by Gabi Steinberg ('13) On Friday, March 8th, the MTA robotics team went to the Javits Convention Center on 34th Street to compete in the NYC Robotics Championship hosted by First™ (Foundation of inspiration and recognition of science and technology).  First is a non-for-profit organization that is dedicated to inspiring students of all ages to be science and technology leaders; they do so by hosting different robotics competitions for a range of ages. We competed in the First Tech Challenge (FTC).  Each year, a game is designed and the participating teams must build their own robot to compete in that specific game. This year the game they  constructed was called: "Ring it Up."  The goal was to robotically take rings off a rack and hang them on a taller rack in the center of the field.  Each team was randomly assigned to an alliance, which competes against another alliance. Points allotted depend on how many rings are hung and how high on the rack they are hung. The alliance that earned the most points wins each round; this year, MTA won three of the four rounds we competed in, putting us in the top ten of thirty-five teams! MTA first began to compete in robotics competitions, particularly the FTC, only one year ago.  Our season began back in late September, when we met our coach Reuven Levy, the father of Dan Levy ('14). We first began by building our own playing field in the computer lab, which would be instrumental in planning and modifying our robot. Upon the completion of the playing field, we proceeded to build the robot.  In the early stages of the building, the team split up: one part of the team concentrated on building the robot's drive train, and the other part of the team concentrated on constructing the lifting mechanism and electrical hub.  As we advanced we merged the two pieces and from that point on, we continued to work together to further develop the lifting arm and "ring-gripper mechanism".  At the same time, two members of the team worked on the computer coding for the robot. [easyembed field="YouTubeRobots"] Since our time was limited, every Sunday session lasted for over six hours.  Despite the time constraints, by the first week of March we managed to construct a stable drive train, versatile ring-gripper, and lifting mechanism capable of lifting the rings to the highest necessary height of 45 inches.  This gave the two drivers five days to practice and refine their control of the robot.  The best robot would be nothing without the ability to effectively control it. Therefore, knew we need to make the final five days as productive as possible. However, on Monday March 4, the first day of practice, we discovered a flaw in the design of robot which would prevent us from being a competitive participant in the competition.  Most of the robots weight was concentrated in the back.  Therefore, when we extended the arm to its full height and proceeded to drive the robot up the half-inch thick ply wood platform supporting the center ring holder, the robot fell backwards.  Besides discovering a glitch which would prevent us from effectively controlling the robot, the fall caused a critical part of the robot to break beyond repair.  In order to compete in the competition we would need to acquire and install a replacement part.  Additionally, we needed to modify the robot in order to stabilize it and prevent it from falling backwards. We informed our coach of the problems that arose, and because of his dedication, he went after work to a local Home Depot and purchased a replacement part. This enabled us to fix one of the problems within twenty-four hours.  However, the robot would certainly fall again if we didn’t find a way to stabilize it. Up until Thursday afternoon, when we were required to bring the robot for a final inspection before the competition, we worked on creating a reliable stabilizing system.  We installed an arm that is connected to two DC motors, which would swing down from behind the robot and push down on the floor.  This provided the force necessary to prevent the robot from falling backwards.  When we presented the robot for inspection an hour later that day, it was approximately 15 inches wide, 16 inches long, and 18 inches high; it weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, and was equipped with seven DC motors, three servo motors, four controller panels, and nearly 40 feet of wire. However, while under inspection we discovered another problem: the connector between the battery and the rest of the wiring was faulty and needed to be fixed.  We managed to fix it well enough to continue in the tournament. We had a bit of time to practice in the Javits Center, which we were eager to take advantage of.  However, while practicing we were plagued with problem after problem.  We lost our ability to wirelessly connect with the robot with our own computer.  This forced us to use a three foot cable to connect the robot’s CPU with our computer via USB.  This, in turn, forced the two drivers holding the computer and a fourth person holding the cable, to follow the robot on the playing field since the cable wasn’t long enough.  Additionally, while we were raising the lifting arm, one of the wires which link one of the robots motors with the CPU got caught on part of the robot and tore.  Additionally, some of the robot’s computer coding became corrupted for one of the motors which control part of the lifting arm.  By the time we had all the spontaneous glitches fixed, we barley had enough time to practice before we needed to appear at the playing field for our first round. We soon discovered that we weren’t the only one having technical difficulties.  The computers running the matches were having trouble establishing a connection with the competing robots, delaying the matches by hours.  When they were finally ready for us, they still didn’t fix the problems.  Therefore, during our first round the computer dropped the connection with our robot causing it to malfunction and break.  They allowed all the teams to enter the field to fix their robots, and fortunately our robot was very easy to repair.  But we didn’t notice that one of the wires became disconnected before we were already playing that round for a second time.  Since that wire controlled the ring-gripper arm, we weren’t able to place any rings on any of the racks.  Nevertheless, the other team we were playing with had a fully functional robot and was able to score enough points to win us the match anyway.  After the match we were able to simply re-connect the wires and re-establish control over the gripper arm.  We then continued to compete in three more rounds and won two of them. Many start-up teams don’t even pass inspection, but we passed inspection and did much more.  It was a great season, not despite the challenges, but because of the challenges.   I would like to thank my team for making this season as incredible as it was. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Taylor for providing both personal support as well as approving the financial support necessary for making this season so successful.  Finally, on behalf of the entire team I would like to thank our coach Reuven Levy for his help and dedication. Beyond spending many of his Sundays with us, he gave us his cell phone number as well as his work number making himself available all hours of the day. We appreciate your great devotion and look forward to working together in future seasons.