- By Andrew McCracken
- Around Town
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| Update: Due to COVID-19 the entire FRC season has been cancelled | ||
Code Red Robotics attends two regional competitions per year. Teams that win regionals are invited to the world championships. This year, Code Red is attending the Finger Lakes Regional on March 12 - 14, and was scheduled for the Central New York Regional on March 19 - 21. However, due to the developing COVID-19 situation, the Central New York Regional has been delayed indefinitely.
This year, Code Red designed a robot that we affectionately named LoweRED GPA. On Saturday, January 4th, FIRST released the rules for the new FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) game Infinite Recharge. Since then, the team designed, prototyped, and tested their robot.
Some key elements of this year’s game are hexagonal goals that robots have to shoot small handballs into and a large metal frame that robots have to climb onto at the end of the match. Our robot (LoweRED GPA) was designed with the main goals of being able to climb (by using a hook and winch to grab the bar and then pull ourselves up) and to automatically line up shots (using reflective tape and a webcam).
During build season, Code Red also hosted its annual Open House in mid-February. Code Red students gave tours of build sessions, and hosted STEM exhibits and activities like slime-making, which helped make STEM accessible to young kids in fun and exciting ways. Cornell professors did chemistry demonstrations, and local STEM-based clubs and businesses showcased their organizations.
Competitions are live streamed. Team members say they are very excited for their first competition this weekend. The Finger Lakes Regional will be hosted at the Rochester Institute for Technology Gorder Field House on Friday and Saturday.
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