Robotics Team Earn 2 More Titles, State Finalists

For the past few months, the Flying Toasters Robotics Team has been hard at work training and competing at tournaments. Their latest tournament took place over spring break, and the Flying Toasters came away winning not one, but two blue-banner awards.

With these two additions, Team 3641 now have 12 Blue Banners won over their history.  They are now double qualified for State Championships next week at Saginaw Valley State University and are ranked 28 out of 483 teams in Michigan.

Coach Ron Weber documented their event last week:

Painful. Defeating. Exhausting.

“If it wasn’t for bad luck we would have had any – that sums up Friday qualification matches as after 8 matches, we were 4-4-0 and in 18th place out of 40 teams. First, a way point code in a drive motor caused the robot to think it was in the wrong spot and off the robot went across the field in autonomous mode, scoring in the other alliance’s area (huge penalty in auto). We lost that match.  Then, one of our alliance robots got caught up in our robot and snagged a sensor, causing the arm to flip all the way over and not work anymore. Quick thinking on the part of our drive team, they “pushed” field objects into scoring positions, from all the way on the other side of the arena! We still lost that match, but quickly became the highest scoring pushing bot out there. Then, our arm extension motor burned out, and we couldn’t cycle fast enough to win that match. The fourth match we lost, it was an honest loss as none of our two alliance partners could score.” – Mr. Weber

New Day.

“We left Friday night with the robot repaired and ready to go. Saturday morning would be a new day, and it was. We went 4-0, and finished 6th out of 40 teams there. Scouting data showed we were the highest scoring robot on the field, and the most unstoppable. That was enough for the 1st seed, as they immediately snapped up the Flying Toasters before anyone could pick them. We were the first pick! Playoffs-1-2-3 and we were in the finals. With the best of two out of three, we became champions with team 5907 (Catholic Central-Novi) & 6532 (Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine-Detroit).

But there is more…TEAM 3641 won the FIRST Impact Award! The FIRST Impact Award (formerly Chairman’s Award) is the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. It was created to keep the central focus of FIRST Robotics Competition on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.

Added to the excitement, we were able to share this wonderful day as students and their families from our FLL (elementary) robotics program came to the Livonia Event to be inspired and cheer us on!  What a treat!” – Mr. Weber

2023 Robotics Team 3641