Delaware Regional Pilot Vex Tournamnent

[Rich Kressly]

First off, congrats to the plannning committee for pulling off one of the best events I've ever been to. JFLL, FLL, and FVC (over 130 teams total) under one roof at the same time - amazing. Lou Rosanio, John Larock, Joe Perrotto, MOE 365, and a host of volunteers should all be very proud of the outcome.

As for the radio glitches that occured in the morning, we now know this:
Three of the competition crystals did not function correctly and were tested after the competition. Testing indicates that one was mislabeled at the factory and two were "dead". By lunch time at the competition, those crystals were identified and removed from the mix and a pre-match crystal check was instituted. To the best of everyone's knowledge this did affect a robot in each of three matches. Local event volunteers and FIRST FVC staff worked together throughout the day solving problems effectively.

In the cases a robots running after match shutoff, etc. there is no definitive answer at this point, but software/code could be a culprit since multiple hardware configurations yielded the same issues.

We have not confirmed that untethered practicing robots interefered with the field and it's highly unlikely this could occur. The crystals that were used on the competition field are not currently available to the public for purchase. Any crystal a team could have used in the pit area couldn't have matched one on the field. The reason that practicing/pit area robots had to be on tether was to keep them from interfering with one another, the field itself was not of concern.

It's important to note that the number of glitches was far outweighed by incredible competition and gracious professionalism on the part of the FVC teams. All of the teams affected by these anomolies made it to the elimiation rounds and two of them were in the finals. We were all glad to see that none of these technical issues had a major negative impact. For a pilot season, FVC is really an exciting experience and the technical lessons learned in Delaware will certainly make the next FVC events that much better.

[Carol]

I just uploaded a some pictures taken at the tournament. They're in the 2006 -VEX - Tournament subgallery. Check them out.

(Look closely and you'll see Rich and other faces you might know)

[petek]

Originally Posted by Rich Kressly

In the cases a robots running after match shutoff, etc. there is no definitive answer at this point, but software/code could be a culprit since multiple hardware configurations yielded the same issues.

To add to Rich's assessment, at least in one instance where a robot was not responding to controls properly, we (field personnel and referees) verified that only one set of crystals of that frequency was in use and that there were no team transmitters turned on except those tethered on the field. I had one of my referees sweep the pits, just to be sure. In the case of this one team, I believe that there was a malfunction in their controller/firmware causing their problem.

It's important to note that the number of glitches was far outweighed by incredible competition and gracious professionalism on the part of the FVC teams. All of the teams affected by these anomolies made it to the elimiation rounds and two of them were in the finals. We were all glad to see that none of these technical issues had a major negative impact. For a pilot season, FVC is really an exciting experience and the technical lessons learned in Delaware will certainly make the next FVC events that much better.

I couldn't agree more! All team members were very respectful and worked well with the field personnel. I was the head ref for this event and it was a pleasure to work with these people. When I had to make calls on the field which affected the match results, all team members made their points clearly and respectfully, and accepted the outcome graciously. The competitors at the Delaware Regional truly defined "gracious professionalism".

I'd add too that the action on the fields was every bit as intense and exciting as any I've seen in five years with the FRC. This was a great competition and my thanks to Moe, all the volunteers and the teams for making it happen.

[Rich Kressly]

Lots more event photos here:
http://users.wpi.edu/~bamiller/DEFVC/index.html

Thanks to Brad Miller!!

[Bill Moore]

The Tournament Media Page is now up. Additional photos and video will be posted as they become available.

[Carol]

Check out this article on the tournament:


http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/p...602020312/1133


The FLL competitions do get more press than the VEX, but there are some good pictures.

[KathieK]

Very nice article! I thought the photos were good and the explanations good as well.

[Carol]

Originally Posted by KathieK

Very nice article! I thought the photos were good and the explanations good as well.

Did you catch where they quote John Larock saying that the VEX robots used "rocketballs"?

[KathieK]

Vex isn't using rocketballs this season? Oops, I guess I'd better go back and read the manual!