tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39475572103200464482024-02-07T00:25:24.519-06:00SupernovaFirst Lego League team #31 in Naperville, IL.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-1681804402772241322011-03-06T16:30:00.005-06:002011-03-06T16:41:51.830-06:00State TournamentCongratulations Supernova for a great job at the State tournament. They were the only team called back for both Technical and Project, and were honored with the 1st Place Ambassador Award and 2nd Place Robot Design Award.<br /><br />We're very proud of the team. They're currently entered in the FLL Global Innovation Award contest and are working on their provisional patent application. It's a fantastic idea and they've put in a lot of creative energy.<br /><br />Vote for their idea at<br /><br />http://fllinnovationaward.firstlegoleague.org/teams/supernova/submission/automated-club-foot-orthotic<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYANj1ZMTms8_-hB8O4yOtdRPqXXOHP4dEwLzEF4TFHAd9OtMonDM5UBERx6t_7p6-zwNVsEZMqO8-1ZE10Fsoj9srCxMx2X0IZKRGW1Esu0LuwUtQejvewzRE_kZFDoMJ32cinslMsYo/s1600/IMG_4886.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYANj1ZMTms8_-hB8O4yOtdRPqXXOHP4dEwLzEF4TFHAd9OtMonDM5UBERx6t_7p6-zwNVsEZMqO8-1ZE10Fsoj9srCxMx2X0IZKRGW1Esu0LuwUtQejvewzRE_kZFDoMJ32cinslMsYo/s320/IMG_4886.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581099949510754834" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nmjsIT-3pJtxKDHeqGeFcbVqIj_d-qGS0scUUvgG-WYCR5H46bYCoENb5Twc3NNuAijzlqAIAV2sL7aYq23A6H9Dgvj9XZsjB0OL66dErH8c2wXwQ3ahoyAFUck15keOs7TAgw24fx4/s1600/IMG_4885.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nmjsIT-3pJtxKDHeqGeFcbVqIj_d-qGS0scUUvgG-WYCR5H46bYCoENb5Twc3NNuAijzlqAIAV2sL7aYq23A6H9Dgvj9XZsjB0OL66dErH8c2wXwQ3ahoyAFUck15keOs7TAgw24fx4/s320/IMG_4885.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581099778126041602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGgJBM3ENShNsCQr19K2ImAlRfHldEZgvINdf_LXSVuBQjxnGhbw3FbkB3WayNgR1ndCXoyJtYw_nZ9UIqe3Gznd4fBif0EXDHFSe0wnhEiqfOKi2qtsup1pnMviDYjrhYG76muyoXLM/s1600/IMG_4879.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGgJBM3ENShNsCQr19K2ImAlRfHldEZgvINdf_LXSVuBQjxnGhbw3FbkB3WayNgR1ndCXoyJtYw_nZ9UIqe3Gznd4fBif0EXDHFSe0wnhEiqfOKi2qtsup1pnMviDYjrhYG76muyoXLM/s320/IMG_4879.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581100072517428514" border="0" /></a>Coach Emgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06187153870174787189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-5077839969050841262011-01-06T21:42:00.005-06:002011-01-06T21:52:44.908-06:00Batavia Regional<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEice8EYt6g73RiCY2b4HqdjOtcSp5E-tXu9eD2KNn5ivPQyNCc-CtD7vLxJAsvqCjZjGhZO5VsW8-U8V4T07JUMEP83SuqFK9YN4cUGyW-GxpcTMN3alPhF48Cm1S_kESepK4R1n7ikc-xF/s1600/IMG_4725.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEice8EYt6g73RiCY2b4HqdjOtcSp5E-tXu9eD2KNn5ivPQyNCc-CtD7vLxJAsvqCjZjGhZO5VsW8-U8V4T07JUMEP83SuqFK9YN4cUGyW-GxpcTMN3alPhF48Cm1S_kESepK4R1n7ikc-xF/s400/IMG_4725.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559286073470334962" border="0" /></a><br />I couldn't let a whole year go by without a new post.<br /><br />Our Batavia Regional, less than 3 weeks ago went very well. Supernova earned the project award, their first ever, and an invitation to state. They were selected to present their project to the entire audience and did a really nice job. I was exceptionally proud of their teamwork interview. Gracious professionalism all the way.<br /><br />Although they were 5th out of 15 teams, their robot score was well below what they had hoped for. Many teams were lamenting the fact that nothing worked the same at tournament as it did back on their practice tables. We brought a 370 pt solution and our best was 195. Still, it's not all about the robots. They really bit off a lot this year, using an entirely different programming language. So, although their performance was not as high as they would like, they have grown and learned a tremendous amount getting to this point. They have basically had to port all of the software work they had developed the previous few years, which involved writing lower-level functions to regain some of the functionality that was built in with the previous language.