FIRST Team 2168

The "Swan" That Did

2012-02-23T23:40:49+00:00

In the spirit of FIRST and Coopertition, this build season was truly unique for the Aluminum Falcons. Normally rivals, Fitch and New London High School collaborated for the Rebound Rumble season. Similar to what the FIRST Team 236 Techo Ticks did for us years ago we did for rookie FIRST Team 3719 STEM Whalers this year. For the last six weeks we mentored the STEM Whalers and even assisted them in building and coding their robot.

Reigning from New London's Technology Magnet School and St. Thomas More, FIRST Team 3719 was formed last year. They are led by engineering education teacher, Michael Brennan, who was inspired to start a FIRST team after being involved with the U.S. Coast Guard's team.

Suffield Shakedown 2012

2012-02-19T10:37:05+00:00

On Febuary 18th, 2012 FIRST Team 2168 traveled to Suffield, CT to compete in Aces High 176 Suffield Shakedown. For 11 years, this scrimmage has given teams a chance to test their robots the weekend before bag-and-tag day. This gives teams an opportunity to see how the new game is played, what they should improve in their robots, and how competitive other FIRST teams may be this season. We proved by our showing at the Shakedown we were one of those competitive teams. Impressive designs were seen throughout the entering teams pitting us against robots such as the 1991 Dragons and 175 Buzz Robotics. Aluma Fett soared during this competition displaying an impressive autonomous mode and being capable of shooting into the highest basket. We made it into eliminations, semi-finals, finals, and eventually became Suffield Shakedown's 2012 champions. Being the first competition win for the Aluminum Falcons this was a monumental experience for the entire team. Even though the hard work of our students and mentors for the past six weeks led to this point, we could not have done it without our alliance partners: FIRST Team 176 Aces High and 716 Who'sCTEKS.

The Aluminum Falcons also came home with four trophies: Most Impressive Autonomous, Highest Score, 1st place Alliance, and the Dave Leenhout's Award. The Dave Leenhout's award was started by head coach Dave Leenhout who originally started Aces High Robotics. It is given to the student-nominated mentor who displays the vision, dedication, and inspiration towards spreading FIRST. Our head coach Brian Chidley received this award for his tireless and often underappreciated work towards keeping the Aluminum Falcons soaring. Click here to view our winning essay

This was a great competition for our team and an amazing way to start of the season, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have a few days to perfect our design before the dreaded bag-and-tag day. If today was any indication of how we would do this season, Rebound Rumble may be an explosive season for FIRST Team 2168 the Aluminum Falcons.

"A BIG Congratulations to the Aluminum Falcons for winning Suffield Shakedown Championship and Autonomous Award... And a special congratulations to Mr. Chidley.. Mr. Brian Chidley... Where is he? Go get Mr. Chidley..For winning the Dave Leenhouts Mentorship Award!"-Paul Kelleher (USN)

"Way to go, Aluminum Falcons! And way to go, Mr. Chidley! Keep up the good work!"-Jimmy Cook

"You guys are more winning than Charlie Sheen. Congratulations Team and Mr. Chidley! Hope I can go to one of your events (World Championships amIright?)"- Dominick Twitty (2011 Alumni)

"Proud mentor tonight. FRC2168 wins Suffield Shakedown with FRC176 and FRC716, good work everyone"- Justin Foss (Lead Mechanical Mentor, Parker Hannifin).

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The 2012 Jaguar Firmware

2012-02-04T04:36:07+00:00

In this presentation we cover the new features of the Jaguar firmware for the 2012 season.

The New cRIO II

2012-02-04T04:23:16+00:00

In this presentation we cover the details of the new 4 slot cRIO (cRIO II) from National Instruments. Available for use on robots starting in the 2012 season.

Groton Fall Festival 2011

2012-02-04T01:02:54+00:00

On October 8th, 2011 the Fitch Aluminum Falcons participated in the 6th annual Groton Family Festival. At their booth, the Falcons sold student-made baked goods and conducted robot demonstrations for the families at the event. Children of all ages were taught how to drive the robot our team built for the 2011 season. The Falcons received positive publicity and were a favorite booth among the community.

