Outreach – Page 9 – Texas Torque: Team 1477

New Lab Open House

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Scott Rippetoe

When FRC team 1477 was first established, we worked out of a U-Haul storage unit. We then moved into an unused science classroom at College Park High School, but it didn’t take us long to outgrow that space either. A few years ago, we presented our proposal for a district robotics center to our school district’s superintendent. Our superintendent approved, and in 2015 our new robotics lab was added to the district bond referendum. Students then went to polling locations to advocate for the bond, talking to voters and distributing flyers designed by the team. A few months later, construction began.

Mr. Rip, our lead mentor, welcomes visitors to the new lab.

Our new lab is a two-story extension of College Park’s gym wing. We drew up plans and sent them to the construction company, along with requests for equipment. Construction finished around the end of the school year, and we’re beyond excited to settle in and get to work!

Sonic, our 2013 robot, cut the ribbon to open the new facility. During the event, attendees were invited to try their hand at driving our robots. We also welcomed several members of the CISD staff who made this possible, including Dr. Stockton, our superintendent; Dr. Caffery, headmaster of the Academy of Science and Technology; and Dr. Murrell, principal of College Park High School.

Team president Eric R. and former VP London D. thank Dr. Murrell for his support.

We can’t wait to see where the new facility takes us! Our team is working to establish it not only as a new lab for us, but also as a center for robotics within our district. Come visit us during the Remix!

2017 FIRST Houston World Championship

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Scott Rippetoe

As the last event of our official 2017 season, Texas Torque attended the inaugural Houston World Championship (our 7th consecutive World Championship) after qualifying at Hub City (Finalist Alliance Captain) and Lone Star Central Regional (Regional Winners, Chairman’s Award). Located in the George R. Brown Convention Center and Minute Maid Park, the championship brought more than 400 teams to Houston.

Texas Torque played on the Roebling field, competing against 66 other teams for a spot on Einstein. Through qualification matches, Texas Torque played well, ending with a 7-5-0 win-loss record. We selected team 1414 IHOT, team 5803 Apex Robotics, and team 6508 Hastings to join us in the eighth-seeded alliance. During playoffs, our alliance was eliminated in the quarterfinals against the alliance that would go on to win Roebling and Einstein.

Congratulations to Roebling winners 973, 1011, 2928, and 5499 for their stunning performance and World Championship victory! We would also like to congratulate our friends the Robonauts for reappearing on Einstein as the Newton division champions, as well as team 3132 the Thunder Down Under for their induction into the Hall of Fame.

We’re thankful to have enjoyed a successful and action-packed 2017 season, but the action hasn’t ended yet — we’ll be taking flight this May at the Texas UIL State Championships!

Kickoff 2017

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Scott Rippetoe

As 2017 draws closer, Texas Torque is preparing for the 2017 season and FIRST STEAMWORKS. From what we have seen, STEAMWORKS will be a steampunk themed game, possibly including a flying aspect. You can watch the game teaser for STEAMWORKS on YouTube here.

We will gather on January 7th 2017 at 7:30am in the LGI (located on the second floor above the lab) at College Park High School. Texas Torque will gather to watch the livestream of the kickoff and will stay in the LGI afterwards to discuss strategy, robot design and the plan for build season. We will be planning the basis of this season’s robot, so it is very important that anyone who is available come to share their ideas and opinions. There will be food and drinks, and all new members, current members and alumni are welcome. We hope to see you there!

The Remix 2016

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Scott Rippetoe

On the weekend of October 22, teams from all over Texas and as far as Mexico gathered at College Park High School to compete in Texas Torque’s annual offseason competition, the Remix.

Students, alumni and various other volunteers worked all Friday afternoon to transform CPHS’s gymnasium into a FIRST Stronghold game field. On Saturday 25 teams, both veteran and rookie, competed to become the Remix champions. Dr. Stockton, the superintendent of CISD, came as a guest speaker and gave a talk about the importance of STEM in schools. During the Remix, there were also workshops about topics like Emceeing and Chairman’s Award. Texas Torque also sponsored a bedding drive at the Remix, and the bedding collected from that will be donated to Angel Reach.

At the end of the day, the 2nd seed alliance consisting of 3847 Spectrum, 624 CRyptonite and 4205 Robo Vikes got to go home with the Champion title (and replica swords). We would like to congratulate the winning alliance, as well as thank our alliance partners 231 High Voltage and 3335 Cy-Borgs! Overall, the Remix 2016 was a great success, and we would especially like to thank all of the team, volunteers, students, mentors and parents that made it happen!

NRG’s FIRST Robotics Showcase

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Scott Rippetoe

This past Tuesday, October 11, members of Texas Torque participated in NRG’s FIRST Robotics Showcase at NRG Stadium. For the competition, four of the teams that NRG sponsors – 1477 Texas Torque, 4587 Jersey Voltage, 3847 Spectrum, and 3735 VorTX (formerly Klein Bots) – were challenged to build a robot capable of completing football-inspired challenges. The robot had to be able to throw a football for distance and accuracy, kick for distance, and complete an agility course. The four teams involved also got to participate in a Q&A session with Houston Texans players Vince Wilfork and Christian Covington to discuss football, robotics, and STEM.

The competition was fierce, but at the end of the day, it was Texas Torque that came in first place and took home the check for $5,000. We got a real kick out of competing in such a fun challenge, and we hope everyone else had as much of a ball as we did!

Don’t pass up on your chance to attend The Remix, which will be held this Saturday at our own College Park HS. More information about this event can be found here. We hope to catch you there!

Houston Museum of Natural Science Demo

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Scott Rippetoe

On Friday, July 15, 10 members of Texas Torque brought our 2016 robot, Impulse, down to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Children around the demo area were able to “feed” boulders to Impulse and then watch as it shot the balls across the lobby to Texas Torque members. During battery changes, spectators were allowed to come up close to Impulse and learn about the mechanics and electronics inside, as well as take pictures. In the 3 hours that Impulse was there, over 2000 museum visitors stopped by to feed boulders, take pictures, and learn about Impulse and FIRST Robotics.

This experience was enjoyable and educational for team members and spectators alike. We look forward to future demonstrations at the museum and hope to have have some other teams bring their robots as well!