Robotics Teams 328 and 135 compete in Indiana FIRST Robotics Competition

From Friday, April 4 to Saturday, April 5, the Penn Robotics Teams 135 and 328 competed in the Indiana First Robotics Competition. Team 328, the Golden Rooks, placed 35 overall, while Team 135, the Black Knights, placed 13 overall.

Two field elements can score points for a team — coral and algae — both based on the competition’s ‘Under the Sea’ theme. Coral scores a total of two to six points, depending on placement in the scoring device. Algae scores a total of six points if placed in the processor, and four points if placed directly in the barge. However, when placed in the processor, the other alliance has the chance to shoot the algae in their barge for a gain of four points, which would then only provide a two point gain.

See the link here for more details on scoring and breakdown.

With an average of 155 points per match, Team 328 and its alliance was a powerhouse, mostly relying on algae to score. This meant the team actively contributed to their opponents, primarily using the processor to score. As a result, this meant its overall seed and placement were negatively impacted, making the team lose it’s edge.

“I really think we should’ve focused more on how we could have put algae into the barge instead of the processor. I think if we had changed our manipulator to work both ways, we might have made it work,” said Riley Huhtasaari, one of head 3D designers for Team 328.

With an average score of 151 points per match, 135 performance turned the heads of Teams 5402 and 292, who invited them to ally in the finals as Alliance 8. Unfortunately, an unlucky match against the top ranked team, 7457, led by Purdue, set them off-season for the year.

The reason why Team 135 had a lower point average but a higher overall placement was because of their decision to focus on coral, rather than algae. Unlike algae, coral cannot give the opposing team any points, which gives them much more of a lead in comparison. However, this decreases the total score of both teams, as there is no longer the extra gain in points between the two teams.

The top 10 teams are as follows:
– 7457, suPURDUEper Robotics
– 868, TechHOUNDS
– 4272, Maverick Robotics
– 3940, CyberTooth
– 461, Westside Boiler Invasion
– 1741, Red Alert
– 45, TechnoKats
– 234, Cyber Blue
– 7617, RoboBlazers
– 3494, The Quadrangles
More details can be found on The Blue Alliance App.

The event winners included Team 7457, SuPURDUEper Robotics, Team 868, TechHOUNDS, and finally, Team 3487, Red Pride Robotics. These teams will advance to the world championships. However, the leader of the second-placed team, Team 1747, Harrison Boiler Robotics, is also given a chance to advance to the world championships.