Nature's Fury Challenge

Download the Challenge  and more information in the Topic Guide.

We have decided to focus on Wildfires since we have had to contend with Wilfires in our community.  We will also have a fire helicopter mechanic come and speak with both teams.  If you have contacts to anyone else who would be able to talk to us about wildfires please let me know.

We will start by focusing on these questions:
• How could this force of nature cause a natural disaster in your chosen community?
• What problems would it cause? Would it harm people, property, or both?
• Is the community always at risk? At risk only during certain times of the year? Is the risk predictable?
• How do people prepare?
• How are people warned?
• Who provides emergency food, water and shelter ? How?
• Who clears the debris and rebuilds? How long does it take?

Your challenge is to create an innovative solution — one that makes life better by improving something that already exists, using something that exists in a new way, or inventing something totally new. 

We will work on building the field this weekend.  Read the missions below and start thinking about how what missions you want to complete.  

MISSIONS

SUPPLY TRUCK
Condition visible at the end of the match:
— The supply truck is touching the mat in the yellow region.
(Note that the LT blue region is in the yellow region.)
Value: 20

EVACUATION SIGN
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The sign is obviously up (it doesn’t need to be vertical), held in place only by the slider’s friction with the mat.
— No part of the sign model is being touched by the robot, or any strategic object.
Value: 30

CARGO PLANE
Condition visible at the end of the match:
— The plane is in the yellow region.
(Points are given for yellow and not LT blue, or for LT blue, but not both.)
Value: YELLOW AND NOT LT BLUE… 20 -OR- LT BLUE… 30

TREE BRANCH
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The east tree branch is closer to the mat than the electric cables are.
— The tree and the electric cable models are upright, touching the mat.
Value: 30

TSUNAMI
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— All three waves are touching the mat.
Value: 20

AMBULANCE
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The ambulance is in the yellow region.
— All the ambulance’s wheels are touching the mat.
Value: 25

RUNWAY
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— Nothing except wave water and/or the plane is touching the mat anywhere on the runway.
Value: 30

CONSTRUCTION RELOCATION
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— There are no gray building units anywhere in the LT green region.
Value: 20

BASE ISOLATION TEST
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The west tan building is undamaged: Four segments, 90° to mat, and "perfect" alignment.
— The east tan building is obviously damaged.
— *Nothing is touching either building except the rolling frame.
— *Nothing ever touched either building except the rolling frame.
— The damage was caused purely by movement of the rolling frame.
(*Exception: Fallen segments from the east building may touch the mat and/or the west building by chance.)
Value: 30

CODE CONSTRUCTION
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— A multi-story building is in the pink region.
— The building is made of building segments only.
— The finished building does not rely on strategic objects or the robot in any way.
(Perfect nesting and alignment are not needed for this building.)
(If there are multiple buildings, only the highest score-worthy one scores.)
Value: 5 EACH SEGMENT OF HEIGHT


OBSTACLES
*Condition visible DURING the match:
— The robot has crossed completely over the west line of the noted region, from the west only.
(This mission involves exceptions to the Rules...)
(This mission may be repeated as desired, in hopes of improved results.)
(Points given are permanent unless a better result replaces them later in the same match.)
(Points are given only for the best result achieved.)
(The robot may be rescued from this mission as needed, successful or not, without penalty.)
(Points given are permanent even if the robot later leaves or is rescued from the region.)
Value: DK BLUE…10 -OR- DK GREEN…16 -OR- PURPLE…23 -OR- RED…31

HOUSE LIFT
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The house is locked in its high position.
Value: 25

PROGRESS
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The pointer has reached colors as a result of red lever motion only (moving left in the picture).
(Points for this mission are awarded to both teams, no matter who operates the model.)
(No points are awarded if this model has not been operated.)
Value: COLORS REACHED…2 EACH

FAMILY
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least two people are together in any colored region.
(Points are awarded for 2, or 3, but not both.)
Value: 2…33 -OR- 3…66

WATER
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one person is together with (bottled) water in the same region.
Value: PEOPLE WITH AT LEAST 1 WATER…15 EACH

SAFETY
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one person is in a region colored red or yellow.
(Points for people in red and people in yellow are combined.)
Value: PEOPLE IN YELLOW…12 EACH, PEOPLE IN RED…18 EACH

PETS
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one pet is together with at least one person in any colored region.
Value: PETS WITH AT LEAST 1 PERSON…15 EACH

SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one non-water item is in a region colored red or yellow.
(12 Possible: 2-way radio, battery, generator, 2 fuel, grain, bread, medicine, boom box, flashlight, dirt bike, helmet)
Value: ANY IN YELLOW…3 EACH, ANY IN RED…4 EACH

SAFE PLACE
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The robot is in the red region at the end of the match.

Value: 25

Nature's Fury Challenge Release

Tuesday, August 27th at 9:00 am PST

Go to http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2013naturesfury

You will be able to download the Nature’s Fury Challenge as well as supplemental documents to help you get started.  I encourage you to read the Challenge and think about which missions you would like to tackle.

There is a Challenge Release workshop on August 31st, 9-11 am locally.  Please let me know if you would like to attend.  It will be great for us to hear first hand about the particulars of the Challenge.

Meeting #2: Moving Basics

We were doing some research about how to best teach new students the basics of programming and moving the robot.  In our reading we discovered that the EV3 software comes with tutorials for the students to complete.  Those tutorials teach a majority of the basic moves and most students just skip that part of the instruction.

Not the STEManiacs!

