Links
- FIRST
- Archbishop Mitty HS
- MCNC De Anza
- Proxy IT
- HSC Electronic Supply
- Chief Delphi
More Information
- Game Animation
- Resources
- Team Media
TKO: our story
Welcome to the home page for Mitty Robotics from Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, CA. In competition, other teams recognize us by our acronym, TKO. TKO also serves as our motto: Tenacity, Knowledge, and Opportunity. We utilize these values to be the best we can be. To excel at what we do, Tenacity is vital as we must persevere to overcome obstacles and succeed. Knowledge reflects our passion to learn as much as possible from our mentors and by tackling complex projects. Partaking in a FIRST competition provides us with Opportunity and permits us to learn and mature as engineers, leaders, students, and teammates, and allows us to venture into the workings and values applicable to the "real world." Here at our site, you can access a variety of information regarding Mitty Robotics or learn more about FIRST and the other competitions they offer by clicking on the menu items to your left. If you would like to contact the team, you can do so by referring to the link at the bottom.
Founded in 1964, Archbishop Mitty is one of the private Catholic high schools located in the San Jose Diocese. Our team, Mitty Robotics, is not only a FIRST team, but a club at Mitty. The school provides the major funding to run our team and the physical facilities to hold meetings and build our robot.
De Anza Manufacturing and CNC: The MCNC Department at De Anza College provides machining services and facilities as well as mentoring and instruction.
ProxyIT manages leased server space for companies who need websites, production infrastructures and web-enabled businesses. They generously host our team website, and they have donated computers to Mitty Robotics.
HSC Electronic Supply was started in 1963 (as Halted Specialties Co., thus the "HSC"). HSC buys and sells surplus electronics, from wire and LEDs to test equipment. They provide our team with store credit for our electronic supplies.
Drake Welding provides a wide range of industrial and commercial welding services, ranging from racks for trucks to water tower repairs. Drake donates their time and materials to Mitty Robotics to weld our machine parts together.
Weiss Enterprises is in the business of German Automobile and Specialty Fabrication. Mr. Weiss first joined the team as a parent and as an engineering mentor in our first year. He continues to generously provide the team with advice and with machining and welding services through Weiss Enterprises.
Faculty Moderators: Chris Fairley, Janet Fenker, Mike Greene, Mary Ann Saunders
Our moderators are full-time members of the Science and Mathematics Departments at Archbishop Mitty High School. They provide us with the opportunity to meet at school several times a week throughout the year and daily during the build period. Mr. Fairley has been the Lead Moderator since the team's inception in 2004. Team 1351, Mitty Robotics, is a student-run team; therefore, mentors support students in designing and building the robot, as well as developing the budget, planning PR and outreach activities, designing and managing our website and running the team in general. Mentors are there to step in when they see things are going the wrong way, to provide expertise and guidance, and to answer questions, as well as provide labor when needed. We maintain two-way communications with our mentors, so neither party is completely dominant or shut out. Our mentors not only provide us with the aforementioned resources, they help us develop our communication and teamwork skills.
Our parent volunteers provide many necessities to our team. They provide us with food on long weekends and transportation to events and shops. Some even help out with mechanical work when they are available. And of course, most importantly, they provide our team members with emotional support and encouragement.
We'd also like to thank our families and friends for still talking to us after hours of hearing about FIRST even months after build, the Archbishop Mitty office for keeping our financials on track, and all of our teachers for supporting us when we're in the midst of build and when we're off at competitions. We wouldn't be where we are now without all of you. Thank you all!
Mitty Robotics “TKO” originally competed as Archbishop Mitty Robotics “Nonlinear Regression.” The team started during the 2003-04 school year and was born from the interest of several Archbishop Mitty High School (AMHS) students, who had joined the AMHS Science Club, and one 2003 graduate. Some of these students had competed together in the 2003 San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation’s Tech Challenge, “Canopy Climb.” Competing under the name “Refined Binary,” they placed fifth overall in the high school division.
After deciding to learn more about robotics competitions, some of the club members attended Cal Games, a local post-season competition for the 2003 FRC game, Stack Attack, sponsored by the Western Regional Robotics Forum (WRRF). This got the kids hooked, and they convinced the Science Club’s moderator to let them form a team of their own. However, most of the students hadn’t had any exposure to robotics before. After attending robotics workshops hosted by the WRRF, loose leadership positions were formed. During our first season everyone worked hard, and everyone helped where they could. After an intense build period, the team was excited to attend our first competition—the 2004 Silicon Valley Regional, FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar. The tough competition ended with the team making it to the semi-finals and winning the Highest Rookie Seed Award and the General Motors Industrial Design Award for our innovative ladder arm. And thus, with 15 active members, Team 1351 began.
