AboutUs

About Loveland High Robotics

FIRST Team #1977, Loveland High School, Loveland, CO

Loveland High Robotics is a group of dedicated and excited Loveland High School students that builds robots to compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is a competition between high school teams and the robots they build. See the FIRST web site (www.usfirst.org) for more details.

Mentors, professionals in technical fields, play an important role in our club. Through contact with mentors, students are introduced to positive role models and benefit from their professional expertise. Loveland High Robotics’ mentors include mechanical and electrical engineers, programmers, metal fabricators, and CAD experts.

Encouraging student leadership within the team prepares them for leadership roles in the community. We are an active team! We participate in Relay for Life and help with the school recycling program. Our members volunteer as mentors with FIRST Lego League teams. We run 2 five-day summer robotics camps for middle school students.

Through designing and producing a robot to perform specific tasks, the team members gain a hands-on experience in electrical and mechanical engineering, CAD, fabrication, software programming, business promotion, and project management.

Students work collaboratively, think creatively, solve problems, and apply math, science, and engineering skills. This is truly what we strive for in education and are necessary life skills. Many of our graduating seniors are now pursuing engineering or technical educations.

We include and encourage all students.

This Year

FIRST Robotics Competition 2012: Rebound Rumble

This year's game is basketball inspired, with robots scoring by shooting balls into the baskets. In the middle of the field, there is also a bridge, where robots can balance to earn extra points at the end of the game. Our current robot design uses spinning rollers to pick up the ball, belts to lift it up to the shooter mechanism, and spinning wheels to shoot it into the basket, using the camera to aim.

Previous Years' Robots:

FIRST Robotics Competition 2011: Logomotion

The 2011 robot used an arm to pick up the tubes from the ground and place them on the rack, using a forklift-like screw drive. It was able to follow the line on the field autonomously using light sensors, and included a minibot which would climb up the pole placed in the middle of the field for additional points. The robot used mecanum wheels again this year, as well as the XBox 360 controllers and was again written in Java. Once again, we were chosen to be on an alliance for the final rounds. (Even if the robot was not entirely working.)

FIRST Robotics Competition 2010: Breakaway

Our robot in 2010 used sultiple ball-moving devices. It had a kicker used for kicking the ball over long distances, and a smaller flapper used for short-range kicks. Additionally, it used mecanum wheels and XBox 360 controllers for great maneuverability and ease of control for the drivers. The robot's code was written using the new Java environment with a focus on maintainability and code clarity. We were chosen to play on an alliance in the semi-finals.

FIRST Robotics Competition 2009: Lunacy

LHR's robot for the 2009 FRC game Lunacy, picked up the moon rocks, used a central spiral to raise them, and a separate roller to shoot them out. We deployed an autonomous code to move the robot into the center of the arena, away from shooters, and then to spin. Our members programmed in C and Labview. We came in 21st out of 48 teams.

Mission statement:

To teach students technology and engineering concepts through participation in the FIRST robotics competition, to have a positive impact on the community, and to practice the FIRST ideals of gracious professionalism, teamwork, and innovation.

Honors:

• 2006 Xerox Creativity Award (Denver Regional)
• 2006 Denver Regional Champion

Goals:

• Promote life skills: teamwork, creative problem solving, academic responsibility, time management, personal accountability, business management, and community involvement.
• Teach design, engineering, programming, and manufacturing skills and introduce students to careers in math and science and involve mentors from the professional community.
• Attend and effectively compete at the Colorado regional and Atlanta international competitions, providing students the opportunity to share and assimilate technological ideas with students from around the world.

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