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Bash At the Beach 2011 - First Test Run

2012-02-04T00:57:25+00:00

Testing things out the night before the Bash At The Beach at Old Lyme Middle School 9/30/2011

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FIRST Team 2168 Chairman's Award Video 2011

2012-02-04T00:40:03+00:00

Chairman's Award video for the 2011 season.

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2011 Hartford Regional - At The Buzzer

2012-02-04T00:37:53+00:00

FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2168 (Aluminum Falcons) from Groton, CT play 4/1/2011 scoring the winning points at the buzzer. 237, 2064, 2168 VS 571, 743, 178.

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Creating A Custom Dashboard Interface

2012-01-22T18:34:33+00:00

In this guide we document how to create a custom dashboard interface using SmartDashboard.

Fitch Aluminum Falcons Prepare for 2012 FIRST Robotics Challenge

2012-01-13T23:10:04+00:00

January 13, 2012

Not sure yet if the 2012 robot season will be a slam dunk for the Aluminum Falcons, but one thing is certain, they will bring everything they have to the court.

The Robert E. Fitch Senior High School robotics team joined teams from the region including the New London STEM Whalers and the Ledyard High School CyberColonels at Dominion Millstone last Saturday to learn the theme and rules of this year’s FIRST Robotics Challenge.

FIRST stands for First Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, created in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen “to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people,” one of its many programs is the Robotics Challenge, the competition for which the Fitch Aluminum Falcons are preparing.

Ellyn Santiago/Groton Patch

See the original article

FIRST Kickoff 2012

2012-01-07T19:51:36+00:00

On January 7th, 2012, the Aluminum Falcons attended the 2012 FIRST Kickoff at Dominion Millstone Power Station. Along with several other FIRST teams including 1699 Robocats, 2067 Apple Pi, and 3719 STEM Whalers the team viewed the Simulcast with an audience of over 100 eager FIRST participants. The questions among the room were: What would the new field look like? How would the Kinect be incorporated into this season? and What would this year's game be? Although, there were technical difficulties at the beginning of the simulcast, thanks to the cooperative spirit of the room it was returned shortly. After hearing speeches from FIRST spokesmen Woodie Flowers, Bill Miller, and Dean Kamen, the game was revealed:

REBOUND RUMBLE!!!

In this game each Alliance competes by trying to score as many basketballs in the hoops as possible during the 2 minute and 15 second match. Balls scored in higher hoops score Alliances more points. Alliances are awarded bonus points if they are balanced on bridges at the end of the match. In matches where opposing Alliances work together to balance on the white bridge, all participating teams earn additional valuable seeding points.

The team later reassembled at the Groton Public Library to discuss game rules and fouls. Carefully analyzing the manual, the student members began to formulate their design for a championship-winning robot. The next day the team met again at Fitch High School to discuss their game strategies and robot designs along with all of their mentors. Each student presented their design strategy and simultaneoulsy answered their peers' questions. Common strategies among the team were to score high and replace the Kinect system during the Hybrid period with a reliable autonomous mode. The team then finally went through a group discussion about the important concepts of the game and percentage estimates on different gameplay strategems. The Aluminum Falcons, FIRST Team 2168 are ready to rebound and rumble for the 2012 season.

"FOOTBALL-er-I mean BASKETBALL!!!!"

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PID Control Tutorial

2012-01-06T05:24:24+00:00

In this tutorial we show you how to model, implement, and tune a PID controller using Matlab and Simulink. These methods require no Control Theory background and produce a very accurate controller without using the Guess and Check Method!

Making Custom PCBs

2012-01-05T06:41:05+00:00

This tutorial outlines how to go about desiging custom Printed Circuit Boards for use on your robot, using professional software tools. It will walk you through the process of part file design to board layout and routing using our custom solenoid breakout board as an example project.

CAN Jaguars

2012-01-01T18:57:49+00:00

In this tutorial we explain how to configure your Jaguar motor controllers for use in CAN mode, an advanced way to communicate with your motor controllers. We cover creating your cables and re-flashing the Jaguar firmware. These are the procedures and methods we followed to create our wiring for the 2011 season. We had zero issues/problems with our CAN wiring throughout the entire season (2 Regional competitions, 3 off season competitions, an numerous demonstration events).