We closed out our rookie season by competing in the 2004 Tech Challenge “Pick-a-Pike.” Team 1351 split into two groups: one comprised of upper classmen, the other of freshmen only. The freshman team carried on the name “Refined Binary” and triumphed by placing second overall in the Extra Challenge, high school division.
A core of dedicated students and alumni returned the following school year and were joined by new members who shared their enthusiasm. The team’s moderator recruited an additional faculty member to help with the team. Our 2003 robot was refurbished for Cal Games, where we joined an alliance with Teams 980 and 1280 to win the event championship. In January we were invited to exhibit our robot at the Silicon Valley Joint Ventures, State of the Valley Conference in San Jose. Then in the spring the team competed at the Silicon Valley Regional again. This time, though placing only 19th in the qualifying rounds, Team 1351 was invited to join an alliance and made it to the semi-finals. During the summer of 2005 we demonstrated our robot at NASA Community Education events. We also supported the Canary Foundation’s fundraising efforts at the inaugural San Jose Grand Prix and other events by building a Hot Wheels race track, where kids could race cars for a donation.
In 2005-06, with two years of experience and a growing membership, the team received additional financial support from the school and was able to compete in two regionals, Silicon Valley (SVR) and UC Davis-Sacramento (Davis). Cal Games was not held in 2005, and the team spent the fall training its new members. We also participated in RoboNexus, billed as “the largest robotics event in the western hemisphere,” as one of several local teams staffing the NASA Robotics Alliance Project booth. This was the first year that we volunteered at FLL events, something we continue to do each year. We were invited back to the Joint Ventures Conference in January and made our television debut when several members were interviewed for a local station. This was also the year that we became Mitty Robotics, aka TKO, and adopted a team logo, our “TKO blue” team color and our motto, “Tenacity, Knowledge and Opportunity.”
The 2006 challenge led the team to build arguably its most successful robot to date. We finished the qualifying rounds as the sixth seed at SVR and the first seed at Davis. Mechanical problems, our own and our alliance partners’, eliminated us in the quarter-finals at both events. The team learned the hard lesson that the final results at a FIRST competition are determined by many factors. But the team also learned that there is more to being a FIRST team than simply winning on the field by earning the Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers Entrepreneurship Award at Davis.
The 2006-07 school year marked the final year of competition with Team 1351 for the last of the founding members. The team and its robot met with success again at Cal Games as first seed going into the finals and as a finalist. The 2007 build season began with our usual optimism. As the six weeks passed, we were learning an important engineering lesson—it’s not always easy to adapt an earlier design to a new challenge just because you’ve built it before. At the 2007 Silicon Valley Regional we failed to reach the final rounds for the first time in the team’s history. However, we were recognized for our performance in tackling the FIRST homework assignment to contact political officials. We worked to improve the functionality of our robot at SVR, and we fared better at Davis. We made it to the finals as the fourth seed and finished as a semi-finalist; we also received the Johnson and Johnson Sportsmanship Award.
There was some question as the 2007-08 school year started if the team would continue with the same spirit now that the founding members had all graduated. But the team’s moderators and returning members provided continuity, maintaining the team’s identity and momentum. Team 1351, the second generation, reached the finals again at Cal Games. We expanded our volunteer activities to include an FTC event. We challenged our engineering skill set with a somewhat risky design for the 2008 competition—a catapult. To meet the weight limit, we left off any device that could knock the balls off the overpass. Success eluded us on the field at SVR as we worked to perfect the catapult’s operation, but we were recipients of the Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers Entrepreneurship Award. Our catapult earned us a place on an alliance in the finals at Davis, and we finished as a quarter-finalist.
In October 2008 we hosted Cal Games for the first time and received the WRRF Directors Award. Archbishop Mitty students who had never attended a robotics competition were chanting “T-K-O” as our robot took to the field. Our team performed admirably in front of the home crowd and reached the semi-finals.
Our 2009 design was a marked change from previous robots. We moved from the quarter-inch aluminum sideplates that have typified our chassis to a welded-tube platform. The custom wheels of our early years were replaced by custom wheel pods, and we experimented with turning our electronics upside-down, literally.
In 2009 Mitty lost our beloved Mr. Miller, a dedicated robotics mentor and outstanding teacher. Our team and school also lost another very passionate and involved science teacher, Ms. Reich.
Although saddened by their deaths, the team persevered in finishing build season with the same dedication that our mentors exemplified. After facing challenges with our new swerve drive chassis at SVR, we went on to finish the season with an impressive semi-final finish at the Sacramento Regional. The team also took home the KPCB Entrepreneurship Award at the Sacramento Regional.
