DEWBOT VI IRI Trip Reports
Foster
These are the quick notes from Foster's trip to IRI in 2010.
Thursday - My car (Clem, Siri, Rizzo, Carley, Jen) left at exactly 8:30AM according to plan. After a short stop in Bedford we arrived at the Mecca of West Virgina Quaker Steak and Lube about 1PM. After fueling up on world class wings we headed west on I70. A mere 3 hours later we were at our next milestone Fricker's Chicken in Vandalia. After eating their world class wings and Chicken Chunks (are you seeing a theme here?) we got back on I70 to head towards the hotel. Wow, is I70 long and straight!
The trip was filled full of music, bad puns, silly stories etc. The best part was the mini-button factory that did the final assembly of I'm xxx on CD and the Non-engineering Mentor buttons Doing all the work that isn't rocket science for Friday.
It was cool to have technology in the car, we were able to keep up with CD and news of closing the oil well off. I wrote the first part of this post on I70 just outside of Indiana. (Did I say I70 was long?)
We checked into the hotel and then it was off to Dave & Busters to deliver some buttons, Frickin Chicken Chunks to my sister and to meet the mentors. We spent about 2 hours there meeting new people, playing some games for cool prizes and having an end of the day beverage. Siri's buttons were a bigh hit, people were happy to get them.
I met the wonderful Jane Young, Alan, Andy and Mark of AndyMark fame and spent some time talking to Ed from Rochester. Rizzo met most of the judging staff and swapped some "Well when I was reffing there was this team ..." stories. A pretty good session to close off the first day of IRI.
Friday Dawn in Indianpolis came early, the final set of people didn't arrive until 2AM, so they had to sleep fast. But, when I got to the breakfast area most of our team was eating breakfast. We got out of the hotel about 7:20 and headed over to the school.
The school is huge with two huge gyms. One that has an indoor 1/4 mile track, the other that holds 2 full sized basketball courts.
I was busy working with Jack getting him set up with the VEX and getting the two demo robots ready to go so others could play on the. Jack did a great job of keeping the robot running and an even better job of driving the wheels off of it. It was a tough schedule with three matches in each round and three rounds. The finals were best out of three and Jack ended up with a flawless record of 11-0. He also had the high score of the day at 49 points.
The big robot also had a pretty good day. We had some amazing partners that we played with and against. We closed out the day in 21st place. Somewhat due to our good seeding, somewhat due to the improvements we made to the robot.
Dinner was cafeteria style with salad, lasagna, bread, and 5 kinds of dessert. I had a chance to eat with my sister. I don't see her very often and to be honest mostly at robot events. She had been a scorer / queue manager for most of the day (71 matches) so I got to hear about her day.
The talent show was amazing, the acts were good, but the best part were the comments (written on whiteboard) by the panel of judges. Needs more cowbell takes on a new meaning! The best act was a spinny lighted ball act set to music that was very impressive. The encore with the Tesla music machines was very cool.
So far IRI has exceeded my idea of what it would be like. I've see great robots in action and I've been able to go up and talk to the builders on how the robot works. People have been super nice helping out where they can. This has got to be one of the best organizied events that I've been to.
Saturday - We started off the day getting the robot set up for the days matches. We gathered together for the opening ceremony. Afterwards was the long wait to play our next two matches.
During the wait we watched some amazing matches. We got to see matches that ended with 5 robots hanging, the amazing Team 469 looper in a 6v0 match and the top teams in FRC going nose to nose. We lost our last match but got to see the first ever Breakaway suspension.
Thanks to my sister and Team Exploding Bacon I had Skyline Chili the 5-Way: A 3-Way (spaghetti, covered with chili and topped shredded cheddar cheese) with diced onions and red beans. I ate with the team and learned that when someone comes into the room and goes "oink oink" they all go BOOM. Very entertaining. The chili was pretty good too.
At the end of the qualifications we ended up in 31st place. A pretty good showing for the weekend. At noon we went through alliance selection, we were not chosen.
Next up was the mentor match. We had enough donations in our bucket to have us be the 5th Seed Captain. We did quite well in the first two matches. I was the human player, grabbing balls from the goal for the second match. It was fun, but it's very bright and noisy on the field so it's hard to communicate with the other players.
In between the second and third games one of our alliance partners found that their robot was broken. Since they were in the real finals they withdrew from the match. We promptly lost the next two matches against the Second Place seed and were out of the tournament.
