2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

With the Duluth Regionals just 1 week away I figured we should start talking about them. I've done some bogus predictions for the fun of it (don't be offended, I'm just guessing).

Lake Superior:
359 1714 4539 1816 3276 3055 3102 2472
2052 4818 4607 93 3293 2977 2177 2526
4845 4244 3290 2227 5690 5542 3840 3277
(Alliances are columns with alliance 1 on the left)

I've also created an online scouting sheet for teams to fill out if they're interested in doing so. Given the importance of scouting in Stronghold, I think this will help some of the smaller teams at the event:
Lake Superior Scouting Form

Notes: I haven't seen a large majority of the teams competing at Lake Superior, so most predictions are a guess. I have seen a few teams including 2052, 1816, 4607, 2177 etc. and I can say with certainty that this will be a fun event. I'll be inspecting at LS, and I'm looking forward to it!

Northern Lights:
2502 5172 876 3042 4859 2491 5929 3212
2512 3313 2883 4656 4624 877 3132 930
5658 3692 4623 4360 3298 3054 2500 2501
(Alliances are columns with alliance 1 on the left)

Notes: 2502 will be ridiculous at this event. That's my prediction. That isn't to say I think the regional will be noncompetitive. There is a lot of parity in the field, and I think that will show when a low seeded alliance comes out of nowhere to win.

Northern Lights Scouting Form

An additional note: Bison Robotics from NDSU will have 30 of its members (many of whom were on The GreenHorns Ri3D team) volunteering at the Duluth Events. Please feel free to ask us any questions you have about The GreenHorns, or NDSU! I'm always looking to recruit new talent to the club ;)

So who's ready for some robots!!!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I like your predictions. I also know 2052 has pictures of themselves and many other robots from their week zero event. 1816 has a picture of their robot on their twitter page.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Here is a better look at our robot for the 2016 season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgtCI7D4cws

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Thanks for the positive prediction! Our team is really excited for next week. Can't wait to see everyone's approach to the game!

We attached a photo of our robot. Special thanks to Douglas Finishing in Alexandria for the great anodizing of our parts!

Specs:
6 wd- 4 pneumatic, 2 omni
VexPro Ball Shifting Gearboxes
120 pounds
Low goal and high goal capable- in practice matches (with no defense) we were able to score between 8-10 high goals from the outerworks and still had 20 seconds to climb. Also can shoot from the batter for close shots.
B and D defenses
Climber
Fast intake

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Yours is a robot that I've been waiting to see for a while. Thanks for the picture. I'd be pretty happy if my predictions were accurate ;)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Hey, thanks for the compliment but lets just make sure everything works... including our climber.

In reality though. We haven't seen too many videos for the northern lights teams so we aren't going to be too confident until after elims.

Good luck to all the teams going

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Team 930 is excited for Northern Lights and to see all the teams and their robots there. I know it's going to be a great regional see everyone in a week.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Team 2855 is sending a few representatives to Duluth to observe Friday and Saturday. It will be interesting to see what stategies the teams are using.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We greatly appreciate the high praise, but there are still many unknown robots that we haven’t seen yet making their first appearance there. I believe this is going to be a big year for MN FIRST. Good luck to all the teams going.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We actually shot our reveal video from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. at/before that Week Zero event and it's going up on March 1st. Needless to say, we did get a handful of pictures throughout the rest of the day as well.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Hey there! Since threads like these tend to get a bit more traction and chat happening in them, and I noticed your scouting spreadsheet page, I thought I might also offer up the scouting solution I came up with.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...hreadid=144720

It's a simple web based solution that will allow for simple comparison of team stats and how a team did in each match they played :)

Thanks!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone (and snow!) in a week. Don't forget to come by the FIRST Ladies tea on Thursday at 9:30AM in the Lake Superior Ballroom.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

You may be sorely dissipointed in our snow totals... it's pretty pathetic. I forgot you were THAT Thunder Down Under! I would've had you higher in my predictions :p

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Plus, I hear it might get above freezing while we're there!

Looking forward to next week - I can't wait to see this game played!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

This is sure gonna be a great event.. can't wait until the Double Deccer!

I have that feeling too.. already seeing a couple of MN robots release pics/reveal videos makes me feel like this year is gonna be a big year for FIRST in MN as well!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

As someone living in Duluth, there's tons of snow right now. It's been snowing on and off all week but its supposed to be average (33F high) by March-In-Duluth standards.

It'll be my first regional as solely a volunteer, and I cannot wait.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Huh, I guess I forgot I'm 4 hours away... good to hear that there's snow!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

4536 will be sending some people up too. I'm very curious to see how the game flows, especially in elims, after all this discussion about defense...