Because of the team expansion in 2010, we found it beneficial to have co-leads in all of the engineering departments. This change ensures continuity and comprehensive training for all of the members.
For several years team members have provided assistance in Archbishop Mitty’s summer robotics program, which is a junior high enrichment class taught by one of our moderators. Our team has grown to close to 50 members, supported by four faculty moderators and more than a half dozen mentors. We represent the diverse ethnic makeup of Archbishop Mitty’s student body. Girls make up about one-fourth of the team and continue to serve in leadership positions. We remain a team that allows freshmen to take on key responsibilities and sophomores to assume leadership roles. We’re working to build our animation and website divisions to become competitive in those areas as well as on the field.
The Chassis department designs, builds and maintains the mobile section of the robot. The chassis is much more than a rolling platform; however, it also houses and protects the vital electronics, without which the robot would be a very cool-looking paperweight. Simultaneously, the chassis provides a series of hard points that enable the Environmental Manipulator to function safely. The locomotive secret behind the chassis is a series of powerful electric motors that work through a calculated set of gears and sprockets to deliver a high amount of torque with comparable speed.
The human element of the Chassis department is 100% student engineering power. Every year, we prepare for the game by prototyping, designing, and planning for the year's competition. Members of this division have hands-on experience with the mechanisms and tools, giving them unmatched levels of experience and knowledge. Much of our design is done in AutoCAD, a computer program that allows us to render our pieces and parts in 3D. This also allows us to accurately describe our plans to the various machine shops we communicate with. All rolled together, these aspects of the creation process yield a working chassis that is ready for whatever gets thrown its way.
The Environmental Manipulator department oversees the brainstorming, prototyping, mechanical design and drafting, and manufacturing of the part of the robot that actually interacts with the game environment. It works in close conjunction with the chassis, electronics, and programming departments as the arm is usually a complicated and delicate mechanism that mounts on top of the chassis and is closely controlled by range-of-motion sensors and software.
Using motors, pneumatics, and lightweight structural elements, the EVOM department has managed to make successful articulated arms, ball shooters, and extending forklift arms in the past 4 years. However, the EVOM department is undergoing constant change to further improve the way that workflow is accomplished. One major thing that has been happening in the past year is the primary prototyping of all elements before final construction. This allows the the team to create better functioning mechanisms that allow a more complete interaction with the game field and overall objective.
The Electronics department is responsible for the wiring and other power distribution in the robot, including the wires that send signals to motors and input from sensors and controls. It also works with the hardware sensors on the robot and the hardware used to control the robot during competition (the OI).
During build, it makes sure that adequate power is available to the motors and that motors are controlled by either a victor or a spike connected to the robot controller (RC) through PWM cables. It is responsible for designing and building a usable control system through the OI and RC, working together with programming. It also works with the mechanical departments, primarily Chassis, to ensure the necessary motors and sensors connect to power and the RC and that there is access and space for the battery, sensors, radio, power distribution, and RC. Finally, it makes sure that these components are safe and used in accordance with the FIRST rules and regulations.
The Programming division is a creative, dynamic group of students with a knack for logical and mathematical problem-solving. The Programming department deals with programming the robot, writing the C code in addition to actually testing it on the robot. Software is in charge of providing flexible, functional code for the robot. This includes basic driving and environmental manipulation functions. In addition, our code must be efficient and reusable, so that it can be easily modified for future generations of the robot. The department is also responsible for providing code that takes full advantage of the robot's capabilities. The Programming group communicates with the Electronics department to decide where the sensors and motors on the robot and the operating interface should be wired. Finally, Programming must interact with potential drivers of the robot to inform and instruct them on safe control of the robot.
The purpose of Operations in the team is to handle all team matters that do not directly relate to the design and building of the robot. Operations takes care of things like the logistics of team travel to regionals and other events, the team’s budget, and the publicity of the team within the school and outside community.
Operations supports the Engineering division of the team by providing them with the resources, money, and support they need to build an excellent robot.
The Website department is in charge of coding and writing the team’s website. The purpose of the team's website is to promote the team, FIRST Robotics, and science and technology. The website is the primary way for people to learn about our purpose. The making of the website is a process involving coding (currently HTML, CSS, JQuery, and PHP) the website itself, designing the layout, and writing the content.
The Website department works with every other department at some point or another, whether it be for consultation on accuracy of certain subjects in the case of the Engineering division, or with Animation on planning and animating certain parts of the website.
The Animation division is a new, supplementary component of the robotics team that hopes, in years to come, to become a successful subgroup and provide a first exposure to animation and 3-D computer design to students. Unlike many other units of the team, Animation does not have direct contact with the robot or the process of building it. However, the skills learned through working with the animation software can carry over to other areas of expertise. The CAD aspect of animation becomes of special use in the Chassis and EVOM departments, which are constantly experimenting with new ideas for the robot's design through computer-aided design.