<br /><br />Congratulations SupernovaSupernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-68476963627399360702010-01-23T10:24:00.007-06:002010-01-23T10:37:19.203-06:00400 point run at State<object width="400" height="252"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/usw0uSBKQyc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/usw0uSBKQyc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="252"></embed></object>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-21670404433631663272010-01-22T23:46:00.004-06:002010-01-25T12:17:45.882-06:00Well Done, Supernova<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Supernova had a fantastic showing in Arlington Heights last weekend. What we learn is worth much more than what we win, but this season the team was able to both grow as a team and also earn the following awards.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1st Place Robot Design Award<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2nd Place Robot Performance Award<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3rd Place Ambassador Award<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCbbwV4CeAre480nFjuv11fOUAWDQUf0STQpUFSt7L87j7ZPI3EbB4yhpfkSv1Saos8P6DMnlIFt8OdwPtkxLMsQy0cgBR-R0q_TDcmvZ6_V0SUz8B8tzJpHTp3C5GTvGn5IJaxLO2bP_/s1600-h/Supernova2010Awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCbbwV4CeAre480nFjuv11fOUAWDQUf0STQpUFSt7L87j7ZPI3EbB4yhpfkSv1Saos8P6DMnlIFt8OdwPtkxLMsQy0cgBR-R0q_TDcmvZ6_V0SUz8B8tzJpHTp3C5GTvGn5IJaxLO2bP_/s400/Supernova2010Awards.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" /></a><br /></div><br />They were judged Friday evening for project, teamwork, technical and for the ambassador's award. On Saturday, after their 2nd robot match, the team decided they should turn down the power on the arm when retrieving a grey loop - as it was throwing it instead of capturing it. That's when we learned that the laptop hard drive had crashed!<br /><br />We hadn't yet learned that we would soon receive call-backs in both project and technical. This is a very good thing, but we needed a computer for project. Thanks to iLego for their generous offer of a laptop, but luckily Mrs. Naughton had a backup computer in her car.<br /><br />Paul frantically started copying our robot programs and project materials from a jump drive and got the backup computer configured just in time to grab a quick lunch, immediately followed by the tech follow up, an impromptu chat with Scott Evans! and then the project call-back (for which he was using the newly configured laptop for the presentation - yikes!) ... and then his table run! I single out Paul because he held it together through a really daunting series of high-pressure events over the coarse of a couple of hours - although the chat with Scott was an eye-in-the-storm before the project call-back and 3rd table run.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFv9XZROpCR9Cprl2BHKMaYwBYh2d50ARrfJvyC1eMMLYkjottKoVvSyGBSQYD3t0bL5igbbBuvj8Fe0rBOHdJbHxSHdVf4kJzAfapg1-_zobunXR2wqW3xYyusMjvGM7sIRcy9yXlymv/s1600-h/ScottEvansSupernova2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFv9XZROpCR9Cprl2BHKMaYwBYh2d50ARrfJvyC1eMMLYkjottKoVvSyGBSQYD3t0bL5igbbBuvj8Fe0rBOHdJbHxSHdVf4kJzAfapg1-_zobunXR2wqW3xYyusMjvGM7sIRcy9yXlymv/s400/ScottEvansSupernova2010.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="266" /></a><br /></div><br />Mr. Evans was the epitome of gracious professionalism, complementing the boys on their accomplishments and discussing their robots.<br /><br />In this shot, they're discussing the team's first robot design of the season - a very cool pneumatically actuated 4x4 that was abandoned in favor of our low-profile "dually" robot. He commented that older teams like ours are often too emotionally attached to a design to make significant changes, sometimes unable to recognize basic flaws that limit ultimate performance. He complimented them on having the wisdom to see that this robot was not going to meet the requirements and that they could come up with a better design. I'm paraphrasing, but this is the gist of his observation.<br /><br />He asked what they were planning for next season and the team mentioned that their coaches were suggesting a move to robo-lab. He encouraged this in that robo-lab has a higher ceiling of limitations than NXT-G and, more importantly, is more similar to what they would be likely to encounter out in the real world of programming.<br /><br />There's more to report, but it's getting late. I'll close by saying we're extremely proud of the team's accomplishments this season. Yes, they've been recognized at tournament, but they've also learned a lot, grown as a team and have been, and continue to be, tireless ambassadors for FLL. They are currently preparing for 2 presentations to our local community, which I'll report on when the time comes.<br /><br />LEGO!Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-74119180093637595522010-01-15T13:53:00.001-06:002010-01-15T13:54:49.345-06:00Good Luck Supernova!Good luck to Supernova at the IL State tournament this evening and tomorrow. Your coaches and parents are very proud of the great work you've done this season, including extensive project research, helping other teams, introducing FLL to others, and showing some tremendous teamwork.<br />
