This article was published on Malvern's website regarding our season this year. Don't forget - we have our presentation to the Father's Club coming up soon!

Robotics Team Builds, Competes, Scores!
April 8, 2010
The Malvern Prep Robotics team is one of the most popular clubs on campus. Made up this year of 15 young men from Malvern Prep and six young women from Villa Maria, the Robotics team’s mission is to promote and nurture its members’ interests in all elements of engineering.

“The Robotics team most appeals to kids who are interested in engineering and math,” said CEO Brian Leonard ’10, who has been on the team for three years. There are three main kinds of jobs on the team: electrical, mechanical and computer programming. Many team members go on to pursue science, math or engineering majors in college.

Each season, the team builds a new “Friarbot,” a robot based on specifications issued by FIRST, an international non-profit that aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, and rewards teamwork, real-world skills and “gracious professionalism.” The robot is designed to compete in a sports-like game against teams from other high schools. Robots are built in six weeks, from January into March, from a common kit of parts provided by FIRST, and can weigh up to 120 pounds (excluding battery and bumpers).

The team’s most recent competition was FIRST’s 8th Annual Chesapeake Regional, held in March at the Baltimore Convention Center. To compete in the challenge, called Breakaway, the 49 teams from 10 states played the soccer-like game in an alliance of three teams. While the main objective was to score goals during the game, bonus points were earned for each robot not touching the field at the end of the match. Friarbot made it through two qualifying rounds before being defeated!

Greetings!

In March, we participated in the Chesapeake Regional competition. Thanks to many hours of hard work and the dedication of our team members and mentors, we did very well this year. At one point during the competition, the Friarbot was even in fourth place! Kudos to our Public Relations Team - because of their work at the competiton, we were selected to be part of an alliance in the quarter finals! One of our strengths during the competition was the powerful kicker mechanism, which required many hours of hard work and quite a bit of pnuematic tubing to create. Also, a creative combination of dualie wheels and omni wheels, the Friarbot was able to drive over the bumps on the field and have optimum mobility. Thanks to the autonomus programming, which utilized a mounted camera and an infrared sensor, we were able drive up to soccer balls and push or kick them to the goal. This helped us to score points at the beginning of each match, which often provided a valuable lead for our alliance.

Much appriciation to our sponsors, mentors, and parents, for your support of our team. Special thanks to our mentors, who dedicated their time and energy to helping us during our hectic build season and at the competition. During the off season, we will continue to work hard in preperation for next year. Who knows what it will bring?

Cheers to the Friarbot!

Hello everyone!

First, if you haven't yet completed the Consent Form online and in print, it is due no later than this Wednesday, January 6. Second, please also complete the Tool Permission Form.

The kickoff meeting is this Saturday at Upper Darby High School at 9 am. After the meeting we will head back to CTDI to discuss ideas and start planning the robot. Grab lunch at some point on the way back to CTDI.

Thanks!
Jenna

If you want more information about the kickoff, here's the website: http://team357.org/kickoff2010/

Hello all!

Hope you are enjoying your time off. Don't forget to complete the Consent/Press Release Form on TIMS and in print. It is due January 6.

Also, the Kickoff is January 9 at Upper Darby High School. More info to follow shortly.

Thanks!

Several important dates are fast approaching:

- Wissahikon Competition on November 14 (more details to follow)
- If you are ordering a jacket, please have your orders turned in before November 15 so that we can have the jackets ready before the 2010 Kickoff.

Thanks!