Animation is thus a component of the team that is both exciting and insightful. While its impact is still small, the Animation department hopes to develop creative animations and other 3-D computer projects, adding content to the team website and competing for FIRST awards. Using the latest software from Autodesk, students will receive an enormously rewarding and fun exposure to computer design and animation.
PR, or Public Relations, is charged with spreading and promoting FIRST and our own FRC Team 1351. One level of marketing is aimed at Archbishop Mitty High School community. We utilize many channels for raising awareness of our team for recruiting and support purposes. Some examples of our advertising around the school are fliers posted in hallways, display boards and slides on LCD screens. We also are represented at school events such as Open House and Freshman Welcome Night, allowing a wider crowd of students to talk to real robotics team members.
The second level of our marketing and awareness is within the FIRST community. The PR department is in charge of spreading awareness of our team at competitions. This is done through visual aids such as buttons, robot data sheets, and our highly visible “TKO Blue” T-shirts. We are also responsible for promoting FIRST and its vision in the San Jose area, which is done through publicity at outside events; for example, staffing a booth at the San Jose Grand Prix and contributing to articles in local newspapers.
The treasurer has many important jobs such as maintaining financial information for the team, setting up the budget for the subgroups, and working with the moderator to fill out reimbursement claim forms. Also, the treasurer records expenses, reimbursements, and donations, making sure we stay within the team's annual budget. The treasurer is in charge of maintaining the FIRST robotics team robot supply cost sheet which must be turned in at competition before we are allowed to participate at each regional competition.
The basic function of Scouting is to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of other teams at competitions to determine the teams that would complement our team best in an alliance in the event that we make it into the top teams. Before the matches, team members are sent around the pits to talk to other teams and ask about their robots’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as their approach to accomplishing the goal of the game. Once the matches start, team members in the stands watch the matches, each person focusing on one robot and recording information such as autonomous method, how much they scored, etc.
In the event that our team becomes an alliance leader after the qualifying matches, this information is very valuable in choosing the other teams to ally with us as we are able to choose teams who cover our weaknesses and complement our strengths, allowing us to go into the final rounds with the greatest chance of success.
FIRST has inspired many high schoolers to pursue engineering-based careers, and the alumni of Mitty Robotics are no exception. Here is a list of our alumni and where they've gone after leaving the team.
Phil - San Jose State University (Electrical Engineering)
Dane - San Jose State University
Brian - University of California, San Diego
Matt - San Jose State University (Kinesiology)
Jonathan - University of California, San Diego
Bruno - University of California, Berkeley
Paolo - University of California, Los Angeles (Civil Engineering)
Daniel - Harvey Mudd College (General Engineering)
Anurag - University of California, Berkeley (Engineering Physics)
Amanda - San Jose State University (Interior Design)
Mario - Carnegie Mellon University (Economics)
John - California State University, Chico (Business Administration, Entrepeneurship)
Taylor - Georgia Institute of Technology (Mechanical Engineering)
Sophia - Case Western Reserve University (Molecular Biology and Microbiology)
Andy - University of Southern California (Biomedical Engineering)
Sarah - Michigan State University (Computer Science and Engineering)
Alex - University of California, Los Angeles
Melodie - University of California, Davis
Jonny - University of San Francisco
Amy - Sonoma State University (Nursing)
Rajen - University of California, Irvine (Mechanical Engineering)
John - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Daniela - University of California, Berkeley
Stephanie - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Scott - University of California, Santa Barbara
Kerry - California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo (Computer Engineering)
Ed - Case Western Reserve University (Mechanical Engineering)
Katie - Cal Tech (Electrical Engineering)
David - University of Colorado at Boulder (Computer Engineering)
Daniel - University of Arizona (Computer Programming)
Victoria - San Jose State University (Linguistics)
Patrick - Foothill College (Mechanical Engineering)
Danielle - San Jose State University
Sam - Case Western Reserve University (Electrical/Systems Engineering)
Timothy - Case Western Reserve University (Chemical Engineering)
Nick - Case Western Reserve University (Biomedical Engineering)
Alex- UC Berkeley
Carol - Mt. Holyoke (Computer Science)
Allison - University of Denver
Nick- UC San Diego (Biochemistry)
Sarah- Savanna College of Art and Design (Art)
Nick - Sonoma State (Art)
Search the internet for information on "robotics" and you'll find a wealth of information---all of the information on the FIRST site, opportunities to work with faculty at world-class universities, industry alliances and much, much more. Here are some links we hope you'll find useful-whether you are just starting out or an experienced team member.
