Event name: FIRST® in Michigan State Competition Event
Date: Wednesday, 4/10/2019 to Saturday, 4/13/2019
Event description: First Robotics Competition, or FRC, is a robotics competition for high school students that combines science and technology with the excitement of competing. FIRST in Michigan organizes the competition into 3 tiers; Districts, State Championship, and the World Championship. Lightning Robotics attended the Michigan State Competition, hosted in Saginaw, MI. In total, 160 FIRST teams from Michigan attended this event to compete with their robots. Teams spent six weeks building and testing their robots following the release of this year’s game, FIRST® DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE, from FIRST on January 5th. During DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE, two alliances of three teams each face off to score the most points in a two and a half minute match. Points are earned by securing hatch panels and loading cargo on to rockets and cargo ships. Teams earn end of match bonuses by climbing their robots onto different platforms of the habitat. Team 862 will next compete from April 24th - 26th at the World Championship in Detroit.
Event results - Qualification Lightning Robotics competed in 12 of the event’s 80 qualification matches on the Ford Field, and ended the qualification rounds in 34th place. During alliance selection, they were the second pick of the Number 3 Alliance. They were picked by the Number 3 alliance captain FRC4362 Gems from Brighton and were joined by alliance partner FRC3604 Goon Squad from Brownstown. From here, the Number 3 Alliance moved on to the elimination matches.
Event results – Elimination (Ford Division) Lightning Robotics, 2nd pick of the Number 3 Alliance, and their alliance partners, FRC4362 Gems and FRC3604 Goon Squad entered the quarterfinal rounds against the Number 6 Alliance. The Number 3 Alliance won 2 matches, securing their victory in the best-of-three format and advancing to the semifinal matches against the Number 2 Alliance. The Number 3 alliance once again won 2 matches against the Number 2 Alliance, advancing to the finals against the Number 5 Alliance. After losing the first match, the Number 3 Alliance pulled through and won the second and third matches, winning the Ford Division.
Event Results – Elimination (Intra-divisional Semifinals and Finals) There are four divisions at the Michigan State Championship; once each division crowns a winning alliance, the four divisional winners compete for the title of Michigan State Championship Winner. The intra-divisional semifinals consisted of two best-of-three sets: Ford vs Consumers Energy and DTE Energy vs Dow.
As winners of the Ford Division, Lightning Robotics and their alliance partners FRC4362 Gems and FRC3604 Goon Squad went up against the Consumers Energy Division Winners. The Ford Alliance won the first match, lost the second match, and won the third match, moving them onto the intra-divisional finals against the Dow Alliance.
As members of the Ford Alliance, Lightning Robotics competed in five intense finals matches against the Dow Alliance. The first finals match was an exact tie, with a score of 99 to 99. The second match was a win for the Ford Alliance, with a score of 101 (Ford) to 93 (Dow). The third match was a win for the Dow Alliance, with a score of 79 (Ford) to 119 (Dow). The fourth match was another exact tie, with a score of 95-95. The fifth match was a win for the Ford Alliance, with a score of 98 (Ford) to 90 (Dow). This brought the Ford Alliance to two wins; Lightning Robotics and their alliance partners were crowned as the winners of the Michigan State Championship!
Award Summary Lightning Robotics won the Entrepreneurship Award sponsored by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers on the Ford Division at the Michigan State Championship. The Entrepreneurship Award celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit by recognizes a team that has developed a comprehensive business plan in order to define, manage, and achieve the team's ongoing objectives. This is the second year in a row that Lightning Robotics has won this award at the Michigan State Championship and the 10th year in a row that Lightning Robotics has won this award.
Event Photos (SmugMug album): Please click here for event pictures / photos
Team History Lightning Robotics, FRC Team 862, was founded in 1999 by Plymouth-Canton teacher, Jay Obsniuk. Back then, they only had 7 students and 3 mentors, but they have grown over the years to 144 students and 44 mentors for the 2018 season. The team is student-led, with 19 student leadership positions. Students learn STEM and business concepts that can be applied to real-world professional settings; many Lightning alumni have interned and work full-time for FIRST® sponsors such as Bosch. Lightning Robotics is deeply involved in spreading FIRST® and promoting STEM in their community. They host numerous events for children of all ages to interest them in STEM and robotics.
Team 862’s robot for the 2018-2019 season, Gemini, has competed in DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE at the Belleville District Event (3/8 to 3/9 at Belleville High School), Alpena #1 District Event (3/22 to 3/23 at Alpena High School), Shepherd District Event (March 29th and 30th at Shepherd High School), and the Michigan State Championship (4/11 to 4/13 at Saginaw Valley State University). At the Alpena #1 District Event, Lightning Robotics won the prestigious Chairman’s Award. At the Michigan State Championship, they were winners of the Ford Division and the Michigan State Championship. They will also compete at the World Championship in Detroit, Michigan (4/24 to 4/27 at Cobo Center). All of these events are free for the public to attend.