Thank you for supporting the S.P.I.D.E.R.S. in this incredible opportunity to compete in Atlanta .  We were inspired, overwhelmed, exhausted and exhilarated all at once!  Thanks to you we almost met our fundraising goals!  We couldn't have pulled it off without you and we are grateful.

 

S.P.I.D.E.R.S. Post-Competition Update

 

Competition Highlights!

Jonathan:  The robots were incredible.  So many different robot designs and attachments--all made to accomplish the same thing.

Julia:   Meeting people and trading things with other teams.  The closing party was really cool too!

Carter:  Entering the Georgia Dome competition floor from the tunnel and seeing all the people and hearing them all too.  Think NBA Playoffs noise level!

Caleb:  Collecting dozens of buttons and souvenirs from 39 states and 28 world robotics teams.

Jesse: Winning a Gracious Professionalism Award.  An award nominated by the other FLL robotics teams.

Benjamin:  Meeting teams from all those other countries and seeing how the other robots were designed and other team’s robot attachments.

Christa:  Teaching other teams the hula to "The Little Brown Gal" and exchanging hula skirts for Sombreros with the Mexico City team.

Jake:   Meeting people from all around the World and the closing party.  I’ve never seen fireworks that close!

 

 

The Competition

Thursday was the judging for the research/presentation, teamwork, and robot technical design awards.  We also set up our pit table in the World Congress Center , prepared for the button exchange and unpacked the robots for practice.  We had opportunities to practice on the pit tables to make adjustments, and competed in practice matches on the competition tables. 

The team worked a forty-hour workweek fine-tuning the robot’s performance just before leaving for the competition.  When we left for Atlanta , our robot consistently accomplished all of the tasks within the 2 1/2 minute time limit.  When we reached Atlanta , we found ourselves in a “real life” engineering dilemma where natural/artificial lighting variations between the pit practice tables and the Georgia Dome competition tables affected our light sensor operation consistency.  We met several other teams and coaches who also experienced this difficulty.  One coach, who has been to the World Championship several times, said that their team no longer uses the light sensor because they haven’t been able to make the programs work consistently.  Another team tries to shield the light sensor from lighting variables with a Harry Potter cape LEGO piece!   So, most of Thursday was spent trying to overcome these additional challenges.  Although it was frustrating to see our robot not perform up to it’s capabilities due to an unanticipated variable, it was a great learning experience! 

   

Friday was the bright red aloha shirt day and three rounds of robot competition plus an alliance match. The alliance match was where four teams created an alliance to compete against another four-team alliance.  Teams coordinated to achieve a high score using each team's robot and attachments to accomplish eight of the nine tasks. Our alliance included the S.P.I.D.E.R.S., plus teams from Texas , Arkansas , and South Korea .  That was a fun way to see our building and programming efforts succeed!

 

            We scored in the top half of the teams for Robotic Performance, and we beat our Hawaii first place robotics score!  We have yet to receive our scores in research, teamwork, and technical.  These will be mailed to us along with judges’ comments.  We are very proud of our Gracious Professionalism Award, as it is an award given by the team's peers.

 

More good times . . .

Saturday morning was the Award Ceremony, and then we got to watch some of the High School Robotics competitions.  These robots cost approximately $20,000 to build, are huge, and lots of fun to see compete.  We cheered on the Waialua High School team! Saturday night F.I.R.S.T. hosted an amazing grand finale party in Centennial Park .  The fun included carnival games; rides; blow-up obstacle courses, bungee cord runs, boxing rings and slides; music; and an incredible twin fireworks display on both ends of the park.

 

Other fun team experiences included; seeing the Georgia Aquarium (whale sharks and Beluga whales), riding the subway daily (stalactites in the subway tunnels—only 25 years old!), going to the Braves vs. Mets Sunday afternoon baseball game (the kids ran the bases too!), seeing the Atlanta Civil War Cyclorama (painting of the Battle of Atlanta over 100 years old on linen weighing over 9000 pounds), touring the Georgia State Capitol (right before the immigration rally—bomb squads etc.!), strolling through the Coca Cola Museum (some of the stuff sold in other countries tastes gross!), and of course playing in the hotel pool and souvenir shopping! (*costs of extra activities were paid for by each individual and not with funds donated)

 

As you can see, we made the most of a wonderful opportunity!  Thanks again for joining the S.P.I.D.E.R.S. team and making our trip happen.

 

The SPIDERS would like to thank all of the corporate sponsors, as well as, the numerous individual sponsors that helped make this opportunity possible!

Very Important Spiders (V.I.S.)
Starn, O’toole, Marcus & Fisher

Happyface Spiders
Anonymous Donor

Spineybacked Spiders
Alvin Zane & Associates
Ken Marcus
Lane Hornfeck-McKay
Makai Ocean Engineering
Norwegian Cruise Line
Quality Travel
Waikiki Beach Properties

Banana Spiders
Tanimura & Associates, Inc.
Honolulu Realty, Inc.
Glenn & Claire Dang
Ryan & Christina Dang
Ken & Carole Takushi
Mark Matsushita
The Re Family
Elizabeth Arcalas
Isabelo & Sofia Arcalas

Service & Product Sponsors
APC Voice & Data Com.
Hilo Hattie
DaKine
Quality Travel