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I'd like to share a little bit about how they've used teamwork to improve their robot's reliability. The last 2 robot practice sessions were typical of how they've been working in small groups and handing off their results and issues to the next group through the use of their log book. For full disclosure, the hand off in this example was verbal (BAM really had to leave by the time they figured it out!), but the log book has been their primary means of tracking robot errors and fixes for the last couple of months.<br />
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They had originally planned on last Jockey practice on Sunday, but 2 of the teams decided to do a little more practice. BAM (Bridget Andrew Michael) did some minor reliability tweaks and were rewarded with consecutive 390, 390, 390, 400, 400 runs. Their final run of the day (with Mr. Naughton watching!) was a 340. The "falling arm" in mission 2 was back. They figured out what was wrong (and why previous attempts to fix didn't work) but didn't have time to fix it.<br />
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Danny Patrick and Nate practiced the next day and did the fix. The Stop and Wait my-block was disrupting a parallel path meant to hold the arm up. Patrick suggested replacing it with a modified "Stop and Wait BC", which leaves the arm motor (A) undisturbed in the main path while the parallel path keeps it from falling. This way, the navigation using B&C motors would run identically while still fixing the problem. Danny did the changes. They got a 400 on their last run and the arm was definitely holding during mission 2.<br />
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Great job!Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-48628103742763305902010-01-10T19:57:00.000-06:002010-01-10T19:57:42.995-06:00Reliability - Looper-Scooper or Looper-Lopper?The team has had limited time since their late regional to make any major changes. After Batavia, we had a brainstorming session to decide on what should be done to prepare for State based on our robot performance and the feedback forms.<br />
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So far, they've revised the script, re-shot and edited the "present ghost" video, brought to mind their teamwork skills, and have worked in small teams to incrementally improve robot reliability while each of the three 3-man teams have continued to practice. At this stage, the failures are less spectacular (that's a very good thing!), but that makes it a challenge to say what caused missed points on the board, since a failure may not recur with any regularity. I've been coaching them on the importance of careful observation and it really paid off today.<br />
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Example: Joey, Paul and Alex were practicing and found Mission 3's implement was often hammering the first tall loop. Joey noticed that their "ramp" was not long enough, hitting the first loop end-on, missing it and throwing off the rest of the run. They increased the length - but then it was out of base. So they relocated it further back - but then the implement was lopping the first loop in half. Everyone was watching it, run after run, until finally Alex saw that the top of the implement was now hitting before the ramp - it was happening so fast it was hard to see. They shortened that part and it then started scooping loops every time. Now, it works every time.<br />
