Dragon Army Kick-Off 2016
DaVinci's FRC robotics team 3241 heads to the 2016 kickoff and learns its medieval challenge, FIRST Stronghold.
January 9th marks the beginning of our FRC build season. We traveled to Hillcrest High in Midvale to learn how we’re going to spend the next 6 weeks of our lives. Our game this year, titled FIRST Stronghold, is a medieval themed game in which we cross enemy defenses and attempt to capture their castle while defending our own.
We started out our day eager to learn what FIRST had in store for us, and were surprised at the result. Using a plethora of Monty Python and the Holy Grail references, and some excellent “acting” from our FIRST leaders, our medieval themed game was made known. Following the introduction of the game, team 3241, abuzz with excitement, immediately started planning and talking to other teams regarding this year’s game. We spent 2-3 hours talking to teams both rookie and veteran about how the game is played, strategy, and clarifying any questions presented. Following these discussions we headed back to our lab to begin building this year’s robot.
That Saturday we were able to understand the game more in depth and completely than at any other kickoff previously. When we returned to our lab we split into 3 different teams: one to organize our new equipment, one to build the chassis of the robot, and one to upload the new programs onto our computers. By the end of the day everyone was excited to build our FRC robot for this year’s competition, FIRST Stronghold.
By strategically placing defenses, shooting boulders into their tower, and defending our castle, we hope to raise our flag high this robotics season and be honored with a victorious competition.
Check out what your high school robotics team will be working on this year by searching for the 2016 FRC Kickoff video on YouTube.
How the 2016 Stronghold season ended
The game the team describes here ran through the spring of 2016. FIRST Stronghold was revealed at the kickoff on January 9, 2016, with the broadcast filmed at Searles Castle in Windham, New Hampshire, and at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.
Matches lasted two and a half minutes: a 15-second autonomous period followed by 2 minutes and 15 seconds of driver control. Each side of the field had five defenses called the outer works, four of them interchangeable and one fixed low bar. Robots breached those defenses, fired grey foam boulders about 10 inches across into the opposing tower's goals, and tried to capture the tower at the end by driving onto its ramps or climbing it.
The season wrapped up at the FIRST Championship at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, April 27 to 30, 2016. The winning alliance was teams 330 (The Beach Bots), 2481 (Roboteers), 120 (Cleveland's Team) and 1086 (Blue Cheese).
Questions people ask
What was FIRST Stronghold?
FIRST Stronghold was the 2016 game of the FIRST Robotics Competition. Built around a medieval castle siege, it asked robots to cross five defenses, shoot foam boulders into the opposing alliance's tower and then capture that tower by driving onto its ramps or climbing it. The game was revealed at the kickoff on January 9, 2016.
Who won the 2016 FIRST Championship?
The 2016 FIRST Championship was held at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 27 to 30. It closed out the Stronghold season. The champion alliance was made up of four teams: 330 (The Beach Bots), 2481 (Roboteers), 120 (Cleveland's Team) and 1086 (Blue Cheese).