I laughed when I saw your video, 1816, because we named our robot Zenith last year.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Does anyone know if there is early pit setup for the Lake Superior regional.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Based on the responses by Jon in this thread I'd probably say no. I can't seem to find the post where the final decision was made, but I'm pretty sure it's a no.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

In the most recent email I have received from Mark Lawrence the schedule does not allow early setup. It says you can unload but setup isn't until 8:30am on Thursday. Bummer.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

There will not be early pit setup for any of the MN regionals (Duluth or Minneapolis). For the Duluth regionals, teams may load-in from either 7-9 pm Wed or 7:45-8:30 am Thursday. Pit setup isn't allowed until pits open at 8:30 am Thurs.

You can find links to the schedule and load-in directions here. Note that a driver will be required to stay with the vehicle while unloading and promptly move it to a designated parking area to ease congestion at load-in.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

You guys looked really polished week 0, that auto looks really nice, but I wouldn't expect anything different from 2052.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Team 2499 is really excited to be attending Lake Superior! Good luck to everyone attending! :)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Thanks to all for the info about pit setup.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Speaking as someone that spends the entire load-in period in the pits... You don't want to be setting up Wednesday night. It's just too cold in there!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Very true! I helped with load-in without a jacket last year... big mistake. I'm lucky I left with all my fingers!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

It was 40 degrees yesterday so we feel pretty confident we're ready for the 33 degree weather of Duluth. :rolleyes:

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

70-80 degrees here in Hawaii.
But we will be ready for the cold.

Wont be at load-in since we cant setup pit anyway.
Taking the kids snowboarding at Spirit Mountain instead til 8pm.:D

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

It was 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Sydney yesterday, pretty warm!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I fully expect you all to wear Hawaiian shirts while snowboarding- the locals would get a kick out of it!

Kidding, we need you to not be icicles on Thursday ;)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Personally I was surprised to see so many teams not at northern lights that have been power house teams in previous years such as 2175, 2169, 27, 525, 3130 etc. I feel like Duluth is going to be real fun this year and cant wait till next week.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Thanks, 2502 looked polished as well this year at the chanhassen week zero event! Good luck at Northern Lights!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I cant speak for all teams, but at least for us and 3130 based on the wait list it was much more likely for us to get into the Iowa regional. We love going to Duluth every year and the venue is one of the best in all of FRC but we look forward to getting to go to the inaugural Iowa Regional.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

The Iowa regional really attracted some of the powerhouses that usually went to the duluth regionals.

Edit (In response to boe's post):
Yeah..registering for both the duluth regionals is beginning to get tougher and tougher as FRC in MN grows.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We actually have 4 people going to unpack the crate.
The other 6 of us (5 kids) wanted to go Snowboarding since we are staying at the Spirit Mountain hotel again. I had to sacrifice and chaperone the kids with all of my own gear that I packed, including the downhill runs.;)
My Driver isnt going. I cant afford to have him get hurt and not drive.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

2512 is incredibly excited for the Double DECCer! We look forward to seeing all the teams compete, and we also look forward to testing out some of our strategies for competition. From the robots we've seen that are going to be at Northern Lights, I think it will be a great year.

Good Luck to all the teams!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Thanks, but trust me, that was far from polished. We just got our competition bot working at the event. I’m shocked we had a robot that even worked at the event. None of our ball control systems were in place yet, and that really hurt our cycle times.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I'm sure you guys will improve/progress, try and be optimistic! :) Every season is different for every team and with us this season we finished the robot mechanically pretty early which left some time to our programmers to work on auto and other things. (I think this was a record for our team this year how early the robot was finished, but we are adding things as we go too)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Team 2823 is excited to return to Lake Superior again! I'm also personally curious to see what 3102's bot looks like. Based on the description of "sweet" in the spreadsheet, I'm predicting a sugar cube. With bumpers, of course :D!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Check out Team 3267 Mariner Robotics in training! See you at the Northern Lights Regional! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ1LrNceyyI

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Really appreciate all the work you put into your scouting Ryan. Really looking forward to seeing as many of the 123 bots as possible next weekend. Safe travels to all.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I just set up the spreadsheet. The hope was that more people would willingly tell me their weaknesses :D

After watching Palmetto I'm way more excited for Duluth. Stronghold is living up to expectations.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

The OtterBots are excited to head back to Duluth. We were climbing last time we were there! Good luck to all. Here is our climber and our autonomous programs for CDF and PortC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLgGXS4RZA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmFNz9T0Us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdiPnSJfsg

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

On behalf of Team 2500 - Herobotics, I can say that we are certainly excited to head back up to Duluth for the Northern Lights Regional!

The best part is that it's only four days away! :D

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I think my alma mater wanted to compete later in the season just to get a feel for the game and make any necessary adjustments before their first comp. Week one was rough for us last year :o .

