2015 FIM Centerline

[FIMAlumni]

FIM Centerline take's place this weekend and I thought I might highlight some of the top ranked talent here. Rankings are based on teams only playing one event.

2834: Bionic Black Hawks (ranked 2nd). Winner and first overall pick at Gull Lake, the bionic black hawks are a HP fed, 2 independent elevator, retractable hp ramp stacking machine. Showing off 2 stacks of 3 with a bin (stacked on top of a 1 stack and a 3 stack). With 2 weeks between competitions, look for improvements from this consistent stacker.

4384- Benzene Bots (ranked 6th). First alliance captain and winner of Howell, the Benzene Bots. Taking on a unique approach to mining the landfill. 4384 pulls 2 totes out at once then utilizes a forklift to stack the totes together creating a stack of 4 with a RC and a noodle.

1189- The Gearheads (ranked 14th). 5th overall pick and Howell finalist, 1189 is a hp fed arm capable of creating 2 stacks of 3 (one with a RC) and combining them for a stack of 6. They do this with time to spare and are able to create a short stack or cap other stacks in the remaining time.

573 - The Mech Warriors(ranked 19th). 3rd overall pick and semifinalist at Southfield, 573 is a hp fed loader. Utilizing a yellow tote as an aid, 573 creates stacks of 3 with the ability to cap as well. While 2 canburglers hung on their robot all weekend, they have not yet been used in competition.

2604 - Metal and Soul (Ranked 31st). 4th overall pick and semifinalist at Kettering, Metal and Soul is hp fed robot making stacks of 1 while running back and forth after every tote. 2604 has an incredibly fast drivetrain, making the trip between the scoring platform and station very short.

Of the top 5 teams listed above 4 are hp fed, expect landfill robots to be a sought after group. Also of note, 68 has yet to compete at FIM, but has debuted in IN. They missed the alliance selection there. Good luck to all teams!

[Jon K.]

I am looking forward to my first FiM competition this weekend! I can't wait to see all the great teams in Michigan.

[Ed Law]

Not a lot of discussion here. We were fortunate to have 3098 as our first round pick. They were very quick in getting totes from the human player station to set up two stacks of three grey totes for us to allow us to cap our stack of three totes with green container and litter. They even have time left to do their own stack of 5 grey totes with container on top and then more totes. Without them we would not have won.

And to our partner 4815, it was fun working with you. You did everything we asked you to do. You were willing to change your role and turn into a landfill bot and complement 3098 and us. Great job. Enjoy the win on your home turf. Thank you for hosting this event.

[Aaron (Awe-Sum)]

First, congratulations to teams 2834, 3098, and 4815 on their win at Centerline. You guys made an excellent alliance.
A huge shoutout to 1701 Robocubs for selecting us as their first pick. 4961 was honored to be in our first eliminations ever, and are now looking ahead to our next competition, Troy.

Overall, Centerline seemed more evenly matched than most events. As the 12th seed, we were 5 QA points from both the 8th seed and the 18th seed. Very exciting and close Saturday morning for us.

Finally, I'm just glad I didn't trip walking onto the field when we were selected

[SoulianPride]

We were ranked 9th at Kettering and knocked out in the quarters and ended out 20th at Centerline ^^

Major shout out to 4961 and 1701! It was an awesome competition! Congratulations to 68 for their Chairman's Award win and to 3098, 2834, and 4815 for their win!

[Gadget470]

It's been a long time since I've been involved in FIRST (12 years since I graduated high school). My not quite 7 year old is taking a LEGO robotics course and wanted to check out to the High School level competition. He had a blast. I wanted to share a special thanks...

Volunteers: So many of you made various positive comments towards him as he went by proudly showing off his collection of team buttons.
Team 818, Steel Armadillos: He grabbed one of your buttons first and was rooting for you every time they called your number and loved your mascot.
Team 68, T3: Your crayons got put to good use quickly, but sorry, he was drawing a Steel Armadillo!
Team 2851, Crevolution: Two young guys (I apologize, I never asked your names!) were manning the pit area making extra buttons with their button maker. My son got curious, and without hesitation the two invited him over, explained to him how it worked, and helped him make a few. You were both a class act and represented your team and the spirit of FIRST very well. Even though it's crooked, the one he made from your team is his favorite from the day.
And I'm terribly sorry but I don't remember the team number, but whoever had the PVC pipes that would grab the center RC's during autonomous... that was his favorite robot design.

Here's hoping he's hooked... Thank you everyone! I'm glad FIRST is still as awesome as I remember.