By Miyo Imai ‘18 and Lara Fernandes ‘18
Team 1967, the Janksters, recently competed at the Ventura Regional FIRST Robotics STEAMWORKS Competition with their 2017 season robot, Pepper Ann. The objective of the steampunk-themed game is for alliances of three teams to shoot balls, called fuel, into low and high goals, to put gears on spring pegs and to climb a rope, all in under two minutes and thirty seconds. For more information about this year’s challenge, please visit here.
Over the six weeks of build season, Pepper Ann was constructed with a quick and agile two-speed chassis, a mechanism to store and deposit fuel into the low goal, a mechanism to store and deposit gears and a climbing mechanism. All aspects of the robot aligned with the team’s strategic goals for the season: 1) to have a quick and agile robot, 2) to score four to six gears per match, 3) to passively collect and score fuel, and 4) to climb the rope at the end of every match.
The Janksters had a rocky start at the Ventura Regional, tipping Pepper Ann over in their first match. However, quick and efficient solutions were made as the competition progressed. By their third match, the Janksters were able to execute their predetermined strategy by scoring gears for their alliances, consistently climbing at the end of every match and even managing to play effective defense on opposing robots. By the end of the qualification matches, the Janksters were ranked 22nd out of 42 competing teams. The team was selected onto the fourth of eight alliances advancing into elimination matches with Team 6560 the Charging Champions and Team 3759 the SMARTBOTS. After winning two quarterfinal matches, the alliance advanced to the semifinals where they were disqualified.
While at Ventura, the Janksters were able to showcase their project HiddenFiguresofSTEAMpunk. Over the build season, the Janksters, inspired by the movie Hidden Figures, highlighted many women who significantly contributed to STEM fields during the Victorian Era. To share this at the event, the Janksters created a fun scavenger hunt to engage other teams and teach them about these important women who made their mark on STEM and opened a path for others to follow.
From reaching semifinals with their alliance to bonding with new teams at competition, the Ventura Regional was a great experience for the Janksters. Their next competition is the Silicon Valley Regional hosted at San Jose State University. All are invited to come and support the Janksters during their matches on Friday, March 31st and Saturday, April 1st!