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I would just like to point out some information about our robot: team 4607. We have not successfully "tapped" the drawbridge and we are currently not able to "damage" the porticullis. As for climbing, those figures are exaggerated as well. In the couple of times we have climbed, the total time amounts to around 20 seconds. That includes making it to the batter and hooking onto the bar. I would just like to set this information straight before we enter Week 1! Good luck to all who will be there and may the force be with you!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

To clarify why I put down the information I did, I was already considering a change in gear ratio for our winch and I put down an estimated time based on the JVN calculator plus some time for lining up. We haven't successfully "tapped" (i.e. cross defense from neutral zone) the drawbridge yet, but we have the mechanisms to do so, therefore I counted it.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

With Duluth right around the corner we thought you guys might like to get to know Ernie a little better. Here's a link to our reveal video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJQjGWWHr4

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Team 3042 Cobalt Catalyst would like to introduce Fenrir

https://youtu.be/6PnXYJ3Ad10

The media team did a good job with the little video they have.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

@3042 - Love the looks - cannot wait to compete together at North Star and dood look at Northern Lights!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/s142497.shtml
This is for people wondering about the weather up here during competition.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

This will probably be the best weather we've ever had for the Duluth regionals. I'm looking forward to being able to walk between the DECC and hotel without getting frostbite!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Some may have seen our reveal video on FIRST Updates Now, and it didn't really show a ton of robot action. So here's a video that shows nothing but robot action.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Looking good 4607! Now I know why the field took such a beating. :ahh: Looks like we need to practice our CDF wheelies. ;)
With all the robot reveals, it's looking to be a couple great events up in Duluth.
See you all soon and good luck,
Nate

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

When are you going? Maybe some kids from 2512 can come with :)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

That's a cool robot you guys built. I look forward to seeing it in person at North Star.

Shout Out to 2052 as well. You folks consistently build great machines.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

just a few hours left until the Double Decker, i can wait to see what everyone has come up with this year!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Any more predictions? We’ve seen a lot of the robots in practice matches now, and would love to hear who you guys think will take home the banners

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Plenty of predictions. No time to type. Robot inspecting keeps you busy. I'll definitely be posting my thoughts tonight.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Can't wait to hear them

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

So I didn't actually get to watch a ton of matches given that we needed to inspect 123 teams between the 2 events. I can say that the top teams are going to play at a very high level, and the bottom teams are going to play at a decent level. Most teams that I worked with will field a robot that can defeat most of the drivetrain specific defenses. There won't be a single robot that misses their first match, which is awesome.

In terms of teams that will do well... I think I did a decent job with my initial predictions. One team I would move way up is 3102. I think they're a team that can finish in the top 3 at the end of quals and it'll be interesting to see who the partner with.

There are only 3 teams that I've seen climb so far. 3293 the Otterbots, 1714 More Robotics, and *4607 CIS. Climbing will probably turn into a nice boost, but not enough of a factor to warrant a pick on its own. Each of these teams is also good at other things and will be in the playoffs, most likely as a first pick or alliance captain.

2052, and 359 seem like they'll be the top 2 teams, and I think it's likely that they team up. Stopping that combination will require another alliance to strike gold with a third robot. I think the 3rd and 4th best robots will be close enough in ability to the top 2 that the finals will be very interesting. I think it's likely that two high seeded alliances play in the finals. Logic being that the difference between the 16th best robot, and the 24th best robot is virtually nothing, and the top alliances will cheescake a blocker/climber onto their third pick, making them much more valuable.

More to come if I feel like typing more later. Off to discuss strategy.

*4607 climbed in the practice area, not on the actual field.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Just met and spoke to Don Bossi... yep. It's a good day.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Anybody else having trouble with Northern Lights webcast ? I get "Flash: Video file not found"

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Both (Northern Lights and Lake Superior) seem to do that from time to time. They also stop occasionally causing you to have to reload the page. They were working a lot worse yesterday but they still could be better.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Sally port literally damaged at Northern Lights.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I seriously think they should have more than only three sets of the defenses. Four or five would be better in case something happens like at palmetto.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Did I see a match at Lake Superior without a curtain on the low bar? I could've swore I did but in the next match both were there.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We've torn 4 curtains now. 2 in the first 2 matches. We have a shop setup on the side of the field making more of them out of bumper fabric.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

So that's why they're blue and not black.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Qual 32 at Lake Superior had a successful capture.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

That is correct.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

And Breach.
Two high goal shooters on one alliance helps for sure, especially considering no shots made in auto.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Yes, there was a breach as well, but the capture was particularly impressive because it is the first qual capture I have seen, and may have been the first capture. The 30pt auto on both sides was also impressive, since I haven't seen that yet.

Was 2823 fully on the batter at the end of the match? It looked like they rolled off based on camera view.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We were on; it was close, but we were fully supported. From the stands you couldn't tell, but from the sidelines it was obvious.

That was a great match :)

Cheers,

Jeremy

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Prepare for the earth to be scorched. Many declines coming.

