Author: Scott Rippetoe

Texas Torque Trailer Gets Makeover

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As Texas Torque prepares for the upcoming FRC season, we decided to give a makeover to one of the most experienced, hardened members of the team — our trailer.

Previously black all the way around, the trailer now sports the Texas Torque logo, our name, and our team number on the side. The white, vinyl decals were donated by Signs Now of North Houston, which both created and applied the trailer’s brand new “makeover”.

We would like to thank Signs Now for their amazingly quick creation and installation of the decals; all in all, the entire process took less than two days. The company is well known for their customer service, and they are always willing to do the research necessary to do a job of the best possible quality. We could not be happier with their work, and are delighted to welcome them as appreciated sponsors of our team.

Texas Torque is delighted with its trailer's new vinyl decals, which were donated by Signs Now of North Houston.

Texas Torque is delighted with its trailer’s new vinyl decals, which were donated by Signs Now of North Houston.

Visit Signs now through their wesbite: http://www.signsnownorthhouston.com/

Signs Now of North Houston
25275 Budde Road
Suite 8
The Woodlands, Texas 77380

FIRST Pitch at Minute Maid Park

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Baseball wasn’t the only event to take place at Minute Maid Park this Sunday; in addition to the Astros vs. Blue Jays game, there was also a taste of FIRST Robotics in and around the stadium. Texas Torque joined forces with plenty of teams from around Houston to demonstrate their hard work and to spread the importance of science and technology in their community. An event of this magnitude had never been attempted at Minute Maid Park, and Texas Torque was happy to be the first team to organize such an astounding and influential event.

Starting early in the morning, robots could be seen everywhere in the park. In Union Station, teams demonstrated their robots from Rebound Rumble, much to the entertainment of the crowds. Many school-aged children got the opportunity to ask questions about anything and everything, and our team members were happy to encourage them to join FIRST robotics teams in their schools. Just outside the gates, robots from Ultimate Ascent performed alongside our championship-winning machine, powering frisbees into a practice goal set up before the game. As game spectators walked along the park’s inner rim, all teams had robots on display, ranging from FRC robots from previous years to VEX and FIRST Lego League (FLL) robots. We were happy to answer any questions from the crowd and were proud to promote FIRST in our community.

Overall, the event was a huge success, and Texas Torque certainly appreciated the amount of support by the Astros’ administration and management. Due to this support, we hope to be able to repeat the event in the years to come (and perhaps get the chance to throw the “FIRST” pitch of the game).

The following teams were in attendance:

118, The Robonauts

624, CRyptonite

1477, Texas Torque

2936, The Gatorzillas

3103, Iron Plaid

3847, Spectrum

4587, Jersey Voltage

4589, AdamasBots

Texas Torque would like to thank these teams again for their time, support, and participation in this premiere event.

Texas Robot Roundup

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Over the past weekend, Texas Torque traveled north to Austin, Texas for the third annual Texas Robot Roundup. Texas Torque was glad to have the opportunity to enter the tournament for the third year in a row, hoping to build on an incredible season and to reconnect with some of the best teams to have played Ultimate Ascent.

After prepping with some practice matches the day before, the team was ready to face the challenge of qualifications on Saturday. And our team certainly did not disappoint; Texas Torque won all six of its qualification rounds to enter eliminations as the the second seeded team (between  fellow undefeated teams FRC 3310 and 624). In a reversal of roles from the past weekend at IRI, Torque decided to choose team 359, The Hawaiian Kids, to join their alliance, along with teams 4587 and 3735. After breezing through the quarterfinals, the second seeded alliance lost once to teams 118, 2936, and 148, but then came back to win twice in a row, setting the high score for the event with 228 points. In the final, our alliance was finally defeated by the first seeded alliance, going home with a second place finish and the Gracious Professionalism award.

Texas Torque would firstly like to congratulate teams 624, 3310, and 2848 for their finish as the event champions. We would also like to thank team 2158, the AusTIN CANS, as well as Anderson High School, for hosting this amazing event for the third year in a row. Without the efforts of the Austin area FIRST volunteers and the Alamo FIRST organization, this event could not have been quite as enjoyable. Texas Torque definitely enjoyed the opportunity to compete with all of the fantastic Texas teams here and cannot wait for next year’s event.

For the Texas Robot Roundup news story on KVUE: http://www.kvue.com/home/Robotics-teams-square-off-in-Austin-217244531.html

Indiana Robotics Invitational

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From July 19th to the 20th, Texas Torque competed in the Indiana Robotics Invitational, an off-season event held in Indianapolis, IN. We were very pleased to have been one of the 69 teams competing from all of the United States and Canada. Texas was well-represented at the tournament, as teams 118, 148, 624, 2468, and 3847 also attended.

Qualification rounds began on Friday with two amazing matches by Texas Torque early on, setting the bar high for the top qualification score in the tournament. However, as with any highly competitive event, anything can happen. This was certainly evident in the next few matches, in which Team 1477 suffered a few disappointing losses. The day finished with a wonderful match with our historic alliance partner CRyptonite (624) and this year’s Championship Chairman’s Award winners, the Holy Cows (1538). All team members were glad to have a few hours of peace that night, and rested for the big day ahead.

Saturday brought a few surprises in the final qualification rounds, with two losses at the beginning of the day. However, Texas Torque finished qualifications with a bang, taking a victory in Match 95. With a strong finish, our team was chosen in the second round of alliance selection to be a part of the sixth seeded alliance, a fantastic alliance composed of teams 359, 148, 967, and ourselves. We were also glad to see that many of the Texas teams present at IRI were chosen in alliance selection.

In a heart-pounding first quarterfinal match, the sixth seeded alliance lost to the third seeded alliance by a difference of one point. And while the loss was painful, nothing could prevent such a powerful alliance from decidedly taking the next two matches, moving on to the semifinals. There, the alliance was defeated by second seeded alliance, composed of teams 67, 1310, 3476, and 862.

Texas Torque is certainly proud of its victories at IRI and is grateful for the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the FIRST Robotics Competition. We would like to thank teams 45 (TechnoKats), 234 (Cyber Blue), and 1024 (Kil-A-Bytes) for hosting such a brilliant event, as well as Indiana FIRST for organizing and streaming the competition. We would also like to congratulate teams 1114, 1334, 2056, and 2337 — this year’s Indiana Robotics Invitational champions.

Texas Torque at WOW

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Texas Torque was delighted to spend July 8th and June 24th at the Wonders of The Woodlands Camp demonstrating our world champion robot, Sonic. Several students went over to The United Methodist Church to help get the word out about STEM and FIRST. Elementary and middle school students who were at the camp had the opportunity drive the robot and learn about electronics and engineering. We were also excited to get some information to students interested in FLL.

Link for those interested in WOW: http://www.wowsciencecamp.com/