FIRST: Everything you wanted to know about FIRST: the organization's mission, guiding principles, competition manuals, communications resources, regional contacts, how to get involved with a FIRST program, scholarships, and more.The official game animation for Breakaway may be viewed by clicking the "Game Animation" menu item on the left.
Breakaway is an innovative and challenging game. It involves two alliances, each consisting of three robots, shooting soccer balls into designated goals by a wide variety of means. The robots operate on a field divided by bumps and tunnels. During the first 15 seconds, the robots will operate autonomously, possibly even scoring goals without their human operators at the controls. This is followed by two minutes of teleoperated game play. The object of the game is to receive the highest number of points by scoring goals or by hanging the robots on tower structures. Balls shot into goals will receive 1 point, robots elevated on the towers will receive 2 points, and robots suspended by other robots can receive 3 points.
Following the autonomous mode, the robot can be teleoperated to move through the assigned areas of the arena shooting and guarding into the goals. The object of the game is to receive the highest points from shooting or hanging during the time period allotted.
At the start of the game, an alliance's robots will be placed in their half of each of three sections of the field. The halves of the field are colored red and blue to identify the alliances. Robots may be programmed to move into position to defend their own goals, to clear soccer balls out of the scoring area, or even to score points by getting balls into their opponents' goals at the other end of the field.
During the teleoperated period drivers control the robots in what promises to be a fast-paced game. Robots may steal balls from other teams, defend their goals from the other alliance, shoot soccer balls into the opposing team's goals and, during the last 20 seconds, hang from the towers and other robots. Every time a ball is scored, team members of the two alliances have to return the ball to the arena within a few seconds using an elevated ball track.
Breakaway offers a multitude of options for designing a robot. Teams can build a robot that guards their goal, hangs from the tower, goes over bumps, shoots from various parts of the field, travels through tunnels, climbs onto a platform, or any combination of those capabilities. To move from one section of the field to another, robots may go over the bumps or through the tunnels. The risk of a robot's tipping over when it takes the route over bumps encourages teams to add a self-righting mechanism if they choose that option. Teams will have to decide what features and capabilities to include to maximize their scoring potential.
Math (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus)
Science (physics, chemistry, experimentation)
Language arts (writing, public speaking)
Business (marketing, PR, fundraising)
Finance (accounting)
Computer Science (C programming, 3D animation)
Fabrication (woodworking, metalworking)
Mentorship (working side-by-side with professionals)
Teamwork!
Source: usfirst.org
Over $12 million in scholarships is available to FIRST participants.
Efforts to attract political attention to FIRST in 2007 were quite successful, with visits to regional competitions, including the presence of the U. S. Secretary of Commerce, 4 US senators, 8 members of Congress, 4 state governors, 7 mayors, and a vice prime minister. Following the FIRST Championship Event in Atlanta in April, the championship winners were invited to the White House to demonstrate their robots to President Bush and members of Congress.
More than half of high schools fund their FIRST teams as generously as their varsity sports teams.
More than 12,000 corporations are volunteering engineering mentors for these teams year after year.
FRC events are as common as any high school sports event.
FRC events are televised.
FRC volunteer organization is recognized and admired worldwide.
First wearable drug infusion pump
First portable insulin pump
First portable kidney dialysis machine
Independence IBOT Transporter
Segway Human Transporter (HT)
212,000 students
17,500+ robots
57,000+ mentors
34,000+ event volunteers
19,000+ teams
56,000+ high-school students
Twenty-eight teams participate in the initial FIRST Robotics Competition in Manchester, NH. “Maize Craze” pits four robots against each other in two-minute matches on a 16-foot-square playing field. Robots weigh no more than 11 kg (22.4 lbs) and are tethered with power cables.
“Rug Rage” keeps the format of four robots competing in a match, but now the robots may weigh up to 50 pounds and are powered by on-board batteries for the first time. They must fit in a 36-inch cube. The field measures 12 by 40 feet and is carpeted.
The playing field changes to a 12-sided, 34-foot diameter polygon in “Tower Power.” 43 teams compete, three at a time, in the Nashua, NH contest with robots weighing as much as 65 pounds; robots have to fit inside a 36-inch diameter cylinder 30 inches in height.
A total of 59 teams compete at the newly-named New England Tournament in Manchester and the National Championship, which moves to Epcot Center (Disney World) in Orlando. Team 100 from Woodside, CA is the first West Coast team to participate. Team 188 from Toronto competes as Team Canada Robotics. Three robots compete in a “Ramp ’n’ Roll” match on a T-shaped field that incorporates ramps for the first time. Robots are the same size as in 1994 but may weigh up to 70 pounds.