Open EV3 software and go to Robot Educator --> Basics --> Tank Move

The students can work in group of 3-5 to practice their self-learning; reading through the slides, copying the given code, and seeing the results.  Just the practice of following directions, checking their work is valuable.

After each iteration of programming the group moved the robot to the mat to test.

Each group had 5 roles; programmer, assistant programmer, robot wrangler, recorder, supplies.  We gave each child a clothespin with their role on it.  After each visit to the mat they rotated clothespins to ensure each team member was doing each job.

It was interesting to watch the kids participate in the self-learning process.  By really limiting their roles and ensuring that each child participated it kept students from blending into the background and it kept other students from overtaking the mission.

 Once the students achieved the tank move tutorial they moved on to the move object tutorial.  There are a total of 9 tutorials and the kids only completed two of them.  Its a really easy pre-challenge activity for the kids to take part in.

SUCCESS!!!

Practice FLL Tournament

We got invited to a FLL practice tournament!

Saturday, October 5th, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.

Because of the tremendous growth of LEGO Robotics in our District, Roosevelt Robotics is pleased to host a Practice Tournament for all of the Glendale based teams. We will follow a traditional tournament schedule consisting of three judging sessions (Robot Design, Research Project, and Core Values), 1 Robot Performance Practice Round, and 3 Robot Performance Rounds for score. The judging sessions will be evaluative and educational. Our judges will help your team prepare for the Qualifier Tournaments held in November.
After the official Robot Performance Rounds are over, we will provide each team with 3 additional Robot Performance Rounds, but with technical assistance from our group of Mentors. (During an actual tournament, Coaches and Mentors are not allowed to talk to the robot drivers.)
We won't have an actual schedule until we know the exact number of teams, but the day will start at 8:00 am and end at approximately 5:00 pm. Traditional FIRST LEGO League awards will be given. Watch for updates as we approach the tournament date.

~~~~~~~~~
PARENT VOLUNTEERS:

• We will need parents to help coordinate transportation for kids (who aren't able to attend with their own parents).
• Spirit Wear will need to be distributed before this meeting.
• Signage - we need some fun signs to root on our team and signify a meeting place
• LUNCH - we are going to need sustenance and although each child will be responsible for their own food, having a parent designated as the food provider will be helpful.

Meeting #1

The official robot season has begun.  We met several times over the summer with various team members to learn some basics of the robot, FLL and programming.  This week we started our real practices with the correct team members.

This weeks challenge was to build the basic robot kit (directions that came with the EV3) and then program the robot to drive in a straight line to get as close to the wall as possible without hitting the wall.  Students could choose between degrees, rotations etc to make the robot move.

We had difficulty with our battery packs.  I am thinking we got two of the defective EV3 battery packs.  LEGO Mindstorms has been very accommodating in providing us replacement batteries at no cost to us.

Once they succeeded in the first challenge they completed the same challenge using the ultra-sonic sensor.  Some teams were able to move even further in the challenge and use the color sensor to make the robot stop and go.  The trick the students discovered is that the "coast" command was very useful.

The laptops that came with our robots were very helpful for the students.  It was great letting them be in charge of the programming and not worrying about damage.  These laptops are tough-duty and made just for kids (which makes it difficult for my old eyes to read).

 At the end of practice the students all mentioned a core value that was demonstrated that day.  It is important for students to be able to understand the core values and what they look like in a real team meeting.  They will be questioned on the FLL core values during the competition.

Teams are FULL

Congratulations!!  Both the Sunday and Monday team are full.  Over 30 students contacted us and tried out the team.  We have whittled it down to 20 students who are interested in science as much as we are.

Its going to be an exciting few weeks as we learn, build, create, and design while working together as a team.

Parents, its time to volunteer.  What will you be doing for the STEManiacs this year?  We need to following jobs filled:

• Research Project Coach (training provided)
• Assist in meetings (training provided)
• Snacks and refreshments
• Transportation to tournaments
• Fundraising
• Team T-shirts
• Building FLL Table
• Photographer
• Team Spirit

Finally, there will be a Challenge Release workshop offered Saturday, August 31, 9:00-11:00, Montrose  (Presenter: Tony Ayad).  I would like it if the STEManiacs had a presence at the meeting and we already have one parent who has volunteered to attend.  Please let me know if you are able to attend and learn more about the specifics of the Challenge.  

Challenge Build

We had a great group of STEManiacs help us build the challenge pieces.  We were able to try out our new LEGO laptops - designed specifically to be kid-safe and guarantee no issues in compatibility with the EV3s.

It was fun trying to guess where the challenge pieces should be placed on the field.  We talked about the color-coded indicators on the mat.  We also took guesses as to how the challenge would be structured and which items were to be manipulated versus obstacles to avoid.

Our robots are here as well.  Next week will be our first meetings Sunday, August 18, 3-6 pm or Saturday, August 19, 5-7 pm.  We will practice building a stock robot and programming it.  Since we have 2 robots we can split into teams of 5 on both of those meeting dates so we have more robot time.

Tuesday August 27th we will know what the challenge is.  

Check the FLL website from home to find out the Nature's Fury Challenge.  

LEGO Build Workshop

The LEGOs are here!  The LEGOs are here!

Friday, August 9th, 4-6 pm we will start building the challenge pieces of our field.  This is an optional activity.  Please bring a snack.  We will have adults available to help supervise the build and parents are welcome to stay as well.

Also, we have two more spots available on the Monday team.  If you know anyone else who wants to join please direct them to the website then have them contact me.  They can come to the build to on Friday to get a feel for the team if they like.

See you Friday!