Students from the Arcadia Unified School District are participating in the Los Angeles Regional 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition with a robot designed by them called Trinity X.
A total of 64 teams took part in the annual competition, most of whom were engineering or robotics students or from clubs. They had all been given six weeks to develop a robot with the help of the standard kits given to them with a video, which would depict the competition game.
Trinity X represented by the Arcadia team's competition number, 867.
According to Fritz Schmitt, Arcadia team’s advisor, all the kits were identical and after completing the robot they would be sent to the arena and the team members have to show that it works. The LOGO MOTION is the game of this year where robots need to hang a maximum number of plastic inflated shapes on to pegs, which are present above the field in a two minute and 15 seconds match. Alliances with three robots are formed and the more they hang, more points they gain. In the beginning, a 15 second period is set aside for the robots, which have been programmed to bring and place a ring inside and gain extra points for that task. Similarly, the match ends with minibots climbing up on vertical poles, and again winning points for their alliances.
Brandon Caroll, a team member revealed that the team was doing well but were getting penalized too often. Penalties were imposed on teams, which misused lanes, or pin other robots or undergo wrong time starts and so on. Behind the competition arena, the teams work on their robots honing their last minute glitches wearing safety goggles and surrounded by banners and tool chests. Trinity X performed well but due to radio shorting out they had problems. The team then meticulously planned and diagnosed the problem to solve it successfully. According to Schmitt, the problems were unpredictable as they had white smoke of death the previous year. The teams also traded T-shirts, bracelets and buttons.
In the pit area there was a board established where teams could post the good deeds they have witnessed such as the sharing of parts, knowledge and tools. Gracious Professionalism was an important part of FIRST. The winners of this competition would go on to take part in the FIRST Championships in St. Louis.