The Human Player position is introduced in “Hexagon Havoc.” The hexagonal field accommodates three robots that weigh as much as 120 pounds and fit into a 36-inch cube. Woodie Flowers receives the first Woodie Flowers Award. The total number of teams expands to 94, with 74 of them competing at the Championship at Epcot Center.
The shape of the field remains a hexagon for “Toroid Terror.” Robots may now start the match at a height of 48 inches. For the first time, game pieces are not balls but inner tubes. Initial matches still include three teams, but the final 16 teams in a tournament face off one against one. The first Regional events outside New Hampshire are held in Chicago, IL, and New Brunswick, NJ; 151 teams compete in the Regionals and 113 go on to the Championship.
“Ladder Logic” is the first time that robots are powered by 12-volt batteries, and the weight limit is raised to 130 pounds to accommodate them. The robot dimensions are changed to 30 by 36 which makes getting them through doorways easier. This is the last year that team numbers are reassigned, and a total of 199 teams compete.
The competitions take on a new look this year. In “Double Trouble,” teams form alliances to compete two against two in each match; final round alliances include three teams, though only two compete at a time. Team numbers are made permanent for the first time. There are eight Regional events, including the first on the West Coast—the NASA Ames California Open, held in Hangar One at Moffett Field—and a total of 271 teams compete. The New England Regional moves to Connecticut.
“Co-Opertition FIRST” attracts a total of 372 teams, and two more East Coast Regionals are added. The California Open moves to San Jose State University. Robots are now allowed to measure 36” by 30” and up to 60” in height; the weight limit remains at 130 pounds. The alliance structure remains the same as in 1999. Team 383 from Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil is the first non-English speaking team to compete.
“Diabolical Dynamics” is a one-of-a-kind competition: four teams comprise an alliance, and only one alliance at a time takes to the field, trying for the highest score. A fifth, alternate team is added in the elimination round. The Southern California Regional is one of 13 competitions leading to the National Championship; 335 of the total 515 teams register for Nationals. Team 22 is the first West Coast team to win the National Chairman’s Award.
Game structure returns to two-team alliances in “Zone Zeal.” In the elimination rounds, alliances are made up of three teams; only two compete at a time, but each team must compete at least once. There are now 17 Regional events, and participation climbs to 642 teams, including returning teams from Brazil and Canada and the first from the UK, Team 759 from Cambridge, England.
“Stack Attack” is the first game to include an autonomous period. For 15 seconds, the robots are controlled by sensors and preprogrammed instructions. This game also features a 10-second human period at the start, when human players may arrange the containers to be stacked on the field. The alliance structure is unchanged. 787 teams compete this year, the Sacramento Regional is one of six added, and the Championship is moved to Reliant Park in Houston, TX.
Scoring objects are once again balls in “FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar.” The autonomous period remains the first 15 seconds of a two-minute match. Mitty Robotics (known as AMHS Robotics) competes as “Nonlinear Regression” in its rookie year, one of 927 FRC teams. The Championship moves again, this time to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA.
In “Triple Play,” three-team alliances compete, putting six robots on the field in each match. Game pieces are PVC tetrahedra called “tetras.” The 15-second autonomous period is now followed by a full two-minute teleoperated period. For the first time since 2000, the maximum size of the robot is changed: it may now measure 28” by 38” by 60” and weigh 120 pounds excluding the battery and bumpers. A fix-it window is introduced, allowing teams to perform limited parts manufacture between Regional events. The CMUcam2, a camera used for sighting color targets, is one of the new items included in the Kit of Parts. 991 teams come from not only the U.S. but also Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Israel, Mexico and the UK.
“Aim High” shortens the autonomous period to 10 seconds, and the game includes periods of offense and defense for each alliance. Teams have the added challenge of scoring points in goals at the opposite end of the field. A digital camera is included in the kit of parts for teams to use to document their activities. 1133 teams compete in 33 Regionals, including one in Israel; 476 teams compete at the National Championship. AMHS Robotics adopts the name “Mitty Robotics” and the nickname “TKO.”
To compete in “Rack ’n’ Roll,” robots can meet one of three different size and weight profiles: 48 inches tall and 120 pounds, 60 inches tall and 110 pounds, and 72 inches tall and 100 pounds; the footprint for all remains at 28” by 38”. The autonomous period goes back to 15 seconds, but moving the scoring rack before each match discourages dead reckoning. The Brazil Pilot Regional is one of 37 Regionals that give 1305 teams a chance to participate.
New in “FIRST Overdrive” is the 15-second hybrid period; robots may operate in autonomous mode, but may also receive signals from infrared remote controls to alter their instructions. The position of Robocoach, the player who operated the remote control, is added. The game is more of a race in nature, changing the defensive strategies of past years.
