Archive for the ‘competition’ tag
FTC Worlds 2013 Recap
We had a great time at the 2013 FTC World Championship last week! It was awesome seeing so many teams using ROBOTC on their computers. We really enjoyed meeting all the different teams and hearing your stories. We will have interviews posted from the event in the next couple weeks. Thank you to every one who stopped by to say hi and congrats to EVERY team. Also thank you to FIRST and FTC for inviting us to be a part of such an awesome event. We look forward to next year!
Check out our short recap video:
And if you haven’t had a chance, head on over to our Facebook page to check out our photo album – FIRST World Championship 2013
Final Robot Virtual World Google Hangout Tonight!
We will be hosting our final April Robot Virtual Worlds Google hangout tonight at 6pm EST! We will be discussing the competition environments in RVW. This will be your last chance to enter the ROBOTC annual license drawing and get your 15% off discount code for Robot Virtual Worlds! Join us at http://www.robotc.net/hangouts
If you missed any of that past hangouts, check them out here …
Week 1 – What is RVW?
Week 2 – Curriculum Companion
Week 3 – Level Builder with Model Importer
Week 4 – Gaming Environments
Week 5 – Competition Environments
VEX Toss Up Virtual World Available!
This past weekend, VEX Robotics announced their 2013 – 2014 challenge, VEX Toss Up at their World Championship. It was an exciting event that our team was happy to be a part of. We’re also very happy to make our brand-new VEX Toss Up Robot Virtual World available to download.
This years competition field features a higher level of interactivity and simulation than ever before. Several new robots designed specifically for Toss Up have been added to the line-up, and are fully programmable through ROBOTC.
New Robots
Check out Ballerbot pulling itself up on the hanging bar and capping one of the goals with a big ball:
Intakebot can hold two of the smaller buckyballs at a time. It’s retractable arm make it great for scoring the buckyballs or pushing any of the game obects into a scoring area on the floor:
User Interface
The new and improved user interface allows you to switch between the robots, game modes, starting points, and tells you where the growing list of motors and sensors are connected:
Controlling the Robots
Sample code for programming the robots to move autonomously or via a USB Remote control is installed with the virtual world. You will find it by going to File > Open Sample Program > VEX Toss Up.
Don’t have a USB Remote Control? No Problem! We’ve also added keyboard control for the robots in the “ROBOT SKILLS” game mode! Ballerbot and Intakebot are pretty different, but they use the same set of keys for control:
- W key: Robot moves forward
- A key: Robot turns left
- S key: Robot moves in reverse
- D key: Robot turns right
- { and } keys: Actuator 1 movement
- < and > keys: Actuator 2 movement
- ; and ‘ keys: Actuator 3 movement
- + and - keys: Actuator 4 movement
Support
We want to make sure that you’re well supported as you use the new game. Great resources can always be found at RobotVirtualWorlds.com and there’s an active community ready to answer your questions at the ROBOTC.net forums. We’ve also produced a video that will help get VEX teams started, and help them think of ways they can program their real robots:
Future Enhancements!
We’re extremely excited about this release, but we’re not done yet. Check out some of the enhancements that are on their way!
Summer of Learning Competition on CS2N
We are hosting two competitions with VEX Toss Up: one during the summer, and one during the 2013-3014 school year. Use the special CS2N mode to launch a 2-minute, autonomous-only version of the challenge. You will be able to submit your high score to a leaderboard on CS2N. Winners will be awarded prizes like robot kits, software, or even college scholarships. Full details can be found on CS2N.
Multi-player!
The VEX Toss Up RVW will be our first world to support multiple players. You will be able to connect with up to 3 additional players from anywhere in the world to play head-to-head matches. We will be releasing beta versions this summer, with a finalized version set for September 1st, 2013.
Additional Robots
Ballerbot and Intakebot are incredible robots, but we want to make sure that there’s lots of variety for for the multi-player matches. We will be adding additional robot models, each with their own characteristics this summer.
The VEX Toss Up game cane be downloaded from CS2N.org (sign-in required) or RobotVirtualWorlds.com.
VEX Worlds 2013 Recap
We had so much fun at the 2013 VEX World Championships last week! We saw some great matches, met tons of fantastic people, and got a chance to share some big news with everyone throughout the week. We will be posting more detailed information on our news next week, so keep an eye out for that. Thank you to every one who stopped by to say hi and congrats to EVERY team. You all did an amazing job. Also thank you to VEX Robotics and the REC Foundation for inviting us to be a part of such an awesome event. We look forward to next year!
