NO SCHOOL: Thanksgiving Recess
Behold BB-1493, the student-built robot that Albany High School hopes to steer to victory next week at the 2020 New York Tech Valley FIRST Regional Robotics Competition.
The robot’s name is a mashup of BB-8, the loyal droid featured in recent “Star Wars” films, and 1493, the name of the Falcon team.
Team 1493 is gearing up for the regional contest, scheduled March 12-14 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Albany High’s team is one of 34 from the Capital Region (and beyond) that will compete in the event, which is free and open to the public on March 13 and 14..
You can cheer on the Falcons both days at RPI’s East Campus Athletic Village in Troy. Find the competition schedule here. If you can't make it to RPI either day, you can livestream the fun here.
FIRST robotics competitions are held throughout the region, state, country and world. Each year, teams of high school students are presented with the challenge of building a robot that can complete a specific task. They have a set amount of time to complete the project. Every team has the same task, which changes from year to year.
This year’s challenge – INFINITE RECHARGE – has a “Star Wars” theme with a renewable energy twist. In it, student engineers and their robots are charged with protecting FIRST City, a futuristic city based on “Star Wars,” from asteroids headed their way.
On the day of competition, two alliances of three teams each will be created. Each team’s pre-programmed robot will shoot power cells (foam balls) into goals for points; the power cells fuel a shield that protects the city. Team members then take over the controls to gain more points by shooting power cells and taking part in other activities that measure the effectiveness of each robot and each team’s ability to collaborate. The alliance with the highest score at the end of the match wins.
After RPI, Team 1493 will head to Utica for the Central New York regional competition. The team consists of about 40 students and advisers Rich Kissane, Brent Cady, Andre Castagna and Alan Landman. Kissane is a retired Albany High teacher; the other three still teach there.
May the force be with the Falcons!
Visit our Facebook page to see more photos of BB-1493's workout. (You don't need a Facebook account to view the pictures. A window may display the text "To see more from Albany City Schools on Facebook, log in or create an account," but this can be dismissed by clicking "not now.")
