3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

The Byting Bulldogs (3539) can really hold their own. In the Troy district elimination pairings I was shocked to see the poor 2nd seed rookie team (3539) pass up:
4th 217 - the thunder chickens (district / regional winner twice this year)
5th 245 - The adambots (district / regional finalist twice this year)
6th 33 - The Killer Bees (District winner once this year)

to choose 7th seed 1718 The Fighting Pi (district semifinalist) and 2586.

What's more amazing is that they went three matches in the semifinals against the 217, 33 and 440 and beat them good.

Then in the finals they gave the 1st seeded team 2337, 469 (3rd seed team) and 3548 a run for their money. In the third match they lost but it could have gone either way.


When I went to look at how they've done in other competitions I realized they knocked my team out in the finals at the Waterford district.

Great job to 3539! and beware of some of those higher numbers.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

3539 was the 3rd seed at Troy. After 2337 was declined by 217, they picked 469. 217 then picked 33. So the only higher seeded team that 3539 passed up in favor of 1718 was 245.

3539 is the real thing. Beside leading the alliance (3539/1718/2586) that beat 217/33/3450(replaced by 440) in the semifinals, they also won the Rookie All-Star award at both Troy and Waterford.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

Clarification on rankings/picks:

#1 seed (2337 Enginerds) picked #4 seed (469 Las Guerillas).
#2 seed (217 Thunderchickens) picked #6 seed (33 Killer Bees).
#3 seed (3539) picked 1718 (Fighting Pi), who was their mentor team. Both teams (3539 and 1718) have almost identical robots (clearly they are clones but have diverged in modifications post-bag, especially in the minibot domain)

The #3 alliance beat the #2 alliance in the semi-finals and went on to take the finals to 3 matches. I think that, had all robots and minibots been working fully, any one of those three alliances could have won.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

I believe this is the case, but nonetheless it is a great showing.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

I, along with other members of our team, were definitely surprised by 3539 in qualifications. Then, in the semifinals, when 3539, 1718, and 2584 beat 217, 33, and 440, our admiration hit another level. As the announcer said after 3539 received their Highest Rookie Seed and Rookie Al-Star awards, 3539 clearly looks like they're here to stay!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

As their alliance partners at Waterford, this is not the average rookie team. They were amazing tube hangers and now it sounds like have a quick minibot. I look forward to playing with them at states!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

Agree with all comments above. Congrats to 3539 and their mentor team, 1718. We played some good matches in the Semi's and look forward to playing with and against you next week!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

Unfortunately, I was watching from the webcast. and based the rankings off of the FIRSTwebsite.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

I think they are one of the best rookies I have seen since 2337 in overdrive.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

Their minibot is pretty quick, as is their deployment.

The truly amazing part is that they had absolutely no deployment system 2 days before the competition. We worked with them on a couple initial ideas but had to stop to work on our robot. They went back to drawing board and put together an effective system in the last 3 hours they had out of the bag. One of our programmers worked with them to get their solenoids firing in sequence the night and morning before matches began.

In addition, they managed to put together enough money for states in about 2 weeks. Pretty neat!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

For some reason, the website standings page is incomplete. For example, 217 did not have a DQ; their actual record is 10-2. The FMS system had the correct rankings. This phenomenon was also noted at another District overnight Fri/Sat.

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

I heard from someone on 2337 at troy that their arm was built completely by 1718. Either way good job 3539!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

I can say for sure that no one on 2337 would know that for sure. If they did say that, it would be purely speculation.

However, their arms do look very similar. Great performance by both teams. The finals matches were ones to remember!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

It's always wonderful to hear of a highly successful rookie team, regardless of (or perhaps because of?) a great relationship with a mentor team.

Great job, 3539!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

It's more exciting to hear that a veteran team is teaching a new team to be successful (and it's working).

On a note about their robot:
I haven't seen much of the michigan competitions, but that robot there is stupidly simple. I love it. A person with one eye and half a brain could look at it and know exactly how it works Thats awesome!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

"Stupidly Simple, I Love It." going right on our quote board!:)

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

If you have any questions regarding the work breakdown between the two teams, feel free to ask.

We shared our work area at Ford and shared design decisions. They made their own frame, welded it, and assembled it. Their machine shop did all the pocketing and CNC machining because the extent of 1718's CNC's is... zero. That includes the stylish vertical tower. In return, we machined portions of the arm on our manual mill, and taught them to broach gears and do all the 'little' things. They did all their own wiring as well. In fact if you look at their electrical board it was 100% designed and completed by them.

Of course as a rookie team they leaned on us heavily for some things. 3D cad and other design work and the programming primarily.

Working together was a challenge. There was always a worry that we were being overbearing, or that they might have gone a different direction. We were constantly aware of that and tried to be extremely careful. I can't remember a single occasion where our team told them "you must do A". We strongly cautioned against some of the more common mistakes and they leveraged our experience, but never once did we dictate to them what they were going to do (indeed, I don't think they would have let us if we had tried :D ).

They had every opportunity to copy and use our version 2 minibot. After all, it was right in front of them, and we weren't keep any secrets. Instead, and hugely to their credit, they stuck with the one that THEY had been working on, finished it, and can claim 99% of the build for it. I think we may have made the aluminum 2" wheels. It's theirs.

In point of fact, if you look at the finish of the upper arm I think theirs looks nicer - they modified energy chain so that it folds both ways and used that route all their wiring and pneumatics. We led ours outside the arm in a bundle. There is a lot of each team in both designs, a fact we're understandably proud of.

If you look closely, you'll see a number of differences between the machines. The drivetrains are different, the hinge joints are different, the minibot deployments are completely different, as are the minibots themselves. If they're clones, they might as well be brother and sister because they aren't close to identical. I'll add, jealously, that their arm is far more stable than ours right now - we're going to be running substantially different gear ratios (by 30%) at states.

Next year they'll be moving to their own build facility (one conference room at Ford is too small for 40+ students). It's been a great ride so far!

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

It has been a great ride this season with the Fighting Pi. It was a great privilege to work along side their team and have equal imput in the design of both machines from pre build to post unbag. Our team is very greatful for the knowledge and experience they have given us that will help us for many seasons to come. GO PI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Re: 3539 Michigan powerhouse rookie team
 

Thank you Tom, I could not have put it more eloquently. However, to take most of the credit of our success would be dishonest. We owe it all to the knowledge and experience of our fantastic mentor team, 1718. You guys rock!