LabVIEW - The Default Robot Project

2012-01-01T01:00:00+00:00

In this tutorial the team identifies how to set up and deploy the default robot project using LabVIEW.

The Default Hardware Setup

2012-01-01T00:46:31+00:00

In this tutorial, the team identifies how to set up a simple development platform for the FIRST Robotics Competition. We identify how to install and wire the necessary components to use with the default robot project. We discuss wiring of the power distribution board, cRIO, analog module, digital module, digital sidecar, and victor motor controller.

2012 Beta Test Open House

2011-12-16T05:00:00+00:00

This year, FIRST Team 2168 was selected to beta test the new control system. The first phase of the testing involved making sure the new version of the LabVIEW development system would work on our team's computers. After that, we ported last year's robot code to the new version of the software, ensuring that it all worked. Any hiccups or problems were reported to the development team at FIRST.

For the Kinect, the first phase of testing again involved installing new software. Here, the software would enable communication to the Kinect sensor. Once we had set up the software and the sensor itself, we created a program to integrate the Kinect into the new version of the LabVIEW software, so we would be able to control the robot with it. It was less difficult than we expected- the software that FIRST provided for the Kinect did most of the work for us. The output of the FIRST software was a pair of virtual joysticks- one for each arm- that we could then bring into the program we were creating in LabVIEW. The end result allows you to operate the robot with your left arm controlling the left set of wheels and your right arm controlling the right set of wheels. We determined that it was fun, but it would not be a valid way to control the robot for an entire match.

At the end of the beta test program, we held an open house for area teams to see what we had done. We held the open house in the school cafeteria- a nice open area. We had the robot running from the Kinect, and everybody really enjoyed it. We also had our practice robot running to demonstrate a new communications protocol that debuted last year, and we had a couple of powerpoints running with the new beta test hardware and software features. The open house was a great success, with many local teams attending.

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Subversion

2011-12-15T04:22:12+00:00

In this tutorial, we identify how a team can collaborate on their robot code through the use of an SVN repository.

Troop Support 2011 Part 2

2011-12-11T03:44:00+00:00

On December 9, the Aluminum Falcons participated in Support the Troops with EB where we helped package and assemble 70 care packages, weighing a total of 1763 pounds, for deployed military personnel all over the world. Packages contained variety of things like basic toiletries, chocolates, and signed Christmas cards along with over 1400 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. There were over 20 people ready to help out ranging from 10 years old to 65 years old. It took us over 2 hours to finish with the boxes. This was the second care package event the team has helped support, see the first here. In the end we ended the day with pizza and everyone was happy to help.

We received a thank you letter on January 3rd from one group that received packages.

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Aluminum Falcons fueled by pancakes and baskets

2011-12-04T12:23:21+00:00

December 4th, 2011

GROTON – Members of the public will have a chance on Saturday morning to help the Fitch High School robotics team on its quest to qualify for the national robotics competition in St. Louis next spring.

All they’ll have to do is enjoy a few pancakes and take home a gift basket or two.

The team hopes to raise the money at Saturday’s Pancake Breakfast and Basket Bonanza from 8 to 11 a.m. at Union Baptist Church, 119 High St., Mystic.

“The entire team gets to go as long as they have met the requirements, including selling tickets for the breakfast,” said coach Brian Chidley, a science teacher at the high school. “They can pony up the travel money themselves, but this gives them a chance to raise money to cover the costs.”

Chidley said that last year’s robot may make an appearance at the breakfast, but won’t do any of the cooking. “We don't have room to bring it inside the church; we may have it outside if the weather is good,” Chidley said. “It's so nice that we want to keep it together; it has a good personality, if a robot can have such a thing. People have liked it, and it is also a good training robot.”

