Ferradermis Travels to Duluth for Northern Lights Regional; 2020 Season Suspended

Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Team Ferradermis traveled to Duluth from March 4-7 to compete in the Northern Lights Regional with and against 59 teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Sweden. Ferradermis ended the qualification matches with a 6-3 record and ranked 13th out of 59.

Upon arriving in Duluth, the team traveled to the University of Minnesota Duluth for a tour of two of their engineering labs. Dr. Craig Hill from the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department talked with the team about the robotic systems he is developing for harnessing marine energy. Two graduate students then talked the students through their projects in the Dementia and Elderly Care Robotics and Sensing Lab. We met Pepper the robot who is being programmed to interact with residents in nursing homes and to read sign language.

  • Calibrating the Robot on the Field Before Matches Begin
    Calibrating the Robot on the Field Before Matches Begin
  • Chairman's Award Presentation Group Sophie Olson, Rosie Aschenbrener, and Jenna Lee - Presenting on Outreach in Our Community
    Chairman's Award Presentation Group Sophie Olson, Rosie Aschenbrener, and Jenna Lee - Presenting on Outreach in Our Community
  • Competition Robot - Chief the Lemon Thief
    Competition Robot - Chief the Lemon Thief
  • Ferradermis Drive Team - Reilly Aschenbrener (operator), Colin Chenoweth (head driver), Coach Dilpreet Randhawa, Jenna Lee (human player), and Gwynne Sahyun (technician)
    Ferradermis Drive Team - Reilly Aschenbrener (operator), Colin Chenoweth (head driver), Coach Dilpreet Randhawa, Jenna Lee (human player), and Gwynne Sahyun (technician)
  • Representatives of Ferradermis Leaving For Duluth
    Representatives of Ferradermis Leaving For Duluth
  • Inspecting the Robot To Meet Rule Requirements
    Inspecting the Robot To Meet Rule Requirements
  • Learning About University of Minnesota Duluth's Labs
    Learning About University of Minnesota Duluth's Labs
  • Pit Crew Working to Improve Robot
    Pit Crew Working to Improve Robot
  • Programmers Waiting to Program the Robot's Radios
    Programmers Waiting to Program the Robot's Radios
  • Robot Shoots Up to 5 Power Cells (balls) at one time
    Robot Shoots Up to 5 Power Cells (balls) at one time
  • Scouts Ready to Complete their Pit Scouting Under the Direction of Competition Logistics Captain Shane Kinson
    Scouts Ready to Complete their Pit Scouting Under the Direction of Competition Logistics Captain Shane Kinson
  • Showing Team Spirit With Team Number #6574
    Showing Team Spirit With Team Number #6574
  • Testing the Robot's Handling of Game Pieces
    Testing the Robot's Handling of Game Pieces
  • Testing The Robot's Shooting Capabilities
    Testing The Robot's Shooting Capabilities
  • Wednesday Night Team Dinner at Sammy's Pizza
    Wednesday Night Team Dinner at Sammy's Pizza
  • Working to Fix Robot For Next Match
    Working to Fix Robot For Next Match
  • Calibrating the Robot on the Field Before Matches Begin
    Calibrating the Robot on the Field Before Matches Begin
  • Chairman's Award Presentation Group Sophie Olson, Rosie Aschenbrener, and Jenna Lee - Presenting on Outreach in Our Community
    Chairman's Award Presentation Group Sophie Olson, Rosie Aschenbrener, and Jenna Lee - Presenting on Outreach in Our Community
  • Competition Robot - Chief the Lemon Thief
    Competition Robot - Chief the Lemon Thief
  • Ferradermis Drive Team - Reilly Aschenbrener (operator), Colin Chenoweth (head driver), Coach Dilpreet Randhawa, Jenna Lee (human player), and Gwynne Sahyun (technician)
    Ferradermis Drive Team - Reilly Aschenbrener (operator), Colin Chenoweth (head driver), Coach Dilpreet Randhawa, Jenna Lee (human player), and Gwynne Sahyun (technician)
  • Representatives of Ferradermis Leaving For Duluth
    Representatives of Ferradermis Leaving For Duluth
  • Inspecting the Robot To Meet Rule Requirements
    Inspecting the Robot To Meet Rule Requirements
  • Learning About University of Minnesota Duluth's Labs
    Learning About University of Minnesota Duluth's Labs
  • Pit Crew Working to Improve Robot
    Pit Crew Working to Improve Robot
  • Programmers Waiting to Program the Robot's Radios
    Programmers Waiting to Program the Robot's Radios
  • Robot Shoots Up to 5 Power Cells (balls) at one time
    Robot Shoots Up to 5 Power Cells (balls) at one time
  • Scouts Ready to Complete their Pit Scouting Under the Direction of Competition Logistics Captain Shane Kinson
    Scouts Ready to Complete their Pit Scouting Under the Direction of Competition Logistics Captain Shane Kinson
  • Showing Team Spirit With Team Number #6574
    Showing Team Spirit With Team Number #6574
  • Testing the Robot's Handling of Game Pieces
    Testing the Robot's Handling of Game Pieces
  • Testing The Robot's Shooting Capabilities
    Testing The Robot's Shooting Capabilities
  • Wednesday Night Team Dinner at Sammy's Pizza
    Wednesday Night Team Dinner at Sammy's Pizza
  • Working to Fix Robot For Next Match
    Working to Fix Robot For Next Match

Some teams make it a practice to give out awards of their own in the form of plaques to recognize teams for outstanding qualities. While in Duluth, Ferradermis received the “Help to Educate” award from Robo Remedy, Team 7103 from Manitowoc.

The team competed hard throughout the weekend, making improvements to the Power Cell intake and shooter between each match, and getting to the point where they could shoot Power Cells in autonomous mode in the period before the drivers could touch the robot. They worked and worked to make their climber operational throughout the week as well, but came home with a goal of an operational climber before the Wisconsin Regional.

The Chairman’s Award presentation crew put on a magic show for the judges to share the magic of Ferradermis and everything they do that isn’t about building a robot.

The team had planned to use the Duluth competition as a launchpad to defend their back-to-back titles at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee from March 18 – 21, but on March 13, FIRST officially suspended the 2020 season and cancelled the World Championships for 2020. Ferradermis was lucky to be able to compete in at least one event this year, as there are seven weeks of competitions (with Duluth being held in week 2), and any teams that did not have week 1 or week 2 events never got to put their robot to the test. Teams are now looking forward to several off-season events this summer in which they can use their 2020 robot.

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