Edit: I stand corrected...

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I guess someone did their homework, but 5172 was the best team there. I still can't believe we were able to pull out the win. It was a great event and 2502 had a blast. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers for making this a great event.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

My predictions were a lot closer on the Northern Lights side of things. Not terrible considering I hadn't seen most of the teams!

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Team 2499 had a lot of issues this year with our robot, but it was still a lot of fun. Quals match 64 was especially rough for us because our entire alliance lost communication with their robots so we just sat there unable to do anything. We had a couple other communication issues that made our robot disconnect and in one match someone on our team put in a dead battery when we told him to change it (:mad:). We did have some matches where it was working though, and those were definitely a lot of fun. Everyone did a great job today and it was a really exciting competition. Congrats to Denfeld, the Hawaiian Kids, Mystery Machine, Crimson Robotics, Patriotics, and everyone else who competed. :)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

On behalf of 2502, thank you to all the volunteers, referees, mentors, inspectors and all others that helped with the Northern Lights and Lake Superior Regionals. Special shout out to 2883 (F.R.E.D) and 5232 (Talons), our alliance partners. Good job 5172 (Gators) for their worlds qualification and 3132 (Thunder Down Under) for winning chairmans.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Congrats to Team 4009, 359, and 6175 for winning the Lake Superior regional! You guys were putting up some big points throughout the tournament. Big shoutout to our alliance partners 5690 and 2227! It was certainly a wild ride to the finals for our alliance. Also congrats to team 2526 for winning chairman's at lake superior and to team 4009 DNA for winning Engineering Inspiration! (thanks for the wildcard DNA!) Also huge shoutout to team 4607 CIS, you guys nearly knocked us out of the quarterfinals and honestly it could of gone either way with your killer defense- I wish you guys luck at North Star!

Congrats to 2883, 2502, and 5232 for winning the Northern Lights regional and the double deccer! I'm super happy to hear that 2883 won their first regional.. well deserved for sure FRED! As for 2502, I'm not surprised that they won at Northern Lights- they have a beast of a robot and I can't wait until we get to compete with them at 10,000 lakes! Also super glad to hear that 5172 the gators got a wildcard from 2502, I can't wait to see them at champs and at state cause I've been hearing nothing but good things their team/robot.

Overall thanks to the volunteers, inspectors, referees, judges, etc. who helped put up 2 great events! I'm sad this was my last time going up to the Decc as a student on a team, but I'll be back next year as a volunteer :o

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Does anyone have video of the double DECCer match?

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We will be posting it later today.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I would like to thank the organizers and volunteers for this great event the competition was great and the overall atmosphere this year was out of this world. Special shout out to team 2502 and 5232 for being a part of our alliance. 2502's bot was an animal it shot the lights out in playoffs. I would not be surprised to see them win another regional this season. 5232 I felt was a steal for a third pick as they were a great defense breaker.
Also congratulations goes out to the Gators 5172, all I can say is wow what a shooter going to be fun playing at the next 3 events.
Nice job 2512 on the robot but also the amount of work your team does to put this event on.
Events like this will surely keep moving Minnesota to becoming the not just the State of Hockey but perhaps the State of Robotics.
Thanks again to everyone and we hope to see you at Iowa, Worlds, or State.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

We had an amazing time at the Laker Superior Regional in Duluth finishing 3rd during elims. Thank you Plaid Pillagers (2538) and STEMpunk (4531) for being amazing partners in eliminations, so happy we got to compete alongside two amazing teams :)

Shoutout to KnightKrawler (2052) for being so graciously professional. After our first semi final round the arm on our robot had a catastrophic failure which caused us to lose control of our arm. KnightKrawler rushed over offering to help, even trying to use their timeout to buy us more time to fix the robot. Thank you so much that meant a lot to us :)

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

The event was a blast to do, and I had a huge amount of fun. Even though we didn't win, we'll push forward and try to do fantastic in the Iowa Regional. Congratulations to 2883, 2502, and 5232 for winning Northern Lights, and we look forward to competing against 2883 and 5172 again in Iowa.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Does anyone have video of the finals for northern lights?

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I have full field video of SF AND FInals. Haven't had a chanch to post it yet. Should be today.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...pMVMJhAoR1yL0P

This playlist will eventually have the semifinals and finals in HD.

F1 and F2 are there now.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Thank you

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

Other than a tipsy drivetrain, 5172 looks pretty good shooting from the outerworks, where its protected. Does their shooter clear a 54" defender? Hard to tell. But if so, I see more hardware in the near future.:)
Meeting them at Northern Lights in 2014, it was great talking story with their team members again this past weekend.

Re: 2016 Duluth Regional Discussion
 

I don't believe so, and that was our plan if we lost our first finals match. 5172 has an amazing robot, and I loved watching them.