Next up was the loooonng finals cycle. There were an amazing number of ties and an even larger collection of rubber matches. Not to mention rubber matches that ended up in ties. All in all we got to see some great competition, but the last match did not finish until 6:15PM
Sunday - We left the hotel for breakfast at 6:15AM and were headed East at 7AM. With some minor problems due to Dayton road construction we arrived at the [|National Museum of the US Air Force].
Which turned out to be a super place (well if you are into airplanes or rockets) to visit. It consists of three giant hangers that are filled with aircraft. The first exhibits are early gliders and a replica of the first Wright Flyer. From there on it's a chronological tour of US aircraft with some from England, Japan and Russia. At the far end is a tall round building that has exhibits showing off manned near-space and space flights. There is also a collection of rockets.
After a three hour tour we headed off to lunch at the Olive Garden. By 1PM we were once again heading east listening to bagpipe music and popular songs from Spain in 1496. We hit a backup in Columbus so we did a quick detour through downtown Columbus. Since it was Sunday there was very little traffic so it wasn't a big deal.
Dinner was a gas and go at Sheetz, but I got one of my favorites, a slaw dog with bacon and cheese! We pulled into Downingtown at 9:45, and I was tucked into bed by 10:30.
Overall - It was a great weekend.
- I got to see and talk to my sister, which has been one of the biggest bonus features of FIRST
- Great robots, I got to see the insides and talk to the teams of some very good robots.
- Great people, I met a ton of people that I've wanted to meet face to face
- The Saturday NEMO meeting gave me some good contacts for things we need to do in 2011.
- Food!
- Air Force Museum
- Fun - it was 4 days of non-stop fun
More Cowbell!!! and "I have to ref a match!"
Siri
Thursday
I was in Foster's van ("it's a rental") on the rides to and from IRI--and what awesome rides they were. He's about covered all the stops along the way, though I must that Quaker Steak is quite an interesting place...albeit less interesting when getting the check takes longer than eliminations at IRI. Dave & Busters was a lot of fun, though also a little stressful being my first mentor (all of whom were more than twice my age) meet-and-greet. I felt very (no, very) young, but it was still a great time. The "Hi, I'm...on CD" and non-rocket science NEMO buttons were a good conversation starter too--I think I'll keep that up. I got to meeting Stu (the Head Ref), Carolyn (the NEMO meeting coordinator), Jim (later the IRI 2010 Mentor of the Year, congratulations), and Jane Young, among others, plus toast Unification Day and have some great conversations with Clem, Foster, and Rizzo.
Friday
Wow! So that's what "Inspiration Lives Here" means. This place is amazing. We had some problems with the kicker, possessor, and IR sensors, but still ended up doing quite well--ranking 7th at one point and hanging around 15th or so. I was not expecting that, given a field of almost 80 of the best teams in FIRST. And what robots they were! Seeing 469, 1114, 148, 33, and dozens of others up close was amazing. Meeting the teams and working with the drive teams was truly enlightening as well.
The drive team is really meshing well, and I think I'm getting pretty well used to this coaching thin. (Or so Carly claims, and she's not really one to placate.) It was a bit of a rough start this year: driver controls are way more complicated than ever before, but Carly and Sasha are both adapting well. We're starting to read each other like the old days, and it's not so stressful--though the pressure is still completely on.
We had some absolutely spectacular matches today! Match 32 was a 1-on-2 virtual shut out. Match 40 was another fantastic defensive game, especially considering 1058's consistency at scoring from the middle zone. (Wish we could do that so well!) In Match 57, we got to show off our striking skills, scoring probably 10 goals in one match in addition to pinning opposing defense so our allies could score.
Clem and I also actually got to sit down, inside, for lunch, for a full 10 minutes. I'm not sure that's ever happened before at a major competition. Quite pleasant. Foster and I also ran into a couple of guys from Lockheed Martin. With a little luck, we might even get something out of it. I even got a little bit of a chance to check in on scouting, though I still have some work to really get that department up and running. (Though it's easier at competitions where the match schedule can stay the same...and the DS communication works...yeah, ok, never mind.)
This is a ridiculously well organized event. They start queuing us very early, but who am I to complain when they manage to keep 78 teams virtually on schedule for 104 matches without radios between the pits and queuing? But other than that and my request for the DJs to have a "previously played" list (it's going to take me a while to re-enjoy "Don't Stop Believing"), there didn't seem to be a single issue. These guys a top notch, my hat's of to them. The extra events--silent auction, backpacks for 2nd graders, mentor match, talent show, are also superbly executed. This may well be the best competition I've ever attended, on- or off-season.
