Clarkson University sponsored FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 229 attended the Montreal “Festival De Robotique” regional competition from February 28th through March 2nd at Olympic Stadium. FRC Team 229 consists of 21 high school students from the Massena and Norwood-Norfolk school districts mentored by 12 Clarkson University undergraduate students from a variety of majors. The three-day event included practice, qualification and double elimination matches between robot alliances competing in a game.
This year’s game “Destination Deep Space” is a space-themed game played by two alliances of three robots each competing to place hatch covers and rubber balls or "cargo" on rockets and cargo ships before returning to their habitat platform at the end of the timed match. The robots are designed and fabricated by students in a six-week timeframe, are remote-controlled, and utilize sensors and cameras to assist the drivers. 42 teams from the US and Canada competed in the event. Team 229 compiled a record of 12 wins and 4 losses and made it all the way to the Finals before losing the closely contested best of three final matches.
Due to their outstanding performance at the Montreal event, the team received a “Wild Card” bid to attend the FIRST Championships in Detroit from April 24th through the 28th. The team will also be in action this weekend at the FIRST CNY Regional Competition hosted by SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica, NY.