Phil Butta/Mystic River Press

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Robotics 2nd Annual Pancake Breakfast

2011-12-03T22:35:15+00:00

On December 3rd, the Alumunium Falcons held their 2nd annual Pancake Breakfast/Basket Bonaza at the Union Baptist Church in Mystic, CT. The team set up the previous night at 6:30, arranging the tables and preparing the baskets for the following day's auction. Although the event did not begin until 8 A.M. the students arrived at the church an hour early to make preparation for the Big Event. Immediately after the doors were opened, the Church's cafeteria was filled with hungry supporters. The team all provided their talents, participating in cooking, face painting, outside advertisement, ticket collection, and full team cleanup throughout the event. Although this is only the Falcon's second Pancake Breakfast, the team raised almost twice their last year's profits. Nothing but positivity has been spreading for the Falcon's this year. This is just another explosion in Team 2168's booming seasonal start.

"We did a great job, team! Final tally is not quite in, but we raised around $6000 with this event. This does include a straightforward personal donation of $1000 from one family, but still! Like, woah!"-Brian Chidley (Head Coach)

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Groton Education Foundation awards grants

2011-11-26T21:06:34+00:00

November 26th, 2011

Groton - Members of the Groton Education Foundation recently delivered grant awards to 10 teachers for educational activities.The nonprofit foundation raises and distributes funds for educational initiatives that are not funded through the school district's budget.

Dr. Michael Alfultis, director of UConn's Avery Point Campus, joined retired educators Julie Cagle, Dorothy Eames and Marian Galbraith, who is also mayor of the city of Groton, in delivering the awards.

Fitch High School received 3 rewards. On behalf of the FIRST robotics team 2168, Brian Chidley received an award for parts to build an early prototype robot to compete in National FIRST Robotics competition.

See the original article

Fundraising for Fitch High School robotics team takes a big step forward

2011-11-24T14:46:46+00:00

November 24th, 2011

Groton - Thames Valley Communications and Groton Utilities became a platinum sponsor of the Fitch High School FIRST robotics team, the Aluminum Falcons, earlier this week.

Mayor Marian Galbraith, who also chairs the Utility Commission, and Rich De Lorenze of TVC, presented a $1,000 check Tuesday to head coach Brian Chidley and the 30 members of the Fitch robotics team.

"Our team has grown tremendously over the past few years, and along with great aspirations comes a great big budget," Chidley said in a press release. "Our goal this year was to raise $25,000 for the 2012 FIRST Robotics Competition. Groton Utilities, Thames Valley Communication will bring us significantly closer to our goal."

Chuck Potter/The Day

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‎Robotics team receives sponsorship from Groton Utilities.

2011-11-23T03:36:21+00:00

On November 22nd, the Fitch Robotics Team was visited by the Groton Utilities Representative, Rich de Lorenze and the Mayor of Groton, Marian Galbraith. At this event, the team was presented a check for a 1000 dollars initiating Groton Utilities and Thames Valley Communications as the Aluminum Falcon's newest Platinum sponsors. Special mentions were also made to rookie member Aileene Duyan for her efforts in reaching out to them at the Groton Family Festival a month earlier.

Shortly after select members of the team posed with the mayor and a team photos was taken with all of those who were present. Groton Utilities representative and the mayor graciously spoke to the team on the importance of education, and the impact that FIRST can have on our lives. No visit; however is complete without a guest appearance from Talyn. Test-driving the robot for herself, the Mayor added another job to her resume as an honorary Aluminum Falcon. The Falcons are grateful to have the mayor attend this event and Groton Utilities to provide their support. Although, the game has not been revealed yet, Fitch Robotics' season is already off to great start.

"Live within the moment. Understand what you are doing. Don't just get through the day. At the end of every day look back and say what did I do today? Did I make a difference today? Did I learn something new today. Did I help somebody today? And I think this what you folks are doing. That's why you guys are involved" - Rich de Lorenze/Groton Utilities (Thames Valley Communciations)

"It's also about the future because the things you are learning and doing here have a lot to do with your future. But the skills you are using are going to improve the future for all of us"- Marian Galbraith/Mayor of Groton.

