Robots made by the two participating teams

To elaborate, FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) is an annual robotics contest held by the organization FIRST® to encourage high schoolers’ passion in STEM and help orient their choices in majors and careers in the area of Science - Technology - Engineering - Mathematics (S.T.E.M).

The careful preparations of each team before the tournament

The club organized this mock tournament with a view to equipping members with the most practical knowledge and experience in preparation for the upcoming season. Modeled after the 2017 and 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition prompts, this assignment is the chance for GART “newcomers” to develop a more detailed picture about the real competition, enabling them to achieve more successes on the FRC 2020 journey. During the 1-month process of preparing, researching the prompts, building and completing the robots with the help from experts and experienced members of the Mechanics and Programming departments, on the afternoon of December 30th, on the ground floor of the C building in Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, the Mock Tournament for GART 6520 members was successfully held.

Participants focusing on their work

Moreover, this time, the mock competition was attended by experts in the field from renowned companies and universities in the country, as well as the school board, teachers and consultants of the club. The two teams competing in the tournament, Red Team and Blue Team, consisted of members from the Programming and Mechanics department of the club.

Club members, teachers, consultants and experts after the mock tournament

In the competition this time, through five rounds, each round comprising of two parts: Autonomous (robots moving due to programming) and Tele-operated (members controlling the robots), each team would guide their robots to overcome obstacles, pick up balls and throw them into the appropriate area to score. The competition’s atmosphere became more dramatic and thrilling than ever with each passing round; the Red Team was announced as the winning team. Despite that, both team recognised their shortcomings and gather invaluable wisdom for themselves to continue developing their skills for the important upcoming tournament.

Through the mock tournament this time, the two teams, while making certain mistakes, was able to learn more and prepare for the FRC 2020 season. Here’s to hope that the GreenAms 6520 Robotics Team will take their time to prepare, create unforgettable memories and succeed in the tournament in the following year.

Reporter: Luu Gia Dinh - Chinese-English 1922

Translator: Dinh Thu Ngan - English 1922