Robbinsville High School robotics team, Nemesis, poses with their Winner Banner after a competition at Hatboro-Horsham High School on March 2, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Yang).
Nemesis’ marketing and finance team members Baljot Ranu, Stephanie Kovacs, Erica Falk, Alec Karousatos, Deanna Gavlick, Meghna Kuppuraju and Julia Borowski pose at Hatboro-Horsham High School on March 1, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Young).
Robbinsville High School’s FIRST Robotics team, Nemesis, took home its first victory of the season on March 2.
Nemesis participated in its first competition of the season at Hatboro-Horsham High School. The team competed against 40 teams from New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
This year, FIRST Robotics teams are challenged to the Aerial Assist. The game’s objective is to place a ball into a floor goal or shoot it into a high-scoring goal. It is played three on three, with an emphasis on cooperation; 10 points are added to an alliance’s score for each assist.
After a six-week build season, Nemesis was ready to debut their new robot, Bellerophon. Team members designed Bellerophon using CAD software. The robot is designed with a claw to swiftly grab balls and a spring-powered linear punch shooter to launch them into the high-scoring goal.
Nemesis quickly rose to the first seed of the qualification rounds and seemed poised to end the day with an undefeated record. Their winning streak came to a halt when Bellerophon’s claw broke after a run in with defensive robots.
Team members rushed back to the pit to remove the broken claw. While replacing the claw, Nemesis’ alliances lost two matches and the team dropped to second seed with a record of 7-2.
Nemesis returned for the second day of competition with a fully-functioning Bellerophon. The team won all their remaining qualification matches, clinching first seed with an overall record of 10-2.
As the first seed, Nemesis was named an alliance captain and given the chance to pick two teams to join them in the elimination rounds. They picked Miss Daisy from Ambler, Pa., and Cyber-Crusaders from Lansdale, Pa.
The alliance teared through the elimination rounds undefeated and claimed first place, taking home the Winner Banner.
In addition to participating in the Aerial Assist, Nemesis’ marketing and finance teams presented their business plan to FIRST judges. Team members outlined the team structure, explained their SWOT analysis, shared the team’s community outreach and offered a breakdown of the team’s budget and finances.
The judges awarded Nemesis the Entrepreneurship Award for their comprehensive business plan.
Nemesis’ performance at Hatboro-Horsham will count towards their standings in the Mid Atlantic Region. They are scheduled to compete in the Lenape District event March 22 and 23.
More information is online at frc2590.org.
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