FRC 1781 Competition overview
About
The Lindblom Electric Eagles (Team 1781) compete each year in the FIRST Robotics Competition, where individual teams are tasked with designing, building, and programming a robot in 8 weeks to compete with other teams in an annual game. The competition involves playing a 3v3 game where teams must collaborate, strategize, and form alliances to score the most points.
What is FRC?
FIRST combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. We call FIRST Robotics Competition the ultimate Sport for the Mind. High-school student participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.”
Under strict rules, limited time, and resources, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a challenging field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. Each season ends with an exciting FIRST Championship.
Information For Students
Joining the Lindblom Electric Eagles can be a life-changing experience. Through the program, students develop advanced technical skills, develop an understanding of design, manufacturing, and processes. Students learn to work collaboratively on large-scale projects while engaging in friendships that will last a lifetime. The team structure is listed on the Team Training & Resources page.
What Do Students Learn?
Relationship Building:
Being a part of a team, learning how to build relationships, and networking is necessary. If you join Lindblom’s Robotics Team you will create new relationships with students in different grade levels, teachers, professional engineers, and all kinds of intelligent, resourceful, and wise individuals that can help you accomplish your life goals.
Independent Learning:
The tasks required to build an effective robot and operate advanced prototyping technology, as well as the skills required to learn CAD and Program are mission-critical. They help you develop independent learning skills, empowering you to be your teacher. You might be asked to create a piece needed for a specific mechanism or write code to control that mechanism. These activities will push you to develop your skills to solve the problem.
Manufacturing and Assembly:
As we work in the innovation lab, students learn to control machines from the Dremel saw to the band saw, or some of the heavier machinery like the Tarmac CNC Mill and Lathe. Building with your hands and using advanced manufacturing technology allows you to create the designs you imagine, and shape the world around you.
College, Scholarship, and Career Opportunities:
The LMSA Electric Eagles are composed of hardworking, intelligent students who exude qualities that will make them successful in any field. Being a part of this group can help you meet people from your dream college, introduce you to an opportunity that can jump-start your career, travel the country to meet new people, experience new places, and build a better understanding of the world around you.
These experiences will help you when you apply to college and for scholarships. Furthermore, there are more than 80 Million dollars in scholarships dedicated to FIRST alumni.
Personal Fulfillment and Meaningful Experiences:
Outside of gaining experience and building technical skills needed for future STEM endeavors/career paths, students find that being part of a team and overcoming challenges beyond the individual is truly fulfilling. The ability to change the world around you and the skills to have true agency over your life allows you to go where you want and achieve your goals and dreams.
Season Overview
Pre-Season and Colloquium:
The robotics team begins its Preseason in September and runs through late December.
Build/Competition Season:
During a regular school year, the robotics team has six weeks to build a robot. During those six weeks, the students will be expected to construct a chassis in approximately two weeks. Once the chassis has been constructed, the remaining weeks will have students focused on designing and building the robot’s mechanisms about the challenge. Programmers would then program the functionality of the robot’s drive system and mechanisms. Once the building process is complete, students for the next couple of weeks will use the robot to compete in regional competitions. If the students win at least one of the regional competitions, they will then participate in the Worlds competition hosted in April.
Post Season:
During Post Season, robotics students will travel to different institutions and places to present our robot.
Students will also indulge in a lot of pizza to celebrate the success of their season.
Summer Internships and Workshops:
During the Summer, the robotics team offers a paid internship for rising Sophomores – rising Seniors. This internship is meant for students to learn and polish their skills in the programming, mechanical, business, or CAD fields. This internship runs throughout June and parts of July.
The robotics team also hosts a CRA workshop. This workshop has robotics teams from all over the city visiting, Lindblom, to learn from our mentors.
Team Compartmentalization
Programming:
Beginning programming students would focus most of their preseason time learning the programming language Java on a program called Processing.
Intermediate programming students would begin to learn and experiment with computer vision and robot localization.
Experienced programmers during this time would have autonomous challenges.
Mechanical:
Beginning Mechanical students would focus on familiarizing themselves with tools and safety protocols.
Intermediate Mechanical students would focus on learning how to use the large CNC machines in the Innovation Lab.
Experienced Mechanical Students would help guide the beginning and intermediate students throughout the Preseason.
PR Team:
The PR team focuses on writing grants to possible sponsors in an attempt to get as much funding before the season begins. The media team updates the social media and gets us connected and partnering with more FRC teams in the Chicago area and beyond.
FIRST Information
“FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or structured afterschool programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include 200 Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.
An international not-for-profit organization (501(c)(3)) founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Alumni of FIRST programs gain access to exclusive scholarships, internships, and other opportunities that create connections and open pathways to a wide variety of careers.
The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.”