FIRST ® LEGO® LEAGUE (FLL)
IN LOUISIANA
2
Goal of “Fast-Start” Training
• Provide an understanding of the FLL program
• Clarify FIRST Core Values, and Highlight the Research
Project, but spend most of the time on the Robot Game
• Leave with a working robot and at least one program!!!
Fast-Start Agenda
• 10am-11:30am FLL Presentation / Discussion
• 11:30am-12pm Lunch
• 12pm-2pm Workshop
• Building and Programming Your Robot!
Welcome to FIRST LEGO League!
Introduces students to real-world engineering challenges by building
LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface.
FLL teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches,
discover exciting career possibilities and, through the process,
learn to make positive contributions to society.
Elementary and middle-school students get to:
• Design, build, test and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS®
technology
• Apply real-world math and science concepts
• Research challenges facing today’s scientists
• Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills
• Participate in tournaments and celebrations
It’s fun! It’s exciting! And the skills they learn will last a lifetime!
FLL Teams are Judged in 3 Categories:
The FLL Core Values
are how they do it.
The Robot Game
and Project are
what teams do.
The responsibility of FLL teams is
to follow the FLL Core Values !
• We are a team.
• We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our
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coaches and mentors.
We know our coaches and mentors don’t have all the
answers; we learn together.
We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
What we discover is more important that what we win.
We share our experiences with others.
We display Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition®
in everything we do.
Don’t forget….
We have fun.
It’s a judging category!!!
GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM®
• Gracious attitudes and behaviors that are “win-win”
• Gracious folks respect others and let that respect show
in their actions
• Gracious professionals make a valued contribution in a
manner pleasing to others and themselves as they
possess special knowledge and are trusted by society
to use that knowledge responsibly
the PROJECT:
an important part of participation in FLL !!!
In the FLL WORLD CLASSSM Project, your team will:
• Choose a topic that you are passionate about or always wanted to
learn, and find out how people learn about it today. Write your FLL
WORLD CLASS Question using this format: “How could we improve
the way that someone learns [your team’s topic]?”
• Create an innovative solution that improves the learning experience -
a solution that adds value to society by improving something that
already exists, using something that exists in a new way, or inventing
something totally new .
• Share your solution with others. Think about who your solution might
help. How can you let them know? Consider sharing with someone
who could provide feedback about your idea.
FIRST has Project Resources!
• FLL WORLD CLASS CHALLENGE - links to project
documents and resources.
• Project Video (YouTube version)- Project Manager, Jinnel
Choiniere, reviews the WORLD CLASS Project.
• Challenge Updates (Project & Robot Game) - This page is
the first place to go for answers to Project questions if
you’ve already read the Challenge document. You should
also visit here often for answers to questions you never
even thought of, because the postings here contain official
information that will be in effect at tournaments.
• Topic Guide - excellent advice and resources!
1 Project Update so far…
Understanding the ROBOT GAME
Requires 3 Important Resources!
1.
Robot Game Updates … the FINAL WORD!!!
(17 as of 9/19/2014)
Contains official information that will be in effect at tournaments. (includes project updates)
For example, Game Update #4 - MAT SIZE/FIT
This year’s mats are running ever-so-slightly wide (north/south). If this is causing your mat not to lay
flat between your table walls, the official solution is to trim the black border off your mat’s north edge,
since that border serves no function and this change will not be noticed by a robot. Try to do a good
job, but your care is more important for safety than for accuracy. Thanks for your understanding as
we adapt to our new mat material.
2.
The Challenge Documents … (Field Setup, Rules and Missions)
3.
Mission Model Build Instructions
the Robot Game Video is only a visual aid and
SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON FOR CORRECT INFORMATION!!!
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
Robot MISSIONS
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
ROBOT GAME UPDATE!!!
6 - SHARED MISSION
The screen and camera system works very well when set up perfectly.
But an always-perfect setup is unrealistic to expect during
tournaments. So this year’s shared center model will represent
sharing, simply because of what it is, and physically it won’t work
unless both teams activate it, but the POINTS you earn will not be
dependent on the other team.
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
ROBOT GAME UPDATE!!!
1 - REVERSE ENGINEERING
This relates to the setup of the “Reverse Engineering” models, described on Page 10 of the Challenge
Document. During setup at a tournament, you build your FIRST 6-piece model and hand-place it in a
basket on its mark on the opposing team’s field (and their FIRST model will placed on your field). Once
the match starts, your robot goes and gets the basket on YOUR field, and brings it to YOUR Base, so you
can build your SECOND 6-piece model – a replica of the other team’s FIRST model. Of course in
practice, you can only pretend a trade has occurred.
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
ROBOT GAME UPDATE!!!
7 – APPRENTICESHIP
You arrive at the table with your Apