With roots dating back to 1993, this twice-rookie team has left a legacy in the FIRST community throughout the years. This section is tribute to the years that have gone, and the different robots Team 811 has had the pleasure of creating and bringing to competitions.
2026 REBUILT℠
FIRST honored us by allowing BG to once again host the Week Zero Event. A total of 29 teams from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island got to play REBUILT on a real field before anyone else. When the worst problem involved traffic in the parking lots, it's safe to say a good time was had by all.
The Game
In REBUILT, robots collected Fuel (6" foam balls) and toss them into their Hub (a 6' tall hexagonal goal atop a 5' tall Tower), but only when their Hub was Active (alternating 25 second time periods). Accurate shooting was essential, because the Hub was surrounded on three sides by netting, but the net didn't feed into the Hub, so Fuel that hits the net would not be counted.
There was a Tower at each end of the field, and in the End Game robots could climb to different levels for extra points. In a fascinating twist, virtually no team built a climber. In the entire season, with thousands of teams playing at dozens of events, there were less than 100 robots that attempted climbs.
Our Robot
The team decided on a robot utilizing a swerve drive base, an over-the-bumper intake system, and a variation on the Kit Bot shooter (trying to increase its firing rate). The result was Suzie (or Suzy, no one ever definitively picked a name), which was very agile and very effective at loading the Fuel. Our CAD team truly did a spectacular effort of our designing a number of intake and shooter parts, which were then manufactured by machine shops, and our somewhat-understaffed Mech team did a great job of putting all the pieces together. Yet somehow the undersized ball storage, combined with the lower-than-expected throughput of the shooter, didn't translate into the scoring potential we wanted. Work was done on a climber, but was ultimately dropped due to calendar and space limitations.
Accomplishments
The Granite State District Event was a Week 2 event (for the first time in history!), and moved to Bedford NH. Suzy performed consistantly, and the Drivers did a great job, resulting a lot of scoring for our Alliances, but we still ended the Qualification Matches with a 4-8-0 record, settling for 24th place. We were a second-round pick by the #6 Alliance of Teams 58 (Riot Crew) and 319 (Big Bad Bob), and made it to Round 4 of the Double Elimination Bracket before losing.
Two weeks later we played in the UNH District Event in Durham. Building on what we learned at Granite State, we managed a record of 6-6-0 in the Qualification Matches, and found ourselves in 17th place. During Alliance Selection, we were the first-round pick of Alliance 8, and combined forces with Teams 9055 (Knights of Katadin) and 69 (Hyper). We knew that we'd face the #1 Alliance in the first match of the Playoffs, and after understandably losing we vowed to "win the rest". What we didn't see comng was that Suzie drove over a Fuel ball 45 seconds into the second match, which caused one of her bumpers to get stuck in a lifted position when she drove off. Twenty seconds later the Head Ref E-stopped Suzie, citing a violation of the bumper rules. Despite being comfortably in the lead up to that point, we lost the match, which meant our time at UNH ended. The team could only hope that the District Points earned at Granite State and UNH would be enough to get us into the District Championship Event in Springfiled MA.
Followed UNH, we watched the District Rankings webpage, and it looked initially like we would just fall short of getting into DCMP. As the days went by, we saw our chances brightening as the teams between us and an invitation to go started dropping off, due to financial constraints or robot failures. A week before the start of Springfield, a rep from NE-FIRST told us that the team above us on the list got the call, but they didn't think they could attend, so we would be next. Two anxiety-filled days later, we unfortunately heard that the other team accepted the invitation; our season was done.
2025 Reefscape℠
The Game
Reefscape was the Water Game that everyone in FIRST has been hoping for forever ... the only thing that was missing was the water! Robots had to add Coral (foot long pieces of 4" PVC pipe) to the Reef (a 12-sided "tree" of magenta pipe), remove the Algae (15" kickballs) from the Reef and deliver it to either the Processing Station (an opening in the side wall) or deposit it onto the Barge (a 6' tall bridge over half-court). In the end game, robots had to hang from either a shallow or deep Cage without touching the top of the Cage or the chain suspending it.
Our Robot
Our robot Mechaladon incorporated a number of reused components: Swerve drive pods taken from 2024's Mech-zo Forte, and an elevator system taken from 2019's Apollo 811. And while we initially incorporated arms (based on 2014's Incendio) to manipulate the Algae, those were removed after the Week 1 when we realized they didn't provide enough scoring value. The elevator gave us the ability to score Coral on any level of the Reef, but numerous technical issues resulting from its "less than perfect adaptation" gave us a lot of trouble (slow operation, frequent cable snags, etc.) And despite numerous design attempts, we never found a Cage climber that proved effective in the end game.
Accomplishments
For the first time in our history, we chose to attend three District Events:
At the Granite State District Event in Salem, we went 4-7-1, ending in 26th place.
Two weeks later we traveled down to the URI District Event in Kingston RI. In our first ever competition in Rhode Island, we came away with a 5-7-0 record in 24th place.
And two weeks after that, in the first event ever held in Vermont, we attended the UVM District Event in Burlington VT. Fairing much the same as the previous venues, we ended up 4-8-0 in 28th place.
2024 Crescendo℠
The Game
In Crescendo, robots collect Notes (10" foam torus-shaped hoops) from either the floor or from a Human Player at the Source. The Notes are then either placed into the Amp (a shallow window on the side of the field) or shot up into the Speaker (a 6' high goal with a downward facing opening). At the end of the match, the robots have to climb onto the Stage, a three-legged structure on each end of the field. Three lengths of chain hang from the Stage; the ends of each chain are attached to a leg, and the chain droops down loosely. The robots must suspend itself on the chain.
Our Robot
Our creation, Mech-zo Forte, once again incorporated Swerve drive (this time using pods from a better supplier, SDS Systems vs. AndyMark), and had an intake arm that swung out to pick up Notes from the ground. The Notes were then fed into the shooter mechanism, which could either fire them up into the Speaker or "dribble" them into the Amp. For the end game, Mech-zo Forte could reliably climb onto the chain for bonus points.
The Programming subteam truly outdid themselves, designing an Autonomous algorithm that could consistently retrieve and score four Notes into the Speaker in 15 seconds!
Accomplishments
Competing in the Granite State District Event in Salem, we ended in 25th place with a 5-7-1 record. While we weren't picked as an Alliance Partner, we ranked high enough to be listed as a Ready Reserve Team. When the Alliance #3 Captain Windham Windup robot broke down, we got to play in a single Elimination Match, but a loss quickly ended our play.
Mech-zo Forte did much better two weeks later at the North Shore District Event in Reading MA. Amassing a record of 9-3-0, we entered the Elimination Matches as the #7 Alliance Captain. Selecting as Alliance Partners Teams 1119 (Pup Cups from Walpole MA) and 4311 (Swampscott Currents from Swampscott MA), we made it to Round 4 of the Double Elimination Bracket before losing.
2023 Charged Up℠
Team 811 and BG were selected once again to host the 2023 Week Zero Event. We had 30 teams from New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, including a local team that was very far down the Wait List, but showed up anyway with their robot and a pre-written check for the entry fee "just in case another team couldn't make it." (They lucked out, another team didn't show, and they got to play.)
The Game
The game Charged Up requires robots to collect both Cones (foot-tall traffic cones) and Cubes (9.5" cube-shaped inflatables) and deposit them onto various levels of Nodes on the Grid: Cones have to be placed on vertical pipes, and Cubes have to be placed on shelves. Robots will have to extend out further to reach higher levels of Nodes. In the final moments of the match, robots have to try to balance on a tilting platform; bonus points increase the more robots that can balance.
Our Robot
Murphy's Claw was the first robot we ever built that incorporated Swerve drive (where each of the four drive wheels can rotate independently); this gave it remarkable agility, similar to a mechanum drivetrain but with greater speed. The upper part of the robot consisted of a tall "shoulder" tower, a team built extendable arm, and a pneumatically controlled claw. These parts could grab and deposit the game pieces to nearly all of the Nodes. A shaped funnel could accept a Cone dropped from the Human Player and position it so that the claw instantly engaged it. Friction problems caused the arm to extend much slower than anticipated, however, which limited our scoring abilities.
Accomplishments
A Nor'easter blizzard during the Granite State District Event in Salem shortened competition to a single day's worth of matches. We finished with a 3-5-0 record, and finished in 34th place. On the plus side, the judges chose us for the Gracious Professionalism Award.
After much tweaking of the various systems, three weeks later we traveled to the UNH District Event in Durham NH. Here we performed much better, finishing the Qualification Matches with an 8-4-0 record and sitting in 13th place. During the Alliance Selection, we advanced up the ranks as Alliances picked teams ahead of us, and we were ultimately placed as the #8 Alliance Captain. We chose as partners Teams 7674 (the RaiderBots out of Rochester NH) and 509 (Bedford NH's Red Storm), but were defeated in Round 3 of the Double Elimination Bracket.
2022 Rapid React℠
The Game
In a game sponsored by Boeing, Rapid React simulates the processing of cargo for transportation. Robots retrieve Cargo (9" diameter tennis balls) and deposit it in a two-tiered Hub, 2 points for the upper level (8' 8" tall) and 1 point for the lower level (3' 5" tall); robots can only hold two balls at once. At the end of the match, robots can earn bonus points by climbing on the Hanger. There are four parallel bars on the hanger (4', 5', 6' 4", and 7' 7" from the floor, worth 4, 6, 10, and 15 points, respectively), and robots can only reach the lowest two bars from the floor; they have to climb by themselves to the upper bars.
Our Robot
WALL-E represents our most CAD'd creation to date, with major components of the intake, storage, shooter, and climber initially designed on computer (using Onshape). The pneumatically extended intake pulled balls into the vertical storage space, and the Limelight guided shooter was able to accurately target the upper Hub. For the end game, a pair of pivoting arms (based on AndyMark products) allowed us to climb the Hanger, reaching the top bar several times. While a slower climber than other robots, the fact that many students contributed to the design is a high point for Team 811.
Accomplishments
The potential of all the systems on the robot was tempered by countless technical snags encountered during competition. Hardware, software, and even wiring issues contributed to a frustrating performance again and again. At the Granite State District Event in Salem, we went 4-8-0, and finished in 34th place. Despite this poor showing, we were awarded the Team Spirit Award.
Technical misfortunes continued to plague WALL-E, with a yet-unresolved bug taking out numerous SPARK controllers, forcing us to swap brushless motors for older brushed ones. Three weeks after GSD we took the robot to Shrewsbury High for the Central Mass District Event. Fairing only slightly better (5-7-0), we were selected to join Teams 3461 (Operation PEACCE) and 716 (Who'sCTEKS), but we were eliminated in the Quarter Finals.
2021 Infinite Recharge At Home℠
The COVID pandemic changed everything in the world, including FIRST Robotics. Recognizing that the 2020 season ended quite unexpectedly, and many teams hadn't even gotten a chance to compete before the lockdown, FIRST declared that the 2021 season would be a reprise of Infinite Recharge.
The Game
Starting with the same Power Cells from the 2020 game, the "At Home" version of the game had a series of mini challenges (autonomous driving, autonomous scoring, shooting for accuracy, shooting for distance, etc.) that teams could try to master at their home locations. Instead of meeting other teams at a competition venue, teams would record videos of their robots performing these challenges and upload those videos to the web. FIRST would bundle groups of teams together in virtual events, and scores for the events would be posted.
Our Robot
Since the the Millennium Cardinal's spiral cylinder suffered from the unanticipated problem of having the Power Cells clog, we started Build Season trying to figure out a better plan. Other teams successfully employed a carousel storage system, so we designed an equivalent: an almost unchanged intake delivered the balls to a flat disk drilled with landing holes, and a pneumatic kicker lifted the balls to a redesigned shooter.
Despite the fact that there was no Control Panel or Generator Switch in the At Home version, we left the telescoping arm intact, in the hopes that post season events might take place later in the year.
Accomplishments
The year started on a very positive note, as Team 811 was named the Winner of the (virtual) 2020 NH Governor's Cup event.
Managing Build Season while under COVID restrictions proved a bigger challenge than anyone could have predicted. While we did manage to affect the desired changes to the robot (now renamed IG-811, after another droid in the Star Wars universe), some of the required details for participation in Infinite Recharge At Home were missed. Unfortunately, when we were preparing to upload the video submissions to FIRST, we discovered that necessary documentation that should have been uploaded weeks earlier was overlooked and not submitted. As a result, we were unable to compete even virtually, and our season unceremoniously ended early.
2020 Infinite Recharge℠
Just prior to the start of the school year, FIRST informed us that BG would once again be the venue for the Week Zero Event. Hosting 28 teams from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and even Canada, we put on a show that hopefully impressed enough people to let us do this more often.
The Game
Infinite Recharge is a Star Wars themed game where robots have to pick up and score Power Cells (7" foam balls) into the Power Port (1 point in the Bottom Port 2' off the floor, 2 points in the Outer Port 8' off the floor, and 3 points in the Inner Port, a 13" opening in the back of the Outer Port). Robots can also earn points by spinning a Control Panel wheel (a 32" disk horizontally mounted on a platform 30" above the floor above the Trench). In the end game, bonus points are awarded to teams that hang from the pivoting Generator Switch (4'-6.5' off the floor), with extra points awarded if the Generator Switch is close to level at the end.
Our Robot
The Millennium Cardinal borrowed a concept from our 2009 robot, using a Lexan cylinder with a string spiral to store the Power Cells. At the end of the spiral was a powerful shooter that fired the balls nearly vertically from the base of the Power Port, eliminating the need to aim. A telescoping arm (motivated by using an iGus Power Chain) was added to both spin the Control Panel and raise a hook, which would climb the Generator Switch. However, since 2020 marked the first year without a Bag Day, we didn't feel the pressure to finish on time as in previous years, and we arrived at competition without the arm fully functional.
Accomplishments
At GSD (held again at Salem High School), the Millennium Cardinal was hindered at times by the ball intake and storage systems. It seemed that the excessively "squishy" balls tended to get clogged in the spiral often, which would prevent fast delivery to the shooter. Much time during matches was spent reversing the agitator motor to free the clogs, our scoring was less than optimal, and we ended GSD with a 5-7-0 record. The good news is that our unique design (and awesome LEDs) attracted the attention of the judges, who bestowed the Xerox Creativity Award to Team 811. Additionally, team members managed to install the Control Panel spinner, which we were able to test before the end of the event.
The 2020 FRC season was unfortunately victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all competitions worldwide were cancelled by Week 3. As our second event at WPI was scheduled for Week 5, our season (like all FIRST teams') was over. A month later FIRST announced that the 2021 season would be a reboot of Infinite Recharge, which means we will be able to see the Millennium Cardinal perform to its fullest potential.
2019 Destination: Deep Space℠
The Game
Destination: Deep Space celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1969 manned lunar landing. In this game, Alliances had to secure hatches (19" diameter Lexan discs) to their Rocket and Cargo Carriers, load Cargo (13" diameter playground kickballs) into the same, and climb to different levels of the Habitat (3", 6", and 13" steps). Instead of an Autonomous Mode period, the teams had to handle a Sandstorm, where their vision was blocked by a curtain for the first 15 seconds of each match.
Our Robot
Apollo 811 was designed first and foremost to effectively deliver the Hatches and Cargo to both the Carrier and the Rocket (the highest openings in the Rocket were 7' tall!), using a smoothly operating elevator system. As a team we decided to try to implement ramps that would allow our Alliance Partners to easily climb to Tier 2; having two teams on Tier 2 and us on Tier 1 would earn a Ranking Point. Unfortunately, we found at Week Zero that few robots would be narrow enough to negotiate our ramps, so we tried a last-minute design change to add a climber between our GSD and UNH events.
Accomplishments
GSD this year was held at Salem High School, and Apollo 811 performed extremely well. Finishing the Qualification Matches with a 7-5 record in 7th place, we were the Captain of the #4 Alliance, and pared up with Teams 1729 (Inconceivable) and 7907 (Spartan Robotics). Unfortunately we dropped Comms during our first Quarter Finals match, and lost the second in a close match.
Realizing the value of a climber, we set out to try to shoe-horn something into our existing creation. We worked for the three weeks between events on the design, and came up with a two part system. (Arms would lift one side of the robot up the 19" from Tier 1 to Tier 3, and legs with passive rollers would lift the other side; powered wheels on the ends of the arms would then pull the robot onto Tier 3.) These components were then added during the six hours of Open Bag Time during the week prior to the UNH District Event. The effort took a bit longer than anticipated, and very little test time remained before the robot had to be sealed in its bag again.
We approached UNH with the desire to finish testing of the Climber, hoping to do at least as well we did at GSD. Unfortunately, we found that the forces required by the Arms to push down were greater than the strength of the materials we used, and between flexing hex shaft, warping Lexan tables and skipping chains, the climber wasn't functional. Adding to our misery was a series of unfortunate "out of our control" circumstances during Qualification Matches (Alliance Partners would go dead during matches, fail to connect with the Field and never left the Habitat, fell off of Tier 3, or in one heartbreaking case, never showed up because the team went home early!). We ended with a 4-8 record, never got higher than 32nd place (out of 40 teams), and weren't picked during Alliance Selection. Our season ended at UNH.
2018 FIRST POWER UP℠
The Game
In FIRST Power Up, teams and their robots are trapped in a video game. Robots had to gather Power Cubes (milk crates wrapped in fabric) and place them on three balance scales; points were awarded for the total time that the scales tipped in an Alliance's favor. Cubes could also be passed into the Player Station for Power Ups, and bonus points were awarded if robots could climb the tallest scale, located at mid-field.
Our Robot
CubeBert incorporated a pneumatic claw mounted to a "double reverse four-bar" assembly, and was arguably the most complex mechanism Team 811 ever constructed. Described as "intimidating" by other teams, CubeBert could pick up a cube and unfold from less than four feet to almost ten feet tall, and place the cube on the highest scale.
To achieve this design, we designed a custom 140:1 gearbox that allowed a pair of CIM motors to lift the arms and claw. When teeth on the gears started snapping, one of our mentors heat treated and hardened them in his shop.
Accomplishments
Filled with enthusiasm after making it to the Quarter Finals at Week Zero in Bedford, the team and CubeBert performed admirably at GSD in Windham. After reaching 7th place with a 9-3 record in the Qualification Matches, we were the captain of the #4 Alliance. Paired with Teams 138 (Entropy) and 3930 (SMART), we swept through the Quarter Finals before losing the Semi Final rubber match. Impressed with our robot, the judges bestowed on us the Xerox Creativity Award.
Traveling to a new venue, we attended the North Shore event at Reading High School. The Qualifiers were harder for us this time, going 6-6 and ending in 14th place, but this was good enough to be invited into the #5 Alliance with Teams 5735 (Control Freaks) and 6763 (Fusion). Again, we made it into the Semi Final matches before losing, but took home the FCA Team Spirit Award.
Our District Ranking was strong enough to send us to the NE District Championship Event at Boston University. Two hours before the start of the matches, however, someone noticed that a bearing in the custom gearbox had blown, and our cube lifter was not functional. After a heroic effort by Mech, the gearbox was repaired, and we went on to a 6-6 record. While respectable, we were in effect one win short of earning a ticket to the World Championship Event in Detroit.
2017 FIRST STEAMworks℠
The biggest news of the 2017 season: Team 811 was selected to host the Week Zero event! February 15th saw 29 teams come to BG, with the STEAMworks field in the Gym and the pits in the Field House. As far as we can tell, a good time was had by all, and we're quietly hopeful for a repeat engagement next year.
The Game
In STEAMworks, a game based loosely on the steam punk theme, robots had to collect Fuel (5" Wiffle balls) and throw them into Boilers, transport 11" plastic Gears to the Airships (huge structures at either end of the field), and then climb up a 1" diameter rope. Pilots aboard the Airships used the Gears to engage Rotors, marking the first time that Human Players were on the playing field.
Our Robot
We initially designed Sisyphus with an emphasis on the Fuel, confident that we could design an accurate ball thrower, but as Build Season progressed this proved more difficult than anticipated. Multiple iterations of a Gear handler were designed and redesigned, with a total replacement Gear picker getting installed between our two District Events. The rope climber was considered the easiest piece, and was added at the end of Build Season
Accomplishments
At Week Zero, we learned that our focus on a ball shooter was not going to help us in competition: we simply couldn't accurately deposit large numbers of Fuel into the Boiler. In our remaining days of Build Season, part of the team worked on a climber, part worked on improving our Gear manipulation, and part continued tweaking the shooter.
Windham High hosted GSD again, and Sisyphus sported a new passive Gear handler and a climber. Unfortunately the climber suffered unexpected problems, in the form of a planetary gearbox failure, which cost us a number of matches. We ended the event with a 3-8-0 record, but took home the Xerox Creativity Award.
Before our second event, the Southern NH District Event held at Bedford High, we replaced the passive Gear handler with an active mechanism that allowed us to pick Gears up from the floor. This gave us a much more competitive robot, and we would have won the majority of our matches if the climber behaved better. The planetary gearbox failed multiple times; post mortem analysis showed that our design of the rope spindle was actually pulling the output shaft from the gearbox. Without the climber, we couldn't do better than a 3-8-1 record, and our competition season was over.
2016 FIRST StrongHold℠
The Game
STRONGHOLD was based on a medieval theme, requiring robots to overcome defenses, hurl 10" foam ball "Boulders" at the opponent's tower, and Capture their Tower. Each Castle was protected by five Outer Defenses, and each alliance could decide the specific defense for each of three spots from a menu of choices. (One defense, the Low Bar, was constant, and the remaining defense was selected by the audience.) Crossing a Defense twice would damage it; damaging four Defenses would breach the Outer Defenses. Scoring enough Boulders in the opponent's Tower will Weaken it, and alliances that Surround and optionally Scale the Weakened Tower will Capture the Tower. Ranking Points are awarded for match wins (based on points, and also for Breaching Defenses and Capturing Towers.
Our Robot
Sir Lancebot was designed to deftly pick up and hurl the Boulders, cross most of the Outer Defenses, and Scale the Tower. We used a 6-wheel design with 8" wheels, figuring it would give us the most flexibility on the defenses. Vision targeting was a goal, but didn't work as well as anticipated.
Accomplishments
GSD was held this year at Windham High, and while we made it to the Elimination Rounds we were defeated in the Quarter Finals. Our spirits were raised, however, when we were awarded the Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award for the fifth time!
Our second District Event was at Boston University. Finishing the Qualifier Rounds again with a 6-6-0 record, we did slightly better by making it to the Semi Finals before being eliminated. The team was quite surprised later that day when we won the Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers Entrepreneurship Award.
For the third year in a row we were invited to the New England Championship Event, held in the XL Center in Hartford CT. We struggled mightily at this event, achieving a disappointing 4-8-0 record, and we were done for the year.
The Game
Recycle Rush involved making stacks of plastic storage crates (the kind that the Kits of Pars arrive in), topped with RubberMade recycling containers, into which a pool noodle can be inserted for extra points. Unlike all games in recent years, the Red and Blue Alliances never interacted -- the field was divided by a 6" tall step that couldn't be crossed. As a result, wins and losses didn't matter, only the Alliance's individual scores.
Our Robot
Again using Mechanum wheels, we designed INJART ("It's Not Just A Robot Thing!") with a giant claw to lift the recycling containers, and a pair of threaded rod-driven elevators to lift the totes from either side. As a result, we could easily build stacks of 2 or 3 totes, or even 4 with some planning.
Accomplishments
GSD was again at Nashua High, and again we made it to the Elimination Rounds. This year, however, we made it almost all the way before being eliminated, taking home the GSD Finalist Trophy. To our further delight, the judges awarded us the Engineering Inspiration Award!
Our second District Event was at UNH-Durham. We performed slightly better in the Qualifier Rounds than we did at GSD, and were again in the Elimination Rounds. We made it only to the Quarter Finals before being eliminated, but in a strange deja vu moment, we were awarded a second Engineering Inspiration Award! A day later however we received word that the judges goofed, and were not supposed to give us a second E.I. Award. The did allow us to keep the points associated with the award, however, which helped us get to the New England Championships, held at WPI.
While our performance at the NE-CMP was lackluster at best, we did manage to just sneak into the "Qualified for St. Louis" list. Another 22 hour bus ride (this time with Team 172, "Northern Force") and while we didn't do as well we'd hoped, a good time was had by all.
The 2014 season introduced the District Model to the 200+ teams in New England. For Team 811 it meant the end of the Granite State Regional at the Verizon, but it was replaced with TWO District Events and the possibility of the New England Regional Championship!
The Game
"Aerial Assist" required robots to move 2' diameter yoga balls across the field and into goals. Extra points were earned by robots passing the ball between alliance members, tossing the ball over a 6' high truss at mid-court, and catching the tossed ball on the fly. (Unique this year, there was no "end game".)
Our Robot
Borrowing some concepts from 2008 robots, we constructed Incendio, an incredibly agile robot that used Mechanum wheels for incredible maneuverability, a pair of tennis racquet-like arms to grab and catch the ball, and a powerful catapult controlled by an awesome winch clutch.
Accomplishments
Incendio proved as amazing as we hoped, helping us reach the Granite State District Event Quarter Finals at Nashua High. Our disappointment quickly gave way to elation, as we were awarded the Chairman's Award at GSD, becoming the first team to ever earn a slot at the New England Regional Championship Event
We traveled to WPI for our second District Event, where we continued our winning streak. Pushing Incendio, our Drive Team and our Pit Crew to new limits (the students replaced a severed arm unaided by mentors within the 6 minute "fix-it" window!), we made it to the third match of the Finals Match. Although our Alliance was strong (Teams 2648 "Infinite Loop" and 5122 "The RoboTies"), and regularly scored well in autonomous mode (including a 75-point three shot, all Hot Goal performance), none of our robots scored autonomously in that last match. We lost the match by just 13 points, and had to settle for District Event Finalist.
At the New England Championship Event at Boston University, we again performed well enough to enter the Elimination Matches. After winning the Quarter Finals, however, our catapult clutch seized during the first match of the Semi Finals, and we withdrew ourselves to give our Alliance a chance to win. But like GSD, disappointment was brief, as we were awarded the Regional Chairman's Award, and a ticket to St. Louis!
The trip to the World Championships involved a 22-hour chartered bus ride (with our newest best friends Teams 319 "Big Bad Bob" and 4925 "The Resistance"). When competitions involve both some of the best teams in the world AND a number of rookie teams, the results can be erratic, and we ended with a mere 3-7 record.
2013 proved to be a heartbreaking year on many fronts. Early in the school year, St. Joseph Hospital notified us that this would be the last year we would get to use their facilities for our FIRSTbase. Additionally, our FIRSTbase would be downsized considerably for the year. We had to say goodbye to the church and the "west half" of FIRSTbase immediately, meaning we had to squeeze everything from Mech, the wood shop, and the storage closet into our smaller workspace.
The Game
The 2014 game of "Ultimate Ascent℠" could really have been called "Frisbees and Monkey Bars", as robots were tasked with shooting Frisbees into goal zones to earn points. Additionally, robots were challenged with being able to climb a 3-tiered pyramid to earn points.
Our Robot
At first, we tried to design a Frisbee thrower, but none of our prototypes panned out. As a team, we decided to switch gears and focus on building a climbing robot using an agile climbing system involving a pair of arms with movable double hooks.
Accomplishments
At the unofficial Week Zero competition, we climbed the tower all 7 of 7 attempts, and were actively scouted by other teams for potential alliances at the official FIRST competitions.
To our dismay, however, we discovered that our robot design violated a "maximum number of motors" rule as we were uncrating at the Granite State Regional Competition. While our team rallied together to spend many frantic hours that day (and night) trying to replace the offending motor, the result was a less-than-functional climbing robot and a last place finish.
The Game
Playfully known as "Basketballs and Teeter-totters", this game involved shooting hoops and balancing on see-saws (a.k.a. bridges).
Our Robot
Continuing the trend of recent years, our robot GROM (doesn’t stand for anything special) was fast, agile, and smart. It had a powerful ball thrower mounted to a steerable turret, and when combined with a mounted camera produced incredibly accurate autonomous shots. Bolstered by a strong finish at the Week Zero event at Nashua High, the programming team added some additional tricks to the autonomous code, such as tilting the bridge to dump the unused balls onto our side of the field.
Accomplishments
At the Granite State Regional Event, we placed 29 out of 50 teams with a 5-7-0 record. We were chosen to be an alliance with Team 61, "The Intimidators", and Team 138, "Entropy". We were eliminated in the quarterfinals. However, our work on the autonomous actions of our robot was recognized by the judges, and Team 811 earned the Delphi Excellence in Engineering Award.
2011 was one of our most successful years ever. Just prior to Kick-Off, Team 811 was invited by FIRST to create the 2011 "Map of FIRST", an informative display of the locations of all the teams and competitions for the year. The entire team got to travel to the Kick-Off Broadcast in Manchester to present the map to Dean Kamen, and as an added bonus we got to meet hip-hop star Will.i.am.
The Game
The 2011 game was Logo Motion, where robots had to hang triangle, circle and square inner tubes to form the FIRST Logo. Additionally, at the end of the match each robot could deploy a mini-bot to climb a ten foot pole for bonus points.
Our Robot
Realizing the similarity to Rack 'N' Roll, Team 811 started with Sparky’s design, keeping the ideas that worked, discarding those that didn't, and improving everything else. The result was the TARDIS, which (of course) carried the minibot named the Doctor. This highly robust and effective robot, coupled with outstanding driving by the students, performed better than any robot we’ve ever built.
Accomplishments
At Week Zero (a scrimmage event held the weekend before ship day), we were 5-2 and the #2 seed, getting to the Finals before losing.
At GSR we were 8-2 and again the #2 seed. Joining forces with Teams 1058 (the PVC Pirates of Londonderry, NH) and 3074 (New School Robotics from Kennebunk, ME), we quickly won the Quarter-Finals before being beaten in the Semi-Finals.
We earned a spot at the 2011 FIRST championship in St. Louis, MO. Unfortunately, we only won four of ten matches.
The Game
In 2010 the game was Breakaway, which could be described as "soccer with speed bumps". Robots had to get regulation soccer balls into corner goals, but straddling, picking up, or in any way carrying balls was illegal. Furthermore, the playing field was divided into thirds by foot-tall bumps, so robots had to kick the balls from place to place. Finally, bonus point would go to teams that could hang from towers located in the middle of the field at the end of the match.
Our Robot
Team 811 designed Calctro (Latin for "I kick"), which had wheels on stilts (to climb over the bumps), a mechanical kicking mechanism, and a strong hook on an arm to hang from the tower.
Accomplishments
At GSR we went 6-3-1, setting team records for most wins and fewest losses, and hung from the tower five times.
With the close of GSR, the team wasn’t quite ready to call it quits, so we looked for something else to occupy our time. As a very "non-robot" activity, we decided to learn some woodworking skills by building a piece of furniture to be auctioned off at the BG Gala. We chose a colonial pie safe from the New Yankee Workshop collection, and even managed to get Mr. Norm Abrams to come to FIRSTbase to discuss craftsmanship old and new.
The Game
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, FIRST introduced the game Lunacy, where robots had to collect Orbit Balls and deposit them into trailers pulled by other robots. For the FIRST time since 1992, the playing field wasn’t carpet, but a slick plastic material called Regolith; combined with the mandatory hard plastic wheels, this extremely low friction environment was meant to simulate the low gravity of the moon.
Our Robot
Faced with these daunting technical challenges, Team 811 built the Noisy Cricket (named because the high-pitched squeal of the thrower was reminiscent of the weapon in "Men In Black"). NC featured an efficient grabber that fed the orbit balls into a cylinder (made of curved Lexan) containing a spiral ramp (made of string), and at the top of the spiral a high-speed spinning wheel kicked the balls out. We intended the cylinder to rotate, allowing a camera to track the opponent trailers, and we actually made our own lazy susan out of Lexan.
Unfortunately we found that the hits the robot took in competition would jar many of the marbles we used as bearings loose, costing us penalty points. To prevent the potential penalty points, we removed all of the marbles and locked the cylinder in place. Without the turret, the high-speed throwing wheel had us shooting too far away for accuracy. Complicating the tournament, the hard plastic wheels sliding on the plastic surface meant static discharge was a serious issue, as many robots regularly lost communications.
Accomplishments
We attended the Granite State Regional and finished with a 3-5-0 record. Despite the losses, Noisy Cricket received won the Xerox Creativity Award for its design.
Prior to heading to the Championships in Atlanta, our students added a shop-made gearbox to slow the thrower to a reasonable speed, allowing us to dump Orbit Balls into nearby trailers. At the competition, we fared slightly better with a 3-3-1 record, placing us 48th out of 87 teams.
The Game
In 2008 the game was Overdrive, where robots had to drive NASCAR-style ("go fast, turn left") around the field while carrying 40-inch diameter exercise balls. These "trackballs" began on a 6½ foot high overpass, and extra points were awarded if the trackballs passed over this bridge as they were driven around the track; bonus points were awarded if the balls were returned to the overpass at the end of the match.
Our Robot
To play Overdrive, we constructed a two-tiered robot, capable of lifting the trackballs over the overpass. This mechanism, half funicular and half elevator, ultimately lead to the naming of the robot Ella-Vader (Darth’s sister). Ella used an interesting suction-based system to grab onto the 40" diameter trackballs, which were then either driven at speed around the track or lifted (first up and back on the funicular, then higher up via the elevator) up and over the overpass. While good in theory, the mechanism proved too slow in play, so we generally tried to push the trackballs around, or allowed our alliance partners to carry them.
Competition
That year, we only attended one competition: Granite State Regional Event, where Ella-Vader ended up with a 3-5-1 record. Also, Team 811 won our third Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award.
The Game
For 2007, the FIRST game, Rack \'n Roll, required robots to hang inner tubes on a three-tiered eight-sided "tree" in the middle of the field. Bonus points would be awarded if a robot could climb on another at the end of the match.
Our Robot
We created Sparky, which was named after an unfortunate incident during construction when sparks erupted from the VICs controlling two faulty motors. Leveraging off things learned from past robots, Sparky had an articulated arm, omni-wheel steering, and a low center of gravity. The arm/wrist/claw combination proved a tad difficult to maneuver during competition, but Sparky was still able to hang tubes consistently.
Accomplishments
The most impressive moment in the Sparky's young life came when it performed an autonomous hang of a Keeper ring, in front of the entire Verizon audience, just after the opening ceremonies Saturday morning. We ended GSR with a 4-4-1 record, placing 22nd out of 46 teams. In addition, Team 811 also won the Johnson & Johnson Sportsmanship Award.
Traveling to Atlanta for the Championship Competition, we earned a 4-3-0 record, and finished a very respectable 26th out of 86 teams. This led to us being invited into the Newton Division Quarter Finals by Team 247, "Da Bears" of Berkley, MI.
The Game
The 2006 season saw the creation of a robot affectionately dubbed MISTT (which stood for "Mr. I's Stupid Throwing Thing"). MISTT participated in Aim High, a variation of basketball using 7"; foam poof balls and 3' diameter goals high over the drivers station. In addition, robots could not extend over 5’ tall (meaning they had to "shoot" balls into the goal), and bonus points went to teams whose robot could climb a steep ramp to a platform at the end.
Our Robot
MISTT represented a number of idea improvements and innovations, such as the use of a collaborative design process (to garner input from all students), the Kit-Of-Parts drive train and chassis frame, and omni-wheels (instead of skid steering) for amazing agility. The result was an almost entirely student designed and built robot that could pick up, store, dump and shoot a large number of balls, score points autonomously, climb the ramp with ease, and (due to its very low center of gravity) right itself from all but the most extreme tips.
In competition, we found that the ball shooter was very powerful, but unfortunately lacked a software targeting system to make it extremely accurate. As a result we found we could score more points by simply dumping balls into the low 1-point goal, rather than shoot them inaccurately at the high 3-point goal.
Accomplishments
Unlike previous years, this year we only went to the Granite State Regional event in Manchester, NH. MISTT went 5-4-0 in competition, placed 19th out of 51. Also, we won the GSR Website Excellence Award.
The Game
The game for the 2005 season was called Triple Play, and introduced the current game scheme of three-on-three play. Triple Play required robots to gather red or blue tetras (tetrahedrons made of 1½" PVC pipe) and stack them atop large tetrahedrons (anywhere from 6' – 8' tall).
Our Robot
Team 811 constructed ARCTAN (no, it doesn’t stand for anything), which was our FIRST attempt at both an articulated arm and a pneumatic-based robot. Unfortunately it suffered from many design problems, not the least of which was an excessively high center of gravity, which meant it could tip over extremely easily.
Accomplishments
At the Granite State Regionals, while we did not do as well as we hoped (5-4-0), we did win the GSR Imagery Award. This award recognized our efforts to incorporate our team’s number and logo into the aesthetic design of the robot, thus "branding" the robot as ours.
At the Championship Competition in Atlanta, GA, the bad news is that we only won one of our seven matches. The good news, on the other hand, is that we attended a presentation by Team 365 ("MOE") on how to run a Collaborative Design Process over the first weekend of Build Season. This became our standard practice, and our robots have gotten better ever since.
Team 811 reached unprecedented heights in 2004, when we built Red Streak 2 to play FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar.
The Game
Robots had to collect inflated kick-balls and push them to the human players, who would throw over the walls into scoring goals. In addition, a huge bonus was awarded to robots who could hang from a 10' high bar at the end of the match.
Our Robot
Red Streak 2 couldn’t move balls all that well, but using a complex multi-segment extendable boom, it could lift a grappling hook almost 15' up and lift itself several feet off the ground.
Accomplishments
Despite a mediocre 3-5-0 performance in Manchester (34th out of 51 teams), our students demonstrated to the judges that we live the ideals of FIRST, and were awarded the highest honor of a FIRST competition, the coveted Chairman’s Award.
Buoyed by this success, we traveled to the Championship Competition in Atlanta, where students and mentors collaborated to fix the problems that dogged us in Manchester. As a result, we finished the qualifying rounds in 7th place with a 5-1-1 record. For the FIRST time ever, WE picked alliance partners, and chose Teams 176 (Aces High from Windsor Locks, CT) and 322 (Team FIRE from Flint, MI). This alliance easily won the Quarter Finals (2-0). After losing the first match of the Semi-Finals, we decisively won the next two matches, and we moved to the Newton Division Finals. Battling fiercely for the chance to go to the Einstein field, we were 1-1 before losing a heartbreaking last match, taking home the Newton Division Finalist trophy.
The Game
For 2002, we built an interesting robot named Red Streak to play Stack Attack. This game required robots to collect and stack plastic storage bins.
Our Robot
Red Streak was swift and nimble, and incorporated a four-bar lift to stack the bins. Unfortunately, due to its three-wheel design, Red Streak tended to be slightly unstable on the playing field’s ramps.
Accomplishments
During the Granite State Regional Competition in Manchester NH, Red Streak toppled several times, including twice in single match. Despite the 4-6-0 record, however, our students displayed an indomitable spirit, and continued cheering in the face of these disasters. In recognition of this enthusiasm, we were awarded the Johnson & Johnson Sportsmanship Award.
We also travelled to Houston, TX for the Championship Competition, where the various playing fields were in the Reliant Stadium, and the pits were in the Astrodome! After going 4-3-0 in the preliminaries, and we were chosen as an alliance partner by the 4th seed Team 587 of Hillsborough, NC. Despite winning the match we played, we were eliminated in the Quarter Finals.
In 2002, Team 811 was formed through the significant efforts BG parents Dave Martinez and Tom Moran, and BG teacher Alfred Thompson. St. Joseph’s Hospital gave us the use of the ground floor of the NH Catholic Charities Building, and MIT Lincoln Laboratories and Nypro provided us with financial sponsorship, used tools, and surplus furniture. From these lowly beginnings, these "second-time rookies" built ARC (the Amazing Robotic Cardinal) in 2002 to play Zone Zeal, and competed in both the UTC Regional Competition in New Haven, CT and the Championship Competition at EPCOT in Florida.
In 1994 the BG team built a robot named "Paragon" to play in the game Tower Power. The task was to pick up soccer balls and put them into a goal 5 feet off the ground. Forty-three other teams (including a team from Kingston Jamaica) played in the Championship Competition at Nashua High School. Paragon could collect the balls into a bin, and then lift the bin over its head and dump them into the goal. The team made it to the semi-finals before being bested by Sunny Delight of Ohio (the ultimate winner of the competition). Unfortunately for us, financial hard times struck our sponsor, and the team folded.
Bishop Guertin High School initially fielded a FIRST Robotics team back in 1993, with the support of local firms Ingersol-Rand and Ferrofluidics. Playing the game Rug Rage on a carpeted 16’ x 40’ field, our robot "The Guertin Grabber" had to move small water-filled and large air-filled balls into a scoring area. In that second year of FIRST Robotics Competitions, there were a total of 25 teams nationwide, and the Championship Competition was actually held in the Bishop Guertin gymnasium. More than 2500 cheering fans packed the gym, with overflow crowds watching on big-screen TVs in the locker rooms. (The cafeteria was used as the pit area.) In addition, WBZ-TI sports director Bob Lobel emceed the event, and a crew from the ABC-TV program "20/20" filmed the competition and broadcast it nationally. In an outstanding performance for a rookie team, BG finished in 5th place overall.