This Bailey's Nippon geocoin copy got to attend the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Lone Star Regional competition in Houston, Texas with students, faculty, and engineers that worked on the Petal High School robotic entry. F.I.R.S.T. stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" and is a competition begun by Dean Kaman; the guy who invented the Segway. Every January, the contest for the year is revealed, high schools buy their robot kits that includes the robot controller, some motors, structural aluminum, and lots of other pieces and parts. The high school teams then have just six weeks to design, build, and program their robot using as many of the parts from the kit as they want, as well as many other parts they buy or make.
This year, our robot's main task was to collect orbit balls on the playing field and try to shoot them into trailers pulled behind our opponents' robots while trying to prevent any balls from being placed into our own trailer. There were many other aspects to the game and LOTS of rules that the students had to be aware of to prevent getting penalized while still taking advantage of every scoring opportunity. The playing surface was a very slick material and the only wheels allowed this year were hard, slick wheels, making traction a big issue. Everyone on the team had a great time during the build cycle and at the competition even though we didn't place very high this year.
Now it's time for this geocoin to continue its journey. Happy trails, little GC. Live long and prosper!
Blue skies and happy caching!
Model Citizen - Zero Discipline