I had dinner and great conversation with Foster and his sister and later Rizzo and Koko Ed. (Well, it was a lot of food.) We did have some mechanical difficulties to fix afterward and ended up missing most of the talent show (minus the Tesla music & string raving and Jim's "singing"). Overall, we're preforming quite admirably. I know I'm admiring it.
Saturday
What a day--what an event. Our first match of the day was a solid 13 to 8 victory, but our last one didn't go so well, being on the losing side of 13 to 7. We dropped down to 31st place by the end of qualifications. It's still very respectable, but we didn't make eliminations, especially given that we're strangers in a land of old friend and allies. We did learn a an unquantifiable amount though, and have started making some friends. Next year is another season!
I also met Mark (of AndyMark) and Karthik, among several others in addition to those from D&B and dinner. Andy from AndyMark came to find me. I think I'll forever remember this event as "Andy Baker knows my name". I didn't talk to quite everyone I was aiming for, but pretty close. (My networking still leaves something to be desired. Like, say, extraversion. Also, age.) There's always next year, though!
The mentor match was quite an experience--and less stressful, since we didn't have to worry so much about breaking things after alliance selection. Foster, Rizzo, Faith, Rita, and Clem did some great human player-ing. Clem, Rizzo, and I got a chance to drive (wow, this thing is pretty confusing, though it helps that DEWBOT III was along the same lines and much less cooperative), and Clem and I did some possessorizing. My old drive experience has been great for my coaching, but it's always good to have a refresher when I can. And refreshed I am! Though we bought (via auction) our way into the 5th alliance, we only managed to make the semifinals--but Clem got a great hat out of it. I did manage to hurt my chest pretty badly lifting the robot though, so it hurts to laugh--a real danger when spending the weekend and a long car ride with Clem, Foster, Rizzo, Jen, and Carly. Overall, a fun (and at least marginally educational time) was had by all.
The award ceremonies were quite well done. A little disappointing in the morning (sorry to Jen), but Sasha, Andrew, and I have something up our sleeves for Duel on the Delaware. The highlight of the afternoon ceremony (for us) was Jack accepting his VEX award. Congrats on the win and your undefeated record, Jack! And aren't we glad at least some of us (including him) stayed at the school for lunch. Also thanks to Foster's sister for alerting us in time to get a photo!
The eliminations were amazing! Also, amazingly long (really? five matches in SF2?) Entirely worth it though, especially once Clem, Foster, Jen (plus Rizzo during the numerous cool-down breaks and timeouts) found the prefect spot on the upper balcony. I've never seen so many teams so closely matched, so many amazingly engineering robots (or famous numbers) on one field, or such fantastic driving at any time in my FIRST career. In fact, I don't think I've seen such inspiring work in all of my FIRST experience combined. Watching the coaches was especially interesting, and I picked up a some good pointers. Thanks to the rest of the pit crew that packed the trailer after they got back from lunch, giving both Clem and I an unprecedented chance to actually watch so many matches. 23 total: I don't think I've watched that many from the stands at any of the other major competitions combined.
- After many more finals rounds that originally expected (I thought I was going to miss class Tuesday too), the entire team headed to an all-you-care-to-eat Chinese buffet for dinner. Good food and lots of laughter (and well worth the chest pain). After dinner, Foster, Clem, Rizzo and I dropped Jen and Carly off and went out to Ruby Tuesday's. (I'm told the beer is better. Yeesh, it's hard to be a mentor under 21.) Another Unification Day toast and some good serious and not-so-serious conversation later, we called it a night.
Sunday
An early start at 6AM and were were off to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. Awesome museum! (ok, so many I'm biased.) It's also the headquarters for the Air Force Institute of Technology--quite possibly where I'll be doing my graduate degree in a few years. After the museum we headed for lunch at Olive Garden and then hit the road to drop me off in Harrisburg. The ride was filled with silly jokes (my how we've added to our lexicon), fun stories, and some discussion of our upcoming to do list. Also, and some very interesting music. (Not much of it in English, but I think I've got a think for '90s Spanish tunes now. The 1490s, that is.) After some GPS and traffic versus arrival time confusion, I (as I expected) missed the nightly bus, but got a ride up to Penn State anyway to still arrive Sunday night. Thus I only missed 2 classes (Thursday and Friday)--well worth it, in my opinion.
Other pages about the DEWBOT VI Indiana Robotics Invitational
- DEWBOT VI IRI Photo Gallery
- DEWBOT VI IRI Scouting
- DEWBOT VI IRI Matches
- DEWBOT VI IRI Problems Encountered
- DEWBOT VI IRI Trip Reports
