Author: Scott Rippetoe

COVID-19 is Still Lurking

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While many places are starting to reopen for business, COVID-19 is still a significant concern. With stay-at-home measures in place and most businesses only open for pick-up, the infection rate was very close to 1.0, meaning one person was infecting one additional person. To see a drop in the overall number of new cases, that rate needs to be lower. Some states are achieving this, but with recent changes we may see an increase in infection rate.

The need for Personal Protective Equipment remains and probably will for several months, possibly into the summer of 2021. That depends on advances made in COVID-19 treatments, the development of a vaccine, the response by individual states, and the build up of immunity in the population. Some states still have intensive care units operating above capacity. Fortunately, Texas has excess ICU capacity. I hope we do not need it.

Thus far, we have distributed at least 1889 face shields, but we currently have requests for nearly 1700 more. We have supplies to make an additional 600 of the ProShield (1477 design) and 1200 of the Manta Ray Protective Visor. VEX Robotics has enough plastic to make at least 10,000 RobotShields (148 design). They are marked out of stock on the VEX Robotics website because they are working to take care of all their donation requests, including those that we can place with them as a partner in the Texas Robotics PPE Project.

Financially, we have over $13,000 in our PPE account, with about $1000 of that encumbered toward recent purchases. So far, we have paid for purchases using our PayPal account and kept that money separate from the team funds in our account at Amegy Bank. We also have team money in the Activity Fund of the Academy of Science and Technology. When a purchaser requires a credit card instead of PayPal, we have used our Amegy debit card then reimbursed the team with a transfer from PayPal. That is the encumbrance mentioned above.

We had a CAD challenge to design an Intubation Chamber. While it has not cleared hospital trials yet, we have applied for a patent. Michael Menezes came up with the basic layout and I contributed additional features based on feedback from medical staff. Here is the most recent photo.

Intubation Chamber Rev3

For now, there is not an urgent need for the team to raise more money for the Texas Robotics PPE Project.

Robotics Teams Rise to the Challenge

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Medical personnel and facilities across the country are running low on personal proection equipment, such as face shields and surgical masks. We were contact by local medical professionals about designing and providing a 3D printed face shield. Here is the current 1477 design.

Elle with Mask Small

Demand is starting to surge locally. Each masks costs about $2.50. We are also working with FRC Teams 118 (Robonauts) and 148 (Robowranglers) as they also have designs. Those versions have no 3D printed parts but require a water jet or laser cutter.

Mr. Rip has also been contacted by former students (one pictured above) working in the medical field requesting shipments of the 1477 Face Shield. The cost of ten shields plus shipping is approximately $30.

We are currently working with VEX Robotics in Greenville, Texas to get the 148 design waterjet cut by the thousands and i-SOLIDS in Tomball, Texas to help print parts for 1477 version so we can keep up with demand.

If you would like to help, please consider donating using the button below. The money will be used to purchase filament and plastic sheets to make face shields. If the crisis passes and we have funds remaining, those will be used to purchase a 3D printer and filament for the team.

We are looking for other ways to help the local medical community. We know there is demand for N95 filters and surgical masks.





The Remix 2018 Cancellation

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Hello everyone,
Texas Torque will unfortunately not be able to host The Remix 2018 game.

The main purpose of The Remix was helping rookie teams gain experience, train rookie team members, and raising money for donations. We would still like to accomplish these goals and therefore will be working on other projects in the community.

For the teams that have been preparing for The Remix, we are planning to host a smaller ‘Rookie Roundup’ where the main purpose will be to train rookie and pre-rookie teams for the upcoming 2019 season. We hope to have more information in the next couple of days.

Thank you for your patience with us as we plan out these upcoming events. if you have any questions, feel free to contact Texas Torque at [email protected].

2018 FIRST Houston World Championship

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Texas Torque’s last official event of the 2018 season was the Houston World Championship (our 8th consecutive World Championship) after triple qualifying at Lone Star Central (Regional Winners, Engineering Inspiration) and South Florida Regional (Chairman’s Award). The World Championship was held in George R. Brown Convention Center and Minute Maid Park, both held in our area, Houston, brought over 400 teams to Houston.

Texas Torque played on the Carver field, competing against 67 other teams for a spot on Einstein. After tough qualification matches, Texas Torque ended at the 47th position, with 4-6-0 record. Although the ranking was lower than anticipated, the robot performed well by continuously being the robot by being one of the robot that placed the most cubes. We were picked by team 5026 Iron Panthers, and together we picked team 108 SigmaC@T and team 1622 Spyder; together the teams formed the seventh seeded alliance. During the playoffs, our alliance was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Congratulations to Carver division alliance on the World Championship finalists! We would also like to congratulate our friends 2468 Team Appreciate for their Hall of Fame Finalists, and team 148 Robowranglers for winning the Houston World Championship! We would also like to congratulate team 1311 Kell Robotics for their induction into the Hall of Fame.

We’re thankful to have enjoyed a successful and action-packed 2018 season, but the action hasn’t ended yet — we’ll be facing the boss this may at the Texas UIL State Championships!

2018 South Florida Regional

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This past weekend, the students, and mentors of Texas Torque traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, to compete for our week 5 competition, South Florida Regional. Texas Torque competed in 10 hard fought qualification matches, which resulted us in the rank 34 position. By gracious decisions of the alliance captain 1251, Tech-Tiger Robotics, and their first pick 1902, Exploding Bacon, we were able to join their alliance to compete as the 7th seed alliance.

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After 3 hard fought quarter-final matches, we were able to advance to semi finals, where we have been knocked off by the 6th seed alliance, team 1744, 2383, and 3164. Although some issues came along, the drive team did the best they could do to win the match. Congratulations on regional finalists to the 6th seed alliance, and the 1st seed alliance, 179, 180, and 1369 for their regional win.

Good news for the team came along during the awards ceremony, when Texas Torque was selected as the Chairman’s Award winner! This is our 4th Chairman’s Award in five years, which continues the three-year streak of winning Chairman’s Award. You can watch our 2018 Chairman’s Video here.

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In two weeks, Texas Torque will be competing in the 2018 Houston FIRST Championship. As we prepare for the event, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or The Blue Alliance for updates on our progress.

2018 Lone Star Central Regional

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This past weekend, the students, mentors, and parents of Texas Torque gathered at the Strake Jesuit school in downtown Houston for the 2018 Lone Star Central Regional. Armageddon, our 2018 robot, performed consistently well in qualification matches and earned us a spot as captains of the first-seed alliance. We teamed up with team 4587 Jersey Voltage, the second seed, and team 6377 the Howdy Bots.

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Throughout elimination matches, we performed well, demonstrating coordinated autonomous modes and skilled cooperation. With the help of our alliance partners, we emerged undefeated and with the regional win. This is the second year in a row our team has won the Lone Star Central Regional, and we couldn’t have done it without our supportive mentors and parents!

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During the awards ceremony, we made quite a few trips down to the field to collect our awards: on top of being Regional Winners, our team won the Safety Award, as well as Engineering Inspiration for our outreach efforts. We were also thrilled when Jackson Schilling, our Mechanical Lead and Sponsorship Liaison, won Dean’s List! He is our team’s FIRST Dean’s List Finalist, and we are so proud of everything he has done for the team.

Texas Torque would like to thank our amazing alliance partners 4587 Jersey Voltage and 6377 Howdy Bots for a great run in the Lone Star Central Regional. We’d also like to congratulate the finalist alliance, including team 5417 Eagle Robotics, the Regional Chairman’s Winners.

Our team will be competing in the South Florida Regional next week! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or The Blue Alliance for updates on our progress.