Launch Workplaces is proud to sponsor a great group of young people whose efforts are inspiring other students to participate in STEM activities at their school. Here is their final update for the 2016-2017 season.
It was an incredible season with its ups and downs. The team was well rounded with achievements in both engineering awards, robot performance, and outreach. We won judged awards at all events except the World Championships and were selected to play in the semi-finals at all events. We would not have been so successful without the support and mentorship of Launch Workplaces.
This past weekend the team was invited to the Indiana Robotics Invitations, a prestigious robotics only competition where top teams are invited to compete in an off-season event, where they were part of the winning alliance. Twenty-one teams from 9 different states were invited and each team had reach their state championship. Seven of the teams competed in the World Championship with 5 of them going to the semi-finals or higher. Wizards.exe performed extremely well despite not having their lead engineer and driver, having a motor fall off the robot, and using a new drive team. They made an impact with their contagious spirit and willingness to work with others. In their final event of the season, they were part of the winning alliance because they were the highest shooting robot. Youtube videos of our final matches are online.
In June, the team was invited to the Maryland Tech Invitational. Teams were selected based on engineering and robot performance over the past season. Teams from over 13 states, including Iowa and Texas, competed over two days with a culmination of one of the most exciting finals. The average scores were greater than those at the World Competition. Wizards.exe finished as the 4th place alliance Captain and lost in a close semi-finals that included 1 tie match. The team was awarded the Innovative Sensor Fusion Award and received a $500 grant from Wortech Inc.
This summer the team is working on a series of projects to help rookie teams and younger FLL and FLL Jr teams. For FTC, we are preparing multiple drive trains to be able to present working models to show at our outreach events and at training events. We are also creating a new training for sensors and software. The FLL outreach team is revising the EV3 programming training. The FLL Jr. team is working on trying to secure grants to start new teams.