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Applied Physical Sciences Presentation

2011-11-18T20:56:39+00:00

On November 16th, 2011, the Aluminum Falcons visited their Aluminum sponsor's, Applied Physical Sciences. While there, a presentation on FIRST and Fitch Robotics was given to APS's employees by Crew Captains: (left to right) Zoe Yopp, Zack Nado, Tim Entwistle, Niral Patel and third-year team veteran Srini Srirangam.

Some of the points that the Falcons covered in their presentation were: how FIRST was started, what is FRC, and the progress that the team had made during the 2011 Logomotion season. Shortly after, a test demonstration of the robot and a question segment was conducted outside in the main lobby. The employees were in awe of Talyn as the team answered coolly and collectively questions about the machine's mechanics. The APS employees including the company's President were extremely impressed by the student Falcons maturity, composure and gracious professionalism.

"I was very impressed by everything you guys presented. You guys did a fine job it was well done and well thought out. And as far as the engineering and the construction of the actual robot I was impressed by that."-Russ Rekos, APS Manufacturing Manager

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Resources Prepared By Other Teams

2011-11-17T22:26:51+00:00

Here are some great resources prepared by other teams:

Drivetrain Design - By Ben Bennett of FRC1114 - Simbotics

Manipulator Design - By Andy Baker of AndyMark

Team Approach to Design - By Andy Baker of AndyMark

Drivetrain Calculator - By John V-Neun of IFI/FRC148 Robowranglers

Mock Kickoff

2011-11-10T05:00:00+00:00

On Novemeber 8th and 10th, the Aluminum Falcons held their first ever Mock Kickoff. In a two-part meeting, new team members were introduced to the brainstorming process that happens after the real Kickoff. This oppurtunity also gave returning members a chance to refine their analytical and critical thinking skills when discussing Robot Strategy. 2006's Aim High was used to provide the entire team with a challenge they were all unfamiliar with. After watching a condensed version of 2006's Kickoff, the team seperated into five groups to discuss strategy. After deliberating, the team reconvened to present each of their group's ideas. Picking out and assessing each point of strategy, the team collectively decided on the best design to implement the team's decision. Although this was only a practice, this entire experience was invaluable to Team 2168. With the Kickoff less than two months away, the Aluminum Falcons are more than ready to take on what 2012's game has to bring.

"Mock kickoff = success. I hope you all enjoyed it and learned some stuff"-Justin Foss (Lead Mechanical Mentor)

"Nice job also to every student that participated — you were the most dedicated and focused group I've seen. Keep that up and we will do some amazing things year. FOOTBALL!"-Joshua Miller (Drive Team Coach)

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An Introduction to Java programming - Lecture 2

2011-11-05T00:48:56+00:00

This tutorial introduces the Java syntax and programming language concepts.

FRC Java API - putting it to work

2011-10-14T02:15:42+00:00

In the previous tutorials we've gone over the basics of the Java language and the documentation provided out of the box through the Javadocs, but we haven't even skimmed the surface yet. In this tutorial we go over the basics of getting started using Java to program for the FIRST Robotics Competition.

Robot Mania

2011-10-13T05:00:00+00:00

October 13th, 2011

Members of Team 2168 were recognized for their participation at the 2011 offseason event, Bash At the Beach, in the local newspaper: The Day.

Shriji Amin, left, a Fitch High School student, and Aluminum Falcons teammate Josh Miller discuss their team's robot as they align it on the field of play during the 13th Annual Bash at the Beach at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School in Old Lyme on Saturday, October 1, 2011. Twenty two northeast regional high schools participated in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology robotics competition. Student teams built remote controlled robots that had to pick up inflated rubber shapes that resembled inner tubes and place them on tall hooks to score points within a time limit. Robots had to complete additional maneuvers, such as defensive blocking and deploying a smaller robotic device that could climb a pole.

Photo: Abigail Pheiffer/The Day

See the original article.

FRC Java API Documentation

2011-10-11T00:09:45+00:00

This tutorial provides introduces the Javadoc documentation distributed as part of the FRC Java plugins. Understanding how to use the documentation properly is critical for successful programming.

Groton Family Festival 2011

2011-10-09T21:25:11+00:00

On October 8th, 2011 the Fitch Aluminum Falcons participated in the 6th annual Groton Family Festival. At their booth the Falcons sold student-made baked goods and conducted robot demonstrations for the families at the event.

