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The Pascack Pi-oneers ( Pi as in the Greek symbol, 3.14) is Team 1676 in the US FIRST nationwide robotics competition. The home schools are Pascack Valley High School and Pascack Hills High School of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District . The team is only about one year old and is desperate for resources, their only major sponsor being Mercedes-Benz . They were actually one of the few Rookie teams to make it to the finals last year in Atlanta, Georgia , being the top Rookie team in the regionals. NAME HISTORY The Pascack Valley Mascot , the Indian , and the Pascack Hills mascot, the Cowboy , were created at the time of the schools' origins. The team could not necessarily leave the whole idea of Wild West in the Suburbs , but the team couldn't choose one name over the other, which is where the Pi-oneer name was born. ROBOT STATS ''(see this for original document)'' Autonomous Mode function: knock down hanging tetras and contain tetra under goal Strengths: reliable autonomous mode, capable of Capping any goal, reliable, when arm is in start position, good defense, block high in air with arm Weaknesses: High C.O.G. when arm extended (not as much anymore, height of arm decreased) Wheel Type: 2” Rubber x 4 Transmission: kit speed: 6ft per second motor: x 4 Center Of Gravity : varies depending on height of arm Controls: 2 Joystick s and Switch-board Frame: kit other: armor Sensors: use none (the option of a Color-sensitive Camera was added for autonomous mode, too expensive) Carry # of tetras: 1 Motors/ Pneumatics for manipulators: pneumatics, car window motor, and van door motor Arm height: In all places it says kit, it means a kit has been made for this event and handed to the team 6 weeks prior to the opening of the competition. Everywhere else parts are mentioned came out as the team's expenses. In place of a gripper that functioned like the opening and closing of a hand, it now has a piston The robot has been given the nickname "The Scorpion," but is no longer scorpion-esque due to its gripper being dismantled. THE GAME For 2005, teams had to create a robot that could play ''Triple Play,'' the latest game of US FIRST. The robot can have a self running mode to score points, place a tetraherdahon on a goal or under the goal. The game plays like a tic-tac-toe board, earning bonus points for three in a row. The game pits six teams against each other. The teams are divided into alliances. If an alliance gets all three robots into their starting zone by the end of the match, they get bonus points for that too. The game is two minutes, 15 seconds long. The fifteen seconds are for autonomous mode (robot works on its own) and the two minutes are for manual mode. The winner is the alliance with the most points, but there are other awards given out at competitions(i.e., Best Team Spirit, Best Rookie Team). SPONSORS The whole experience (including pre-season competitions, travel expenses, parts, etc.) costs about $40,000. Mercedes-Benz gives Team 1676 $10,000 yearly along with teaching the students about building and working a robot. This leaves the team to find another $30,000 dollars on its own. Local pizza places help out by giving them free pizza for our pizza sales at the schools. Parents also help out by donating supplies for the bake sales and also donated around $750 each from their own pockets. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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