In “Lunacy” robots play on a “regolith” surface, simulating the surface of the moon, with an alliance of two other robots. Trailers designed to receive game pieces are attached to the robots, making the scoring goals mobile. Human shooters can shoot into the trailers during the teleoperated period from the four corners of the arena. More than 1800 teams from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Herzegovina, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the U.K. participate in the Michigan state competitions and 43 Regionals.
This section of the Mitty Robotics Website includes a summary of all community involvement activities Mitty Robotics has been a part of since its establishment in 2004.
In July 2005, Mitty Robotics was one of the local high schools invited to participate at NASA Ames-Moffett Field for an exciting day devoted to Community Education in Robotics, highlighted by NASA’s Mars Exploration Exhibit. Our team members talked to visitors about FIRST Robotics, the various competitions Mitty Robotics competes in, the different functions of the Mark II (our 2nd year robot), and encouraged them to get involved in robotics. We also appealed to the minds of younger kids with a track near our booth where kids could drive small VEX robots.
In January 2005 and again in January 2006, Mitty Robotics showed off one of their robots to about a thousand CEOs, elected officials, and executive directors and educators at the Silicon Valley Joint Ventures, State of the Valley Conference in San Jose. We displayed awards, pictures, and a robot to assist in talking about FIRST Robotics. During the 2006 conference, FOX Channel 2 News interviewed three Mitty students and aired it on TV that night after the conference.
In July of 2005 Mitty Robotics participated in the inaugural San Jose Grand Prix. Our entire team spent many weeks building a Hot Wheels race track which would be located at the NBC11 Television booth. In the weeks before and after the Grand Prix, members of our robotics team took the track to many events. At local art and wine festivals from Livermore to Berryessa, Mitty Robotics helped NBC11 not only encourage people to come to the Grand Prix, but also raise money for a local partner of the American Cancer Society. At the various events and at the race, attendees contributed donations to race miniature cars on the Hot Wheels track. The donations went to the Canary Foundation for early identification and isolation of cancer at its most curable stages. Kids could race cars on the track and get a souvenir Champ car for participating.
It was such a success that we were invited to construct a second racetrack for the 2006 Grand Prix and to operate it at festivals in the Bay Area, including the San Jose Jazz Festival.
It was billed as “THE LARGEST ROBOTICS EVENT IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE!” In October 2005 Mitty Robotics participated in this event at the San Jose Convention Center. The RoboNexus Conference and Expo provided an opportunity to the public to learn about robotics, as well as professional development programs for those involved in robotics commercially. We were honored to be invited to be one of several local teams staffing the NASA Robotics Alliance Project booth. At the booth we had a display with pictures from past competitions, handouts with key details about our FIRST robot and the robotics program at Mitty, and our robot. Event organizers included a field with a goal as a feature of the conference, allowing our robot, along with robots from other schools, to have a mock competition.
In the summer of 2006, our team was invited by Phoenix Technologies Ltd., our primary sponsor that year, to participate in the Phoenix Wellness Faire. There were many booths of various services of interest to employees. Our booth was designed with the purpose of showing the company executives how we used their grant money. We had a team history display board, several representatives from our team, and informational flyers. We also took our Aim High robot “Mark III” to demo for everyone who stopped by our booth. Not only were we showing off our team to our sponsors, but supporting and spreading FIRST through our presentation and information.
We have supported FIRST by sending members from our team to FLL and FTC events in our area. Our team has volunteered at the Los Altos FLL competition for the past six years. The FLL competition has two aspects to it. First is the actual arena. Here, the robots created move around a field to complete the year’s specific game. The other aspect is judging. FLL teams are judged on several different categories, such as teamwork. When our team members have participated, they have had jobs such as judging, directing teams to their correct classrooms for judging, as well as match queuing, timers, and referees for the actual competition.
“I have admired the passion and vigor of the young kids.”
Sam, Team 1351 President 2008
In the summer of 2007, a couple of our team members volunteered at an FLL competition. The first team mentored by a Mitty Robotics member was Team 2482, Power Surge, consisting of four sixth-graders from Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose. The game they were to participate in was called Power Puzzle. It included multiple tasks based on real-life problems with alternative energy. Nick C. described his teaching as based on his own experiences in robotics as well as FIRST values. His team won 1st place at the Gunderson tournament for their presentation on alternative energy, including its importance and uses. They were also among the top 20 teams in the final competition itself.
