Middle Creek Community Center is Offering FLL Classes again and they are almost Sold Out - Sign Up Now and tell Tom that the Microbots sent you!
Introduction to FIRST LEGO League (age 8-14)
FLL is an international competition held every year to get students excited about learning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. In this course students will have the opportunity to try out the previous year’s robot challenge and project. They’ll learn teamwork, problem solving, programming, and a variety of information about our climate. This class will meet for a fraction of the time required during a normal season to give the students a taste of the competition without the full commitment.
Location: Middle Creek Community Center
Instructor: Tom Settle
Fees: $60(R) $78(N) (6 classes)
Age 8-11
39557 Sat Apr 4-May 16 10 a.m.-noon
(no class Apr 11)
Age 12-14
39558 Sat Apr 4-May 16 10 a.m.-noon
(no class Apr 11)
Friday, March 13, 2009
Coach Miller To Present at 2009 FIRST Robotics Conference
We will likely have all of the Microbots at the World Congress in Atlanta (even if we do not get an invitation). We had 2/3rds of them there last year!
Make plans to be in Atlanta for Wednesday, April 15th through the weekend. Hope to see you there!
Look for us at the conference, the FLL championship (hanging out with Joe Meno), or the FIRST Championship (with Team Awkward Turtle, our FIRST buddies - go Turtles - win the Richmond Regional!). We'll be wearing the orange Microbots T-shirts or maybe even a FIRST shirt!
From the 2009 FIRST Robotics Conference
The Pragmatic Use of Variables in FLL
Randy Miller
One of the rubric questions for First Lego League asks about the ability of team members to use variables if applicable. In our rookie year, we did not use any variables and could not see a need for them. However, as we progressed, we asked ourselves, “What can a variable be pragmatically used for in NXT/G and FLL?”This year’s challenge had an obstacle perfectly suited for variables, Find Agreement. We initially solved this challenge using variables but found a quicker, more efficient way to solve the challenge using an attachment. Even so, we found some interesting ways to use variables to solve common FLL problems as well as some limitations to the use of variables in NXT/G. This session will explore the inner workings of variables in NXT/G. It will show common ways to solve problems in FLL using these programming constructs. It will also show some things that will not work but look like they should. We end with a set of tips and tricks as we realize that many have had difficulty figuring out how they work.
Make plans to be in Atlanta for Wednesday, April 15th through the weekend. Hope to see you there!
Look for us at the conference, the FLL championship (hanging out with Joe Meno), or the FIRST Championship (with Team Awkward Turtle, our FIRST buddies - go Turtles - win the Richmond Regional!). We'll be wearing the orange Microbots T-shirts or maybe even a FIRST shirt!
From the 2009 FIRST Robotics Conference
The Pragmatic Use of Variables in FLL
Randy Miller
One of the rubric questions for First Lego League asks about the ability of team members to use variables if applicable. In our rookie year, we did not use any variables and could not see a need for them. However, as we progressed, we asked ourselves, “What can a variable be pragmatically used for in NXT/G and FLL?”This year’s challenge had an obstacle perfectly suited for variables, Find Agreement. We initially solved this challenge using variables but found a quicker, more efficient way to solve the challenge using an attachment. Even so, we found some interesting ways to use variables to solve common FLL problems as well as some limitations to the use of variables in NXT/G. This session will explore the inner workings of variables in NXT/G. It will show common ways to solve problems in FLL using these programming constructs. It will also show some things that will not work but look like they should. We end with a set of tips and tricks as we realize that many have had difficulty figuring out how they work.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
What to do?
Wow - it has been a fantastic year and we are getting prepared for the National Championship in May. The robot has been totally redesigned and Clark's new invention surpasses all that have gone before. He and Tad continue to design new attachments.
Meanwhile Patrick and Rebekah have started the unenviable task of building new programs. The run sequence has changed and so must the programs. Finally, Zach and Benjamin have examined the troubling task of how to fit it all into 2.5 minutes. Coach Medina has given them three weeks to get it all done.
We continue to debate whether we should begin FIRST next year. The team is really young so it might be too early. However, the team continues to impress me with their building and programming skills. FTC might also be an option. Oh, and then there is First Lego League again. Decisions, decisions...
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Astronomy Days
If you are interested in First Lego League, come see our demonstration on Saturday, January 24, 2009 noon –5 pm and Sunday, January 25, noon–5 pm at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. We will be there on Saturday and the Spacebots will be there on Sunday. If you stop by on Sunday, say hello to Coach Kyle Brown. Tell him that we sent you :-) The museum holds a First Lego League demo every year during Astronomy Days.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The NC Rookie Challenge
The NC State tournament was actually two tournaments: the NC State Championship and the NC State Rookie Challenge. In the NC State Rookie Challenge, only rookie teams could win. The NC State Championship was held in December while the Rookie Challenge was held January 10th. We volunteered to help out with the second tournament since we could not compete in it and frankly, we still haven't gotten enough of First Lego League.
We saw some very impressive rookie teams including The Barracudas, a team that built a folk lift robot, and won 1st place for their Innovative Design. It was unlike any other robot that we have ever seen. Clark noticed it first and said “Wow – I don’t think that we could have built something like that our first year!”
Another rookie team, Mechanical Mayhem, pulled a 235 on the robot challenge. They were a home schooled team and we asked Coach Brown (of the Spacebots) about how much time they had put into getting such a high score (and learning NXT/G). He said, “Probably as much time as you did.” They won two trophies (Robot Performance and Robot Quality) their first year! Unreal! I know it is the rookie challenge but they could have gotten third place on the table with that score in the State Championship! How about that?
Another impressive rookie team was The Charlie Bytes. We had talked to them about possibly helping them out during the season as they said that they felt that they were having trouble. We could never find a time that worked out. No trouble there except for other teams! They won a first place trophy.
Finally, we met Chris of the Magellan Mariners (see Brush with Greatness) who had a video clip of our team and his in the alliance round on his phone. We were soooo small!
Marie Hopper and Tom Settle did a great job organizing this tournament! They have definitely become new friends of the Microbots. What a great day we had! Tad said, “I want to volunteer to help out with the Rookie Challenge again next year!”
We saw some very impressive rookie teams including The Barracudas, a team that built a folk lift robot, and won 1st place for their Innovative Design. It was unlike any other robot that we have ever seen. Clark noticed it first and said “Wow – I don’t think that we could have built something like that our first year!”
Another rookie team, Mechanical Mayhem, pulled a 235 on the robot challenge. They were a home schooled team and we asked Coach Brown (of the Spacebots) about how much time they had put into getting such a high score (and learning NXT/G). He said, “Probably as much time as you did.” They won two trophies (Robot Performance and Robot Quality) their first year! Unreal! I know it is the rookie challenge but they could have gotten third place on the table with that score in the State Championship! How about that?
Another impressive rookie team was The Charlie Bytes. We had talked to them about possibly helping them out during the season as they said that they felt that they were having trouble. We could never find a time that worked out. No trouble there except for other teams! They won a first place trophy.
Finally, we met Chris of the Magellan Mariners (see Brush with Greatness) who had a video clip of our team and his in the alliance round on his phone. We were soooo small!
Marie Hopper and Tom Settle did a great job organizing this tournament! They have definitely become new friends of the Microbots. What a great day we had! Tad said, “I want to volunteer to help out with the Rookie Challenge again next year!”
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