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The 3 jockey teams have done an exceptional job of tracking changes and passing on information to the next team using their collaboration tools. I'm really looking forward to observing their reliability in Arlington Heights this coming weekend.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-60082211195586064502009-12-19T21:27:00.008-06:002009-12-20T19:17:15.966-06:00Congratulations, Supernova - Off to State!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBMI8GRYRMFHqM1dNdkCB-gNLEMmnmdwrJZDwjiAN9aWDF8TWt2CUtvNDb-so-9Cwr0_RPdy_io-4HAIX_Y07IRHqW9ner79f3SOHnn5qKVWqpSmWFQY4ZhhO13-ULh12_jt3iCohmqya/s1600-h/IMG_3147.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBMI8GRYRMFHqM1dNdkCB-gNLEMmnmdwrJZDwjiAN9aWDF8TWt2CUtvNDb-so-9Cwr0_RPdy_io-4HAIX_Y07IRHqW9ner79f3SOHnn5qKVWqpSmWFQY4ZhhO13-ULh12_jt3iCohmqya/s400/IMG_3147.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417486295678078674" border="0" /></a><br />Great job by the team today at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Batavia</span> regional competition. Their coaches and parents are very proud of their hard work, extensive research and preparation that went into this years challenge. They earned the Technical Award, were 3rd place in robot performance points and earned an invitation to the State tournament.<br /><br />We're especially proud of the way they handled a misunderstanding with the 1st round Ref. They asked him to remove the truck, which must happen for mission2 to succeed and the Ref did not do it, causing a rescue and loss of items collected. They did get the benefit of the doubt and were given back some points. We have 3 jockey teams and they had agreed ahead of time that the team with the highest score would get to run the 4th round unless they all agreed otherwise. After out teamwork judging we huddled to firm up who would run and they had already talked amongst themselves that they wanted the team with the truck collision to get a chance to run again. This showed great teamwork and gracious professionalism.<br /><br />Way to go Supernova!Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-70271529698626128532009-12-13T22:21:00.003-06:002009-12-13T22:26:34.148-06:00Mount Prospect RegionalWe're very proud of the group of Supernova students that helped out at the Mount Prospect tournament yesterday. Thank you Bridget, Patrick, Michael, Andrew, Joey, Paul and Danny.<br /><br />Our Project Coach, Mrs. Naughton has her own team, Scrap Metal, that competed and it was great to have Supernova there to cheer for them and the Rams, a team coached by her brother-in-law Mr. Dan Naughton. Scrap Metal did very well for a rookie team and took 2nd place in robot points. Great job!Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-53431785244931403712009-12-11T20:36:00.003-06:002009-12-11T20:48:06.264-06:00A Perfect Run!Congratulations to the team for their first ever 400-point run in their 3 years as a team. 2 of our 3 jockey teams were practicing today and on the last run, Michael, Andrew and Bridget had a perfect run.<br />Congratulations to everyone - this was a real team effort. Each time they practice, they've been refining and improving reliability. This isn't a routine score, but it was exciting to see everything run as right as it can, all on the same run.<br />The team is still working on handouts for the judges, team information sheets and practicing the project presentation, but tomorrow we're taking a break to go to Scrap Metal's regional in Mount Prospect. Some of the team are volunteering while others are just going up to encourage and cheer them on. Good luck Scrap Metal!Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-24503841645238893782009-11-29T22:08:00.004-06:002009-11-29T22:18:11.654-06:00Getting Close!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZm9QM9LRZlaxipA5kPGxypCgxLsz_D7fAhilbD-EHE0GZB30g7tT2FTe9YOvtty80StYypiPz-qT2Os3sV_V2_1Vqd1q3Jm_70l92lgqm5komTenRxo2HjRaxDqhQk73rryZfqDPDwqG/s1600/IMG_3001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZm9QM9LRZlaxipA5kPGxypCgxLsz_D7fAhilbD-EHE0GZB30g7tT2FTe9YOvtty80StYypiPz-qT2Os3sV_V2_1Vqd1q3Jm_70l92lgqm5komTenRxo2HjRaxDqhQk73rryZfqDPDwqG/s400/IMG_3001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409744170729334706" border="0" /></a><br />We did video taping of one sequence of the project presentation yesterday. Paul was the videographer, Michael was the son and Alex was "the dad" with a tie on.<br /><br />Bridget, Patrick and Andrew worked on other team tasks during the "taping" and they all worked together for a couple hours afterward. Danny came down for a while too. It was like a mini-meeting. Paul and Danny's little brother Scott is in the foreground in the shot. He likes to help out with field setup and hang out with the team.