Also during the event, members of the team scouted for sponsors and spoke with representatives from several different businesses around Southeastern Connecticut. The Falcons received positive publicity and were a favorite booth among the community.

"It was extraordinarily successful and fun due to the participation of all. Particular thanks are due to Mr. Chidley for robot delivery, all the mentors for coming to troubleshoot the robot, and notable appreciation to our Mascot who spent much of the day in the Aluminum Falcon cooker costume"-Paul Kelleher (USN, Mentor)

Watch the Team at work here

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LabVIEW Programming

2011-10-09T01:43:57+00:00

Getting started with LabVIEW, and the default robot project, can be overwhelming. Don't worry there are some great resources available to get you started and familiar in no time.

Scouting and Strategy

2011-10-08T23:52:19+00:00

Mentors Justin and Josh present their guide to Scouting and Strategy at the CTFIRST University Day 2011 at Central Connecticut State University.

This presentation covers the following topics:

In Season Strategy

Kickoff Strategy
Build Season Strategy
Competition Strategy
Pre-Match Strategy
Post Match Strategy

Scouting

Importance
Scouting System
Match Scouting
Pit Scouting
Alliance Selection

Download the presentation: (ppt) (pdf)

Thanks to David Kaplan of FRC3464 Sim-City for Recording.

Drivetrain Design For Competitive Robotics

2011-10-08T23:52:19+00:00

Mentors Justin and Josh present their guide to Drivetrain Design at the CTFIRST University Day 2011 at Central Connecticut State University.

This presentation covers the following topics:

Organizational

Know Your Customers
Know Your Limitations
Create A Baseline
Concept Development
Design Must Haves

Technical

Wheel Options
Gearing
Power Transmission
Axel Options
Drivetrain Layouts
Drivetrain Selection

Download the powerpoint presentation (ppt) (pdf)

Thanks to David Kaplan of FRC3464 Sim-City for Recording.

An Introduction to Java programming - Lecture 1

2011-10-07T03:40:15+00:00

In this presentation we begin our journey into programming the robot using the Java programming language.

The focus is to establish a good foundation for further use of FRC Java. We introduce the concept of Objects and Classes and begin to identify Java syntax. Further tutorials will introduce WPILib and using Java for FRC.

Bash at the Beach 2011

2011-10-01T05:00:00+00:00

On October 1st, 2011 the Aluminum Falcons participated in their last competition in the 2011 Logomotion Season. The Fitch Robotics team ended up fourth out of 22 teams in last Saturday's "Bash at the Beach" robotics competition in Old Lyme. The Aluminum Falcons dominated their opponents in the Quarter-finals, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by the winning alliance, led by the Cyber-Knights, from Southington High School.The team did receive a special "Contribution to Technology" award which recognized the efforts of Programming Captain, Zack Nado, who created a smart-phone app that automatically analyzes an opponent robot's strengths and weaknesses. Although this was Talyn final competition it will not be the last time it will be seen amongst the FIRST community.

"Butts were kicked. We did some kicking, and we also got kicked. It was still an amazing day, and everyone there had a chance to see what we are up against"-Brian Chidley (Head Coach)

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PWM Explained

2011-09-30T03:41:18+00:00

In this video the team explains in detail how Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) works. PWM is used in the FIRST robotics competition to control the speed and direction of the Victor and Jaguar motor controllers.

CT FIRST University Day 2011

2011-09-18T00:03:01+00:00

On September 17th, 2011 The FIRST Robotics team 2168 Fitch Aluminum Falcons attended the CT FIRST University 2011 at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

The team attended 45 minute classes throughout the day, receiving instruction from FIRST mentors and representatives in a variety of subjects. Some of the classes the Falcons attended were Labview Advanced, Grant Writing, Managing Team Finances, Who's got Spirit, and From FIRST to future college. Drivetrain Design for Competitive Robots and FRC Scouting and Strategies were led by team 2168 mentors, Justin Foss and Joshua Miller.

The Aluminum Falcons gained valuable knowledge from their experience and will surely utilize this knowledge in the upcoming competition season.

