Griffins present to ASL’s Board of Trustees

Today, the senior members of the team (sans Jamie who is sadly trapped in the States due to airplane difficulties) gave a presentation to ASL’s Board of Trustees regarding the team’s progress over the past five years and our personal experiences. 

A senior’s note: 

This spring is a very bitter-sweet time of year for us since it will mark our last year on the team, the end of many long nights in QK’s work room and some of our favorite memories of high school. 

We will all forevermore be Griffins.

Jamie ('10), Max ('10) and Conor ('11)

Not too shabby…

Well, we can’t really say that we are satisfied with the results in Boston, but I’d say we made a respectable showing.  Not only did we win the AutoDesk Design Award for Max’s excellent animation, but we got a “Professionalism Award” from Team 61, which is a nice touch.

I’d say we did our sponsors proud.  We got lots of positive comments from people about our jerseys, and some shout outs to Inmarsat as our front-of-shirt sponsor.  One guy said “Hey, Inmarsat!  I use about $5000 of their service a month!”  I hope we can get them back with us next year…

We had a rough first day, fighting through a string of unfortunate mechanical and programming issues.  At the end of Friday, we were an embarrassing 49 out of 53 teams.  Everything came together on Saturday, and our excellent play in our last three matches vaulted us up to as high as 22, before we finished at 30.  Here is a video of our best match.  If our bot was working like this on Friday…

Cheering during the final match on the sidelines

Team 1884 wins Animation Award

Team 1884 was awarded Boston Regional’s 2010 Award for Excellence in Design, sponsored by Autodesk. After three years of working on animations, Max, helped by George, was largely responsible for our team receiving this prestigious award.

Click here to see the award-winning animation, or visit our Media page for more photos and videos.

High fiving the judges as we accept the animation award

Day 1 (Practice Day): Inspecting the Robot and Initial Scouting

Today signaled our first visit to the Agganis Arena at Boston University, where the Boston Regional will be taking place this year. Two students and a supervisor left early to uncrate the robot and set everything in place for the rest of the team, who would arrive later in the morning. After our inspection and a talk with some officials, we were able to determine that there was no damage to the robot after the forklift incident.

Robots on the field during practice rounds in the Agganis Arena (Boston University)

The moment we arrived, we split into groups and began our various tasks. The pit team immediately began repairing and cleaning the robot. The scouting team dutifully observed and took careful notes on each team’s performance. With Dr. Jan’s thoroughly calculated spreadsheet, we aim to project the most accurate representation of the best combination of teams for later in the competition.

Griffins involved with fixing up the robot, standing around the robot

Although we had some bad luck with the programs and finding an efficient system of cooperation, we were able to overcome these challenges with hard work and effort. The day ended with some time for ourselves, which we spent exploring the area and choosing our own meals.

Sofia and Lisa try to form "1884" with their hands

Happy Birthday Conor!

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY CONOR!!!

Today is second-year Griffin, Conor’s birthday! A very valuable and respected member of the team, Conor, as of 5 PM is 17 years old! On behalf of the team, we wish you an amazing birthday and we love you!

Conor: Face of Robotics