Our first competition in almost 3 years was March 11-12, 2022 at FIM Milford. After 3 years without an official event, the team was more than ready to compete again. In this year’s FRC game, Rapid React, two alliances of three teams each compete in each match. The match starts with the robots in a circle around the Hub and have to move and score autonomously. After the 15 second autonomous mode, the drivers take the controller and have to score as many points in 135 seconds as they can by shooting balls into the upper and lower hub. In the last 30 seconds, called Endgame, the robots also can climb a structure similar to monkey bars where climbs to the highest bar in the Hangar for more points.

Our robot was designed, built and programmed to specialize in high goal shooting. Around the Hub on the playing field there is reflective tape where our robot reflects a light to line up our trajectory to make shots. At the event, the team developed match strategy, drove the robot, compiled robot performance statistics, scouted the other team’s robots and cheered for our team when we were playing. The pit crew assessed the condition of the robot in the pit and made adjustments to mechanical, electrical and program.
Friday and Saturday morning, teams compete in qualification matches with randomly-formed alliances with other teams. Teams are ranked according to their win/loss record. The elimination matches on Saturday afternoon are followed by the alliance draft with 8 alliances formed. At this event, we allied with Team 7225: The Mechatronic Mustangs and Team 573: The Mech Warriors. While our alliance was eliminated in the quarterfinals, we earned the Entrepreneurship Award for the event and also a Best Pit Award from Team 2834. The Entrepreneurship Award “celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit and recognizes a team which has developed a comprehensive business plan in order to define, manage, and achieve the team’s ongoing objectives. This team displays entrepreneurial enthusiasm as well as demonstrates the vital planning and business skills to ensure a self-sustaining program.” Our sucess would not have been possible without the help from our team, mentors, and our sponsors, which include: Acorn Industries, AirTool Performance, Our Anonymous Donors, Autokiniton, Brown Jig Grinding, Credit Union One, Dazzle Dental Care, Detroit Catholic Central High School, DTE Energy, Dynamic Machine of Detroit, Exotic Automation & Supply, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Kettering/GMI Alumni Association, KLA, Lorelli & Lorelli Law, Michigan Department of Education, Mitsubishi Electric, Sachse Construction, Stemville, STRATTEC Power Access, Superabrasives, The Baker Group, The FCA Foundation, The Maids of Ann Arbor, and Varsity Lincoln.
