electrical difficulties, causing problems on the field. Still, the team’s members kept their spirits high, fixing problems as they arose with a respectable air of efficiency and calmness. The day ended with a victory playing with FRC 148, the Robowranglers, and a 5-3 record overall. That night, team leadership and scouting/strategy officials on the team met to discuss what could be seen in the following day of competition and potentially strong alliance partners in the next day of competition.

The third day of competition started with an unexpected loss due to further problems on the robot. We continued to play through the rest of the qualification matches, ranking 21st. We were happy to form an eliminations alliance with FRC 1817, the Roboraiders, and FRC 3735, the KleinBots. However, our 3rd seeded alliance lost in the quarterfinals due to the 6th seeded alliance after two hard fought matches.

The regional ended fantastically with a well-deserved Chairman’s Award, the first ever in Texas Torque’s history. The team is honored to have been bestowed this prestigious award and be identified as a team whose character and impact serves as a model for other FRC teams. The team celebrated this victory with a dinner with FRC 359, The Hawaiian Kids.

The presentation squad poses with the newly acquired Chairman’s banner alongside a key mentor, Sherry Coats.

Texas Torque would like to congratulate FRC 148, the Robowranglers, FRC 359 The Hawaiian Kids, and FRC 457, The Grease Monkeys, for their unchallenged victory at this event. In addition, we are gracious for the efforts of the Irving Convention Center for hosting the event, as well as the constant support of our sponsors and everyone involved with the team. We hope to see many of these amazing teams at the Lone Star Regional in two weeks; in the meantime, Texas Torque members across the board will be busy preparing for this upcoming challenge.

Demo Blitz Week for Texas Torque

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Scott Rippetoe

This past week has been one of the most active weeks in Texas Torque’s history, with robot tuning, lab organization… and three demonstrations at elementary schools in the Conroe Independent School District.

Team members distributed themselves among the three events at Armstrong Elementary, Anderson Elementary, and Bush Elementary, promoting science and technology at the various presentations. For many of the students, this was their first time getting to see a fully functional robot from Texas Torque; while some of the students remembered seeing our 2012 robot, VelociRiptar, we also presented our 2013 robot, Sonic, at two of the three demonstrations. Our students took great pride in explaining both the functions of our robot and our team to children and parents alike. Even our newest members were able to demonstrate knowledge of our team and FIRST as a whole.

And, of course, our team encouraged all students to join robotics if interested. We advertised FIRST programs to all students, suggesting everything from FIRST Lego League (FLL) to FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) as a channel for robotics experience. Many were pleasantly surprised to hear of our open membership policy and the range of students who can join Texas Torque in addition to the skill and poise that all volunteer members exhibited.

Texas Torque is proud to be such an influential factor in the scientific growth of our community’s youth. In the future, we will certainly continue to strive for an even greater impact.

Texas Torque Volunteers at Local Science Events

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Scott Rippetoe

Texas Torque is well known for its active role in the community, and this year has been no exception. Despite one of the busiest schedules in Texas Torque’s history, team members made a constant effort to help out with the Sci:// Tech Exposition, an annual series of events and competitions held in Conroe ISD to promote science and technology.
At the beginning of the campaign, Texas Torque held a demonstration at the Lone Star Expo, where team members answered questions about the team and the 2013 robot. Outreach Captain Matt Bartell worked hard to organize members of the team to help judge the Junior and Senior divisions of the Engineering Design Competition, where students in grades 7 through 12 built basic robots to complete tasks on a timed course.
We are continuing these efforts with more demonstrations in the near future. Thanks to Texas Torque volunteers, the Sci://Tech Exposition was a great success, and hundreds of students were able to take part in a well-executed exploration into STEM applications.

Demonstration at Sci://Tech Exposition

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Scott Rippetoe

This past weekend, Texas Torque members traveled up to the Lone Star Convention Center for the Sci://Tech Exposition, a yearly convention of science and technology for students in the Conroe Independent School District.

At the event, children from all over the district came together to see our Championship-winning robot, “Sonic,” while team members answered questions concerning robot design, engineering, and safety. Adults and children alike were fascinated by the outstanding feats of engineering on display. Rud Merriam, moderator of the website “Mystic Lake Software,” had this to say about the team:

This competition is for high-school students and, to be blunt, you have to be impressed by their poise and ability to engage with adults and children about their team and robot.

Through this demonstration, Texas Torque was able to reach hundreds of students in the district, thus continuing to spread the principles of STEM throughout the greater Houston area. The event was undeniably an enjoyable experience for both team members and spectators, and we hope to return next year to hopefully reach an even greater audience.