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Freshman Orientation

2011-09-17T17:40:44+00:00

Getting new students interested in our team is an important part of our growth. A number of returning students got everything up and running to demonstrate exactly what it is the robotics team does at this year's freshman orientation.

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An Overview of the Kit of Parts Items

2011-07-03T03:04:41+00:00

This tutorial provides a brief description of the majority of items which you will find in the kit of parts. Its purpose is to identify kit of parts items for new team members. Follow on videos provide more detailed descriptions of how to connect components to the control system and how to write software that uses them.

Troop Support 2011

2011-06-27T17:56:54+00:00

On June 23rd and 24th the team took part in their biggest volunteer effort yet. Working alongside volunteer engineers from Electric Boat and sailors from PCU Mississippi to put together over 400 care packages which were sent out to deployed service members for Independence Day.

This was a two day event. On day one the team packaged up organized and assembled all the toiletry bags included in each care package.

" At first this seemed like a daunting task, but eventually many other volunteers came and helped us out. We each had a “station” that contained a specific set of items, and we’d fill one zip lock bag with the items in that station and pass it on to the next station (that contained another set of items). With everyone’s effort, 400 bags were organized and were ready to be shipped to the troops overseas." - Srini

The second day was spent assembling the care package boxes and filling them with the toiletries assembled the previous day, candy bags, girl scout cookies, and thank you letters. It was nice to see the number of people who turned out to help support the troops. Team 2168 was glad to participate and look forward to being involved in future troop support efforts in the future.

Face of Defense: Sailor Leads Volunteer Efforts

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Butler Science and Math Night 2011

2011-06-03T05:00:00+00:00

FIRST Team 2168, The Aluminum Falcons demonstrate with their 2011 FRC robot Talyn at the S. B. Butler Elementary School.

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Astronaut speaks of NASA missions to Groton crowd

2011-05-27T05:00:00+00:00

May 27th, 2011

NASA astronaut U.S. Navy Capt. Stephen Bowen, right, poses for a photo with the Fitch High School robotics team Thursday prior to addressing a packed auditorium at Fitch High School in Groton.

In the spirit of things high tech, Fitch's robotics [team], the Aluminum Falcons, gave Bowen a plaque that was presented to him by the [team's] award-winning robot, "Talyn."

Sean D. Elliot/The Day

See the original article

Groton Public Library Demo

2011-05-16T00:57:01+00:00

On May 14, 2011 the Aluminum Falcons ran a demonstration at the Groton Public Library as part of their Star Wars celebration:

"Aluminum Falcons...like the millennium falcon...like from Robot Chicken...moving on" - Brian Chidley

In addition to a full run through an explanation of FIRST, this year's game, our robot, and of course sponsorship appreciation, the team played a demonstration game using a home-built scoring rack, demonstrated the robot's 2-speed transmission with some drag racing, and even got to tour the children's section with the robot. Talyn even got up close and personal with the library's tallest resident, the giraffe.

Youngsters celebrate Star Wars month at Groton Public Library

2011-05-12T05:00:00+00:00

May 12th, 2011

This past weekend, students from the Robert E. Fitch High School robotic's team hosted a robot demonstration. On Saturday, May 28 at 11 a.m. the 501st Connecticut Garrison will be in the library and all who show up can get their photo taken with a Stormtrooper.

Kaityln Russel/The Times

See the original article

See student account

Butler Science Night 2011

2011-05-08T23:18:27+00:00

The team visited the S.B. Butler Elementary School as part of the Science and Math Night on 5/4/2011.

A number of interactive demonstrations were set up for students, staff and family to explore. The team brought our 2011 robot to introduce the elementary students to engineering and robotics.

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BattleCry 12 Quarter Finals

2011-05-03T05:00:00+00:00

The Quarter Finals matches between the #1 seeded alliance (78, 40, 1027) and the #8 seeded alliance (176, 2168, 157)

Thanks Buzz (Team 175) for lending us their minibot!