Check out our short recap video:
And if you haven’t had a chance, head on over to our Facebook page to check out our photo album – VEX Worlds 2013.
VEX Worlds 2013
Hello! We are sorry for being so quiet on the blogs this week. We are in Anaheim, CA at the 2013 VEX World Championship! Below are some pictures from the last few days. Follow us on our ROBOTC Facebook and Twitter page for up-to-date pictures and videos all day.
If you are at VEX Worlds, stop by our booth, say hi, and try out Robot Virtual Worlds!
Next week, we will be at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO!
PA Students Compete Using ROBOTC
Photo by Kevin Lorenzi Of Calkins Media
TimesOnline put together a great story on the first county wide RoboCup Competition in Beaver County, PA. Jason McKenna, President of the Beaver County Gifted Consortium and a Hopewell Teacher, organized the event. The competition was put together to help kids develop problem-solving skills as well as learn the basics of programming. McKenna told TimesOnline, ”The idea (for the challenge) is that robots do jobs that are too dangerous for humans. We can’t get to a chemical spill, so we have to send a robot to do the job. It has to traverse the course, get to the chemical spill, find the victim and push the victim out of the chemical spill.” One of the things we love to hear is that many of the teams used ROBOTC to program their robots and complete this challenge! To see more from the competition, check out the video below.
You can read more about the competition here - Students Compete Using Robots, With Help from CMU and Australia.
Has your team, classroom, or competition been covered in the news? If so, let us know! We’d love to share it!
Live Broadcast of the National Mexico VEX Tournament
Check out the live broadcast of the National Mexico VEX Tournament going on now! All of the teams are using ROBOTC. The broadcast is brought to you by Reeduca, a company dedicated to implementing new technology and robotics education in Mexico.
VEX Sack Attack Referee Training Videos
John and Karthik at VEX Robotics have put together a fantastic set of videos for teams competing in the VEX Sack Attack Robotics Competition.
The 9-video series breaks down the rules for the competition, and shows how referees will interpret the different scenarios that may occur. It’s definitely a worthwhile watch for any teams competing this year (or anyone who wants to see John hug this years game object).
You can watch the full video series here, or on their YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEC832168771665F2
Traversing a Grand Challenge with the VEX Cortex
The Grand Challenge is a staff designed course which is not revealed to participants until the day of the competition. Before the competition, participants are provided with a list of conditions and situations to prepare their robots for.
On the day of the competition, the participant’s programming knowledge and preparation are put to the test as they work to traverse the course in a limited amount of time. The robot that makes the most progress without stalling out or deviating from the course wins!
In this iteration of the Grand Challenge, the Cortex-based robot must:
- Navigate an obstructed path using feedback from the Shaft Encoders and Ultrasonic Rangefinder
- Track an incomplete line up and down a ramp using feedback from the Line Tracking sensors
- (Optional) Pick up the yellow ball and take it to the finish zone for extra points
- Respond to remote-control commands only in the final zone
- Avoid hitting obstacles in it’s path, walls on the field, and falling from the ramp
Check out this cool video of the robot completing the course.
To accomplish it’s task, the Cortex-based robot is equipped with:
- Two driving motors, each with a Shaft Encoder
- An Omni-wheel acting as a rear-caster wheel
- Three Line Tracking Sensors
- An Ultrasonic Rangefinder
- Remote Control over VEXnet
Instructions for building this robot can be found here.
If you’d like ideas for creating your own Grand Challenge, check out this document for some inspiration.
Note: All materials are part of the VEX Cortex Video Trainer. Check it Out!
Updated ROBOTC Support for VEX Competitions
Are you part of a team that competes in VEX Robotics Competitions? If so, we’ve just released updated support documents that will help guarantee your success when you get to the field:
- Firmware Inspection using ROBOTC
- Firmware Inspection using the IFI Loader
- Testing Robots using the 75 MHz Crystals
- Testing Robots using the VEXnet Upgrade
- Using the ROBOTC Competition Templates
- Complete ROBOTC Software Inspection Guide (11 MB)
If you’re not part of the VEX Robotics Competitions, get involved! You can find out more information through the CMU Robotics Academy and VEX Robotics.
As always, you can also find support on the ROBOTC.net support pages and forums, too.