The second team mentored by Mitty Robotics members was Team 3452, Team Thunder, a rookie FLL team from St. Lawrence Elementary School in Santa Clara, consisting of boys and girls from the fifth-grade class. Nick T. and Sam N. helped at meetings by mentoring the students in design process and programming. Mostly, the kids said that they just loved that they came and supported them. One teacher from St. Lawrence commented that “Nick from Mitty was an older kid who made them feel like they were doing something that was really cool and important.” Our presence and mentoring there encouraged and sparked interest in the young kids in participating in FIRST activities and events and in spreading the word of robotics at their own school events. The school is very interested in supporting their FLL team now because, through our team members’ mentoring, they appreciate the FIRST values of teamwork and creative problem solving.
Archbishop Mitty High School has been offering VEX Robotics camps over the past five summers. One of our FRC Team 1351 moderators, Mr. Green, runs this camp along with volunteers from Mitty Robotics team. Students from many middle schools come together as teams to build two different VEX robots in two weeks. While they mainly work on their own to develop problem solving strategies, they also get valuable information and assistance from TKO Members. At the end of each one week period there is a “competition” for that week’s robot challenge. We use this program as a way to spread awareness about FIRST Robotics and get kids interested in robotics so that they may continue this interest no matter where they go.
In the fall of 2008, we were honored to host Cal Games at our own school. On October 24, we greeted thirty teams into our two gyms, giving them another chance to show off what their robot could really do after months of tuning and tinkering. We took the opportunity to allow the freshmen to totally disassemble and reassemble our robot. This may have put us at a disadvantage for Cal Games, but it surely trained them for Build Season. We used the opportunity of hosting such a great event to spread an appreciation of engineering and technology to our peers at Archbishop Mitty High School. We produced videos to be aired on the announcements, hung posters, and encouraged teachers to give extra credit to students who attended the competition. We succeeded in raising awareness among both students and faculty at our school of what is actually involved in being a FIRST robotics team. We also reaped the benefit of increased interest in joining Mitty Robotics.
In 2009, Mitty Robotics was offered the opportunity to demo its robot at Archbishop Mitty’s annual auction. Mitty’s second largest fund-raising event was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities to an otherwise unaware audience. This event brought in some very influential and useful people who were very interested in FIRST. This opportunity also informed people of the importance of technology in high school. We were also featured in the Mitty Magazine for our appearance at the auction. Mark VI’s tuxedo made him the star of many group photos!
When Team 1351 got word of this event, we knew we needed to work at it. Members from our team filled numerous positions including event photographer, videographer, queueing, and event set up. This event was extremely rewarding for all parties. The event participants learned valuable lessons and, most importantly, had a great time. Mitty team members gained insight into the simple designs that these team members utilized and had a great time being entertained by the event participants.
As an introduction to FRC, Mitty Robotics offers tours and information sessions to local Jr. FLL, FLL, and FTC teams. We also offer them to high school students who are interested in FRC. These presentations go over the workings of an FRC competition and robot. It also serves as a Q&A for the younger students. This helps them get a grasp of what to expect in the future. We also give them tours of our lab and show them all of our past robots while showing them how each one works. We also give them ideas for the brainstorming section of the game.
This section of the website celebrates previous awards and recognitions earned by Mitty Robotics in the FIRST Robotics Competition.
Silicon Valley Regional
Eleventh seed after qualifying rounds
Alliance leader and semi-finalist (with Team 568 and Team 1120)
Highest Rookie Seed Award
General Motors Industrial Design Award
WRRF California Robot Games
Champion of the California Robot Games Award (with Team 980 and Team 1280)
Rookie Award for Excellence
Silicon Valley Regional
Semi-finalist (with Team 8 and Team 766)
Silicon Valley Regional
Sixth seed after qualifying rounds
Alliance leader and quarter-finalist (with Team 368 and Team 1072)
UC Davis Sacramento Regional
First seed after qualifying rounds
Alliance leader and quarter-finalist (with Team 100 and Team 649)
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award
WRRF California Robot Games
First seed after qualifying rounds
Alliance leader and finalist (with Team 192 and Team 840)
Silicon Valley Regional
Thirty-ninth seed after qualifying rounds
Congressional Recognition for FIRST homework
UC Davis Sacramento Regional
Fourth seed after qualifying rounds
Alliance leader and semi-finalist (with Team 692 and Team 1280)
Johnson & Johnson Sportsmanship Award
California Robot Games
Finalist (with Team 701 and Team 980)
Silicon Valley Regional:
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award
UC Davis Sacramento Regional:
Quarter-Finalist with teams 852 and 2144
WRRF California Games:
Hosted California Robot Games at Mitty
Semi-Finalist
WRRF Director’s Award
UC Davis Sacramento Regional:
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award
WRRF California Games:
Semi-Finalist
Information
Archbishop Mitty High School
5000 Mitty Avenue
San Jose, CA 95129
Phone: (408) 252-6610
Fax: (408) 252-0518
We'd love to hear from you!