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-37773221878383817302009-11-22T21:15:00.004-06:002009-11-22T21:25:47.105-06:00Chicago Technologies Sponsors SupernovaSupernova is pleased to have Chicago Technologies as their new sponsor.<br /><br />Thanks to the Toennies family for introducing us to them through Mr. Chris Fuller. We hope to be able to promote FLL even better with this new relationship.<br /><br />Thanks for your support, Chicago Technologies.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-43884619409232205962009-11-22T20:51:00.004-06:002009-11-22T21:13:44.153-06:00Down to the CrunchThe team still has a lot to do, but they're spinning up for the final push.<br /><br />They started the year driving hard on the project. Lots of research and they're hard at work putting together their presentation. Thanks to Mr. Allen for helping out teaching Michael how to do calculations for water flow rates and advising on the robot table.<br /><br />With the great start on the project, robot work took a back seat. In the last few weeks, though, they've gone from no missions working to having solutions to all challenges. Reliability is still an issue and they're working on known best methods from previous years to reduce run time: software organization for the jockeys, robot alignment, use of sensors where necessary and implement attachment time.<br /><br />The technical board is blocked out and they now have the robot designed far enough to start putting in real info in the place holders.<br /><br />A lot of work to go, but Supernova can do it.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-76240164679157078722009-10-25T09:54:00.005-05:002009-10-25T10:16:04.503-05:00Argonne, Clean Car Show, Mr. Fieseler, Naperville SunA lot has been happening the last few weeks. Details will be posted on the teams own public website but highlights here.<br /><br />Argonne National Lab-<br />We were very lucky to tour the Center for Transportation Research and see the hydrogen engine test lab, their test dyno, robotic driver and modular test platform, and a lot of other cool stuff. Our thanks to Thomas Wallner, Henning Lohse-Busch and Mike Kern for their time. In addition, we visited the advanced photon source.<br /><br />Clean car show -<br />The event was not as heavily attended as planned but we were visited by a lot of interested families and kids. Another FLL team stopped by as well as Mayor Pradel. The kids (and I) liked all the cool cars - especially the Tesla. There were a lot of green vendors, including our friends from Litter Free Lunch.<br /><br />Mr. Fieseler is a Naperville city Councilman and patent lawyer and is very interested and knowledgable in hydrogen's potential for a greener and cleaner future. He generously shared his time and talked to the group about hydrogen, bringing along fuel-cell car kit for them to build. A big thank you to him for the valuable insights that he shared.<br /><br />Finally, we were in the Naperville Sun promoting FLL. The on-line link is below but the print version has a 2nd picture.<br />http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/lifestyles/1838051,naperville-lego-building-esteem-na102209.articleSupernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-65811380774859296072009-09-20T14:15:00.003-05:002009-09-20T14:22:08.284-05:00OrganizationThe team is struggling with organization. Now that they are all in middle school, outside activities mean that not all members make it to all meetings. During the first meeting's post- mortem of last season, they realized that a means of collaborating outside our normal meeting times would help them prepare for tournaments. They're also growing in responsibility and want to take more of the meeting planning responsibilities.<br /><br />So, the last couple weeks of meetings, besides working on project and robot ideas, have focused on how the team can collaborate outside the meetings and generating schedules. As a result, they can now post and track their progress on line and share ideas that all can see. They still have a way to go as they refine and settle into using the new process, but it looks promising.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-84392764276841362582009-08-15T20:08:00.003-05:002009-08-15T21:32:46.688-05:00Thank you Supernova<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgky2IfYld65Ic6GYEK0_IPcn5D5vLjby5KakCMp2sDDPJQlgTUxqFcFciE8uPuEeL5CNrOdCcwW-ceyta6R3lyb93_mu2JLwbwFoN1Kjd3pXgbGrZDJCH33CiBpXgp_yw5souUxop1SDca/s1600-h/IMG_2538.