Campus News: SUNY Poly wins regional robotics tourney; on to
international stage
Published:
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 - 14:58
SUNY
Polytechnic Institute today announced its FIRST Robotics
Competition (FRC) team bested 65 other competitors at New York
City’s Javitz Center this past weekend to advance to the world
championships. In addition to its victory, the team is also
celebrating its recognition as one of the top 30 teams in the
world in the book First Robots: Behind the Design. The
team, known as The Second Mouse or FRC 5030, was selected out of
an international field of 3,000 teams for inclusion in the book
featuring what the authors call, “exemplars: a collection of the
finest designs and teams in the 2015 FIRST Robotics
Competition.”
“What an exciting time for this team of young innovators and what an incredible message it sends regarding the caliber of New York State’s students and future workforce. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s commitment to education, particularly STEM studies, is clearly taking root as more and more young people are aspiring to high tech careers supporting the state’s 21st century economy,” said Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, President and CEO of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. “On behalf of the entire SUNY Poly community I would like to congratulate The Second Mouse team on being among the best in world. They are an excellent example of how SUNY Poly’s world class staff, resources, and expertise are helping students unlock limitless potential and I wish them the best of luck in the upcoming world championships.“
In First Robots: Behind the Design, FIRST founder Dean Kamen writes, “These examples illustrate some of the leading technical developments made by FIRST teams during the 2015 FRC season. Each chapter presents case studies from FIRST teams who excelled in aspects of the design, manufacturing and control of their FIRST robot.”
After its weekend victory at the Javitz Center, the Second Mouse, made up of SUNY Poly undergraduate students working as mentors to high school students from Whitesboro, New Hartford, and Utica, is now preparing for the FRC World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri where it will face off against hundreds of international competitors. The team’s journey started during mid-winter break, when team members worked tirelessly in the basement of Donovan Hall on the SUNY Poly Utica site planning, designing, crafting, and programming a robot to help the team conquer this year’s challenge. Students used aluminum, steel, rubber, plastic, and numerous 3D printed parts to create a robot capable of overcoming numerous terrain obstacles while shooting a foam ball ‘boulder’ into a castle.
