Category: FRC

Alamo Regional

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This past weekend our team had a fantastic first competition at the Alamo Regional. Our team was extremely thrilled and honored to win the Alamo Regional Chairman’s Award and our first ever Industrial Safety Award!

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Our robot, Impulse, performed consistently well and we moved onto elimination matches as the 5th alliance captain. We had a terrific time competing alongside ausTIN CANs team 2158, and RoboWarriors team 2583, during the quarterfinal matches. Also, a huge thanks to Brooks Academy Robotics team 5754, for subbing us during the semifinals when our drive train broke down.

Congratulations to teams Robowranglers team 148, High Voltage team 231, and STEM ECHS team 5726 for winning the regional!

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We look forward to seeing teams out on the battlefield at the Utah Regional this upcoming weekend!

Something Special and NASA

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This past Saturday, members of Texas Torque met at Something Special, a charity shop run by our local women’s shelter, to commemorate our continued partnership. After a group picture, we headed to the Robonauts’ lab at the Johnson Space Center to practice with other teams and make any necessary modifications to our robot.

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Members of Texas Torque, the Robonauts, Spectrum, CRyptonite, and the AwtyBots met at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to prepare for upcoming competitions. All team members worked together to simulate matches, watch broadcasts of live matches, and prepare for competition. Many of us gained useful experience through these endeavors, and some of Texas Torque’s newer members had the chance to befriend members of other teams. We were able to make some useful additions to our robot and get valuable practice time on a full competition field with other robots.

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We are very thankful for all the time and effort our fellow Houston area FRC teams put forth in coming together to practice, as well as 118 in particular for the Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition they displayed in inviting us over and allowing us to use their home field. We can’t wait to meet you on the battlefield, whether at Alamo, Utah, Lone Star, or beyond!

2015 FRC World Championships

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From April 21st through 25th, Texas Torque traveled up to St. Louis, Missouri for the FIRST World Championships. The team was excited to attend the championship event for the fifth year in a row, having qualified for the championship this year by winning an Engineering Inspiration Award at the Bayou Regional.

After a fourteen-hour bus ride, Texas Torque team members divided their time between work and play, taking time out of their busy schedules to enjoy the city in the midst of competition responsibilities. We were glad to see FIRST take St. Louis by storm; in every restaurant and attraction, another FIRST Robotics Competition team could be found leaving their mark. The Edwards Dome itself was bustling with 600 FRC teams preparing their robots for inspection, running practice matches, and generally enjoying the sights, sounds, and attractions of the FIRST World Championship.

The much-anticipated qualification rounds began with excitement. Texas Torque earned a high score average for the first three matches, but as the day continued our score dropped and Texas Torque ended up ranking 54th out of 76 teams. Every member of the team was thrilled to play with and against some of the best teams in the world.

Upon alliance selection, Texas Torque was chosen to be a part of the 7th seeded alliance, which consisted of FRC Team 364 (Miracle Workerz), FRC Team 494 (Martians), and FRC Team 245 (Adambots). The elimination matches were easily the most intense matches we had played during the 2015 season. In our first match in quarterfinals, we ended with a score of 84, and after a riveting final match against the 1st seeded alliance, our alliance could not bring its average back up and was eliminated with a score of 138.50.

Overall, the team is ecstatic with their performance at the World Championship. We would like to congratulate FRC Team 118, FRC Team 1678, and FRC Team 1671 for their inspiring play on the field and their new status as the FIRST Robotics Competition World Champions. We would also like to congratulate FRC Team 597, the Wolverines, for their induction into the FIRST Hall of Fame and their sustained influence on the FIRST community. Many thanks to our alliance partners for a fantastic run and to all of the hardworking individuals and organizations that made this Championship possible.

FIRST Robotics Competition 2015 Kickoff

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Mentors, alumni, and students alike met up at The Woodlands College Park High School early Saturday morning for the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff. This much-anticipated webcast revealed the year’s challenge and marked the beginning of the 2015 FRC season.

The game for this season is Recycle Rush, in which two teams of three robots compete to stack Totes on Scoring Platforms, place Recycling Containers over those Totes, and place pool noodle Litter in either the Recycling Containers or in the Landfill Area during the Teleop Period. Additionally, robots can attempt to move Yellow Totes (which may be stacked for extra points), Recycling Containers, and themselves into the Auto Zone during the Autonomous Period. The following video released by FIRST further explains the challenge.

Following the exciting webcast, Texas Torque members spent the day brainstorming and getting a feel for the new game. Students collaborated with mentors and alumni to devise strategies to overcome Recycle Rush’s unique challenges and to think up possible designs. For the next six weeks, team members will work to design, prototype, and construct a new robot for the season before the seven week competition season begins.

Texas Torque wishes all teams the best of luck and to have fun this season!

Posted in FRC