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370362797341104722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgky2IfYld65Ic6GYEK0_IPcn5D5vLjby5KakCMp2sDDPJQlgTUxqFcFciE8uPuEeL5CNrOdCcwW-ceyta6R3lyb93_mu2JLwbwFoN1Kjd3pXgbGrZDJCH33CiBpXgp_yw5souUxop1SDca/s400/IMG_2538.JPG" /></a><br /><div>The team surprised the coaches on Tuesday with these tie-dye star plaques, designed built and signed by the team.</div><div> </div><div>Thank you very much. We are proud to be your coaches.</div>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-54273410051373056562009-08-08T13:05:00.002-05:002009-08-08T13:11:45.017-05:00Field Setup Kit Is Here!I hope everyone has had a good summer vacation. I'm really looking forward to the new season.<br /><p>Meeting Agenda, Monday, 8/10/2009, 10:30-12:00</p><ul><li>Spend first ½ hr discussing the new season and schedule ideas plus agenda for next meeting – so everyone will be prepared for post mortem and Brickworld and The Taste reports.</li><li>How would they like to organize new season?</li><li>Remember that Mrs. Naughton is mostly unavailable Thursdays, but Mrs. McCurdy will be able to help out as her schedule allows.</li><li>Most project research work will be done outside the meetings.</li><li>Thursdays may be partial meeting with ½ team every other week.</li><li>Robot table work outside the meetings is encouraged and we will support as much as possible.</li><li>Remaining time – build field setup</li></ul><p>Meeting Agenda, Monday 8/17/2009, 10:30-12:00</p><ul><li>Nail down this season’s organization based on last meeting ideas.</li><li>Reports back from Brickworld and The Taste.</li><li>Discuss WF - small post mortem on what went well, what can be improved?</li><li>What work we can do now to prepare for challenge announcement?</li></ul><p> </p>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-18920961526110726792009-07-28T23:21:00.004-05:002009-07-28T23:40:29.034-05:00Taste of Chicago, Brickworld<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziWf94stT7q_X9VW3vwQ_QNZ2bPyPPLm0YqQuVQ_DpBQK_0t5EGISsPoOxQ-_XlxIf4lMnmlQSFQvCyrIB41a8U8uSHRfG-cYEGfnlqJWUMJdW9kpsNSdxVrFf4h6L7S2tBux4_R6IAK-/s1600-h/DSCN1294.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363732863311924802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziWf94stT7q_X9VW3vwQ_QNZ2bPyPPLm0YqQuVQ_DpBQK_0t5EGISsPoOxQ-_XlxIf4lMnmlQSFQvCyrIB41a8U8uSHRfG-cYEGfnlqJWUMJdW9kpsNSdxVrFf4h6L7S2tBux4_R6IAK-/s400/DSCN1294.JPG" border="0" /></a>Alex and his mom, and Trevor and his dad attended Brickworld, promoting FLL and checking out all the cool stuff. The robot had light trouble, just like world festival, but they were able to run a number of missions and give a good showing. They made a lot of good contacts, plus Alex and Trevor met the CEO of LEGO International and the main developer for the Mindstorms project, plus another LEGO executive from CT. It shows how sharing our talents with others ends up benefiting us as well. Thank you to Mrs. McCurdy and Mr. Allen for organizing the Supernova support of this event.<br />The picture shows Paul and Patrick at The Taste of Chicago, where Inscite had a FIRST booth. Michael and Andrew and their family plus Joey attended as well. Supernova was complimented on their presentation. They had a great time. Thanks to Mrs. Naughton and Mr. and Mrs. Toennies for organizing this event.Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-530512303967789472009-04-22T21:07:00.011-05:002009-04-23T07:35:26.393-05:00Back from World FestivalWe're back from World Festival and had a fantastic experience. We learned so much from being there and the team is already busy thinking about and building next season's robot(s). Seeing the creative solutions, teamwork and spirit of the other teams was inspirational. Teams were also encouraged by Dean Kamen at the opening ceremonies and Woodie Flowers at the close.<br /><br />Congratulations to Team STEELE for being honored <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6Qf7oqqArQC6txBghEAwAFqmWABrEJhU681AodBsoA9_zbIiPDKQLt56e37a0s8P_inSNiH2KcoZIj4ADpDrd6WLcLpWprXtBY6mhNTQgp1IEwiy7r4NKShCexRVTYGS5USrlv6fDAh-/s1600-h/IMG_1882.JPG"></a>with the 2nd Place Champion's Award! Very impressive. They were right behind us at the closing ceremonies and we were proud to have IL so prominently represented.<br /><br />We also got a taste of the bigger robots. My oldest son Paul and I saw the WildStang FRC team compete Saturday and ran in to the Burnin' Rubber! FTC team in the stands. We found out later that WildStang was in the Winning Aliance and that Burnin' Rubber! won the PTC Design award. Way to go Illinios!