Team Voltage competed in the Palmetto Regional last weekend. We ranked 26th after qualifying matches. Team 538 chose Teams 386 (Voltage) and 665 as alliance partners for the Quarter Finals!
We also won the Innovation in Control Award -- which celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components to provide unique machine functions -- for our new suction cups and 14 autonomous modes. Charge up!

Team Voltage's drive team and pit crew, as well as other students and mentors, leave today for the Palmetto Regional. To watch this regional LIVE, click on the following link, then scroll to the bottom of the page:
http://robotics.arc.nasa.gov/events/webcasts/regionals_2007.php
Good luck!!

Anyone still in Florida will be working at the Big Squeeze Juice Festival March 29 - April 1 to raise money for our team.

This past weekend. Chris S. and Okie Baughman traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to the Buckeye Regional, to accept the Green Machine Founders Award, the highest award given to a high school robotics team for their work with hydrogen fuel cells. Congratulations, fuel cell team! View pictures of their trip in the Fuel Cell photo gallery.

TEAM: We will be meeting at Melbourne High on Saturday from 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. to work on replacement and upgrade parts during the allotted fix-it window.
Two weeks until we compete in the Palmetto Regional!

Last weekend, Team Voltage competed in the Florida Regional competition at UCF. By the end of qualifying matches, our team was ranked #17 (see here for complete Team Standing list). We were not chosen for an alliance, but as an alternate, Team 386 filled in for SigmaC@ts (Team 108) in an alliance with Children of the Swamp (Team 179) and Exploding Bacon (Team 1902) during the last 2 matches. Our alliance didn't win, but we were Regional Finalists!
Team 386 also won the Xerox Creativity Award for our suction pickup and 14 autonomous modes. Videos from the awards ceremony can be found on the video page.

Our team will be meeting from 9 AM - 5 PM today at Mebourne High to discuss game strategies for the Florida Regional and build spare robot parts. We will also need as many students as possible to help punch buttons, put stickers on our flashy-blinky lights, and label our beads. Spirit at regionals is important too! During lunch we will watch and discuss matches from the Regionals that are being held this weekend.
Next weekend, March 8-10, the Florida Regional will be held at UCF. For important information about parking at UCF, please read this document provided by FIRST.

Not attending this year's Florida Regional, but interested in watching Team Voltage's matches? NASA will provide a LIVE Webcast, Podcast, and PSPcast at the following link:
http://robotics.arc.nasa.gov/events/webcasts/regionals_2007.php
Be sure to cheer on all competing teams!

A Florida Today photographer visited our team this morning to take photos for the local newspaper. Driver tryouts will be held at 1:00 and manipulator tryouts soon after. Good luck, everyone!

Tonight, the team is busy disassembling the rack and reassembling it in Melbourne High's cafeteria, where it will remain for robot and drive team practice until Monday night. Mechanical team is still working on the robot, making tremendous progress.

The animation is finally complete, and work on the robot is moving along nicely. Days until robot ships: 5!
Also, yearbook ads are due ASAP. Make sure you send your ads to Rose!

Today Team Voltage held its annual Design Review, where each subteam presented its progress to the entire team. We decided on a final robot design and animation presented their storyboard.

Team Voltage received a sponsorship from EDAK, an aluminum engineering company. This year, they will help weld our robot frame as well as our new robot crate. Thank you!

There is a mandatory Team Voltage meeting January 6th, 2007 for the FIRST Kickoff at FIT. Check the Calendar for upcoming events.