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Honor The Fallen

2011-05-02T01:19:38+00:00

This Saturday on April 30th, 2011 members of the team got together in Waterford to provide some much needed muscle. With less than a weeks notice, the crew was assembled through the team's Facebook group. This was our first community service event and was a great success.

A local family of a fallen service member recently purchased a new home, and the house is in need of extensive rehabilitation. Work has begun with the goal of the family moving into their new home early this summer.

We were put to work with the task of removing the ceiling and walls in a number of rooms. The house was built in the year 1900. We made quick work of breaking through the plaster and lath construction. In about four hours we made it through about 4 rooms and hauled enough debris out of the home to fill a trailer sized dumpster. It was hard dusty work, but everyone was happy to help.

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Hartford Regional Practice Matches

2011-04-03T05:00:00+00:00

First Robotics Competition Team 2168 (Aluminum Falcons) from Groton, CT play during practice matches on 3/31/11 at the Hartford regional competition.

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Defense!

2011-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

Playing D at WPI Regional 2011

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FIRST Teams 2168 and 236 Team Up for Minibot Deployment

2011-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

During the 2011 WPI Regional event Team 2168 (The Aluminum Falcons - Groton, CT) and Team 236 (The Techno Ticks - Lyme, Old Lyme, CT) ended up on the same alliance in the finals. They worked together to get 2168's minibot onto 236's deployment mechanism. The results look promising.

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WPI Regional Semi-Finals 2011 - Huge O

2011-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

FIRST Robotics Competition 2011 - Logomotion. FIRST Team 2168 (The Aluminum Falcons - Groton, CT) at the WPI regional event. This is the 2nd semi-final match. 2168 proved itself as a defensive asset in earlier rounds. The alliance's strategy changed, moving 2168 from a defensive to offensive position on the field. We held our own.

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Fitch High School Students Build Robot

2011-01-18T05:00:00+00:00

January 18th, 2011

Nerdy or cool

“Kinda both,” decides Niral Patel, 16, one of the two dozen – give or take – members of the Fitch High School FIRST robotics team, the Aluminum Falcons. These days, nerdy is the new cool. So when one sees Patel ‘driving’ a funky robot chassis down the main corridor at Fitch -- with a small audience gawking – mentor Josh Miller coaching him in robot driving technique, it’s well, really kinda cool.

This year’s competition kickoff in New Hampshire featured performing artist and member of the Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am, telling kids: “You are cool, and I’m going to turn it up so everyone knows it.”

Ellyn Santiago/Groton Patch

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Tech expertise comes in handy even before contest

2011-01-09T05:00:00+00:00

January 9th, 2011

Saturday morning, five teams from local high schools participating in the international FIRST robotics competition gathered at the training building at Millstone Power Station. A kickoff event was planned - a live broadcast from the FIRST headquarters in Manchester, N.H., to all the teams worldwide to announce this year's challenge.

Brian Chidley, the Fitch teacher who is mentor to that school's 30-member team, said the teams have six weeks and three days to build a robot ready for the next tier of the challenge, competing in an arena in a sports-like game against other team's robots. A few of his team members were dispatched to the Connecticut pick-up site for the parts kits, and the entire team would begin work this morning at 10, Chidley said, starting an intensive meeting schedule.

"It's essentially every day," he said.

Judy Benson/The Day

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Fitch robot-makers get ready for state-level competition

2010-12-03T05:00:00+00:00

December 3rd, 2010

Groton - Members of the Aluminum Falcons, Fitch High School's robotics team, won't receive their challenge until January, but that doesn't mean they haven't been working hard.

At weekly meetings in the physics classroom of adviser Brian Chidley, the group of about 30 students and a handful of mentors, most of them engineers at Electric Boat, are working to master computer software that will be needed to program and design the robot.

"We're just trying to reflect on last year and think of ways we can improve on the robot from last year, even though we don't really know what the challenge will be," said junior Zoe Yopp, in her second year on the team.

Though the team has participated in the FIRST Robotics competition for several years, Chidley said this is the first year the team appears poised to be truly competitive. It is benefiting from the institutional memory of several years' experience, and the club has two new mentors with a combined 16 years' experience in robotics competitions.

Matt Collette/The Day

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