<br /><br />Thanks to FRC and FTC coaches Dan, Cathy and Eric for coming over to our pits and encouraging us at World Festival. Dan came out to welcome us as we entered the dome for our first practice round and came to watch 2 of our competition rounds.<br /><br />We also had an exciting opportunity for a new 2009 FLL participant. Our project coach, Carol Naughton, will be starting a new team next year for her youngest son Matthew. His enthusiasm was noted by one of the volunteers and they invited him to meet Scott Evans on the floor of the dome, where he also signed Matthew's shirt.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89J97c4kAH84pZfuVFDG_ElBm5fRJUxeKorxcctfmiTmbtdbr-36TVvQ8aNL7lMqx-75uROUyaK0befc4CgR3SaOnn8La1CvT1ivfozRE2-A4F267vU_wU-_oXFW5-N8IjmcAydKsavuN/s1600-h/IMG_1882.JPG"></a><br /><br />Supernova was nominated for a programming award and for gracious professionalism. We did have some frustration with our robot performance, but we take it as a learning experience and, after all, that's what it's all about.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone that supported and encouraged us this season.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_MH1xL7TakTS4YfMs1-hyxS0DdB0Ec0JyGJghoxE7Au4vwbwtqzMZVVYB4mhrJXUchkXp6igB6inPZiplL07TqcG-T9fdUG1Ocf1fqkboEK3cbRG9IPLondo6g5MVc63in2XLHPTkYI_/s1600-h/IMG_1922.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327714424683732018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_MH1xL7TakTS4YfMs1-hyxS0DdB0Ec0JyGJghoxE7Au4vwbwtqzMZVVYB4mhrJXUchkXp6igB6inPZiplL07TqcG-T9fdUG1Ocf1fqkboEK3cbRG9IPLondo6g5MVc63in2XLHPTkYI_/s400/IMG_1922.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Scott Evans signing Matthew Naughton's shirt.<br />(how cool is that!)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJJur5HOg7mH7eI4oVOo0KOo0CqvfxMttoJ1uj5bRmXPrM3s3QtpAd_M3nhvMR4uXWQqMS0LFaxD1rjmmw7LH-lUlikE6CRyGjFwNVZKKy9OCZpkOqANnevbDa4WqBMbQTG8TS8w5xDNZ/s1600-h/IMG_1883.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327723547411321650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJJur5HOg7mH7eI4oVOo0KOo0CqvfxMttoJ1uj5bRmXPrM3s3QtpAd_M3nhvMR4uXWQqMS0LFaxD1rjmmw7LH-lUlikE6CRyGjFwNVZKKy9OCZpkOqANnevbDa4WqBMbQTG8TS8w5xDNZ/s400/IMG_1883.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p></p><p><br />This is about 30 seconds in. Is the referee supposed to be holding the house?</p><p>They boys didn't run "find agreement" due to communication problems with the Taiwan team.<br /></p><p></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p> </p>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-3459137125844413182009-03-22T09:30:00.002-05:002009-03-22T09:40:26.405-05:00Mission3 Working<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwOOqwp2a0Jvnha0VpPVIC7ZJz2fq-0L2c93BDLOrK8ovoedWl6pG9N3vtpiBJQCXU9pRpmZQKAPcmSCUmWOg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-29326163895958652102009-01-21T21:22:00.006-06:002009-01-21T22:59:43.065-06:00Illinois State Champions<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293953473549643250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GVuAZeDzxs9XCM9XNcjGgIh4wHolsI11-WxBQYdG11Y2XT5u2p00yLAvNligrWjfsL7Jx8slyrOp1m-POzJy6s_-Au7pSN1wcQHNWoN93o7AyB3Wo1EB4UXI4u8f_ih409c7pv6fjlVA/s400/IMG_1666.JPG" border="0" />Supernova being honored with the<br />Illinois State Champion's award on 1/17/2009<br /><br />They also earned the 3rd place robot performance award.<br /><br /><p>Their coaches and parents are very proud of the hard work, dedication and teamwork that lead to this accomplishment.</p><p>GREAT JOB, GUYS!</p><p></p><p>This video shows their 1st round table run. The early robot rescue during the first mission group cost them 45 points. The rest of the round ran perfectly for 270 point run.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyFkFrYXQ5gPvjo1-tXClPcB9lmFBhjxt26lin0i2Y6XfqEHKMumlDqpjCiwLj58TR9WokPLIvy6r_HDx9MsQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-1667567882134835722009-01-10T19:52:00.004-06:002009-01-10T21:56:51.794-06:00Team 1's Practice Run for State<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0_UA6PLpMD0nwO1ZZCurQ9CvJZtSVsueuM_IGoYd14W-bbHlbE5-83ZhHHJIurd8vIauK2g2HaddKq_DtcA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-65646517162191367412008-12-09T21:51:00.004-06:002008-12-09T22:35:46.614-06:00Batavia Regional ResultsCongratulations to Supernova for their accomplishments at the regional competition in Batavia this past Saturday. Their coaches are extremely proud of the hard work and outstanding professionalism during the tournament. The video was chosen to show how they took it in stride when the house came loose from the table and forced them to rescue the robot. They didn't give up and they didn't complain - the refs gave them the benefit of the doubt for raising the house.<br /><br />- Cheered on our sister team, the "Lego Crushers" - helped them with 40 points by doing the shared "find agreement" mission.<br />- Met Nathan and his dad Dave and helped spread the FLL word. Hope to see them on a team next year!<br />- Top score at the robot table<br />- Robot Design Award - they liked the use of sensors, calibrations, program forks, myBlocks, the magnetically attached ramp and the "elegant execution of find alignment".<br />- Invitation to the Illinois State Tournament<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj975TRMyKAL9nLFGbf_vs22qvWBwv6Z4um7vYvX69qEJLQKhp14AbiR1Kh0KWOJ30O-KW1wQua4XdY2hzv6U0gdyiRIR4pdWMYGSIIdkVuPVhdgjKRB3xD9sL6StRVJbuLxfKCRxQCDVb/s1600-h/IMG_1008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278005494920204194" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj975TRMyKAL9nLFGbf_vs22qvWBwv6Z4um7vYvX69qEJLQKhp14AbiR1Kh0KWOJ30O-KW1wQua4XdY2hzv6U0gdyiRIR4pdWMYGSIIdkVuPVhdgjKRB3xD9sL6StRVJbuLxfKCRxQCDVb/s200/IMG_1008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBUqc3VxfRCtmt1jPLo7kjtupqNOOuqvHr23pA4hyB83ElohqJkvPegVs3ojPbMHo1vLt939UNc8mv2oXT3xth-DdGRznIDavmMIjVX43j6bGjsh-zZbJrjp7CGBMDf8L2VPm0XAMcolo/s1600-h/IMG_1004.JPG"></a><br /><br /><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxHWxSM_8WLFZ6TRVTBrASKYfUBK8byL2UjqLavOAObEFVxRKnPg6w-C9sjySIU1-TO164t3fz-bWXMCnfihg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-67138705987988207402008-12-03T22:13:00.006-06:002008-12-03T22:39:42.934-06:00Michael and Paul - Missions 1-4Get well soon, Joey. Michael and Paul trained today with Joey out sick but they were thinking about what tasks he would be doing so they can get him up to speed at Thursday's meeting.<br /><br />In this video, they do all of the tasks they had planned except the robot gets caught on the pointer during the last click of "find alignment". Great job and after only 1 practice session!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyTBukduXt2hPiHCYjxVCECjNCNrGZoODZNlqdsEOWJv74itZm1lWEKU-4IG-cnhggA8HM3RAbK_Q0EEqMx0A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-76852714145905965622008-12-02T07:08:00.006-06:002008-12-03T22:45:02.364-06:00Andrew - Mission 1<p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzOnwT0N2mbtIj0zU4th4sY5NFDG1Q4IkfiNHiAuePYzBpc_m8n5Lj7OOB9COJxRetJiLllXF5YHFXWwz-EBQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>Alex: scoop, arm, carbon</p><p>Andrew: Bike, insulation, carbon, tie it all together, reliability</p><p>Patrick & Tevor: gold ball, turn out lights, raise house</p>Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947557210320046448.post-84191545358269716252008-12-01T23:33:00.002-06:002008-12-01T23:57:45.698-06:00Team update, 11/30It was a productive and chaotic meeting Sunday. The team is obviously excited about the tournament.<br /><br />Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Naughton</span> led them in project practice. They're looking good and now each have a job for setup at the tournament. Please check the "Our Project Web Site" link on the right to see all the hard work that she's guided them through. She also brought the team t-shirts with "SUPERNOVA" on the front so that we could get a team picture.<br /><br />While the robot jockeys worked on mission strategy and practiced, Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">McCurdy</span> had them doing technical and teamwork thinking in parallel, plus helped the other boys work on the boards and presentations. <br /><br />The result of last week's robot work, including timing of the missions, made it clear that there's no way to run all 4 mission groups completely within 2.5 minutes. We'd also like all missions to be run, even if not in their entirety. Each group of jockeys separated to decide how they'd best like to run the missions. They made independent choices with similar point estimates of 235 points max.<br /><br />Joey, Michael, Paul: Missions 1,2,3,4, but rescue the robot on missions 1 and 3 to save time.<br />Andrew, Danny, Patrick: Missions 1,2,3<br /><br />Go Supernova!Supernova, #31http://www.blogger.com/profile/00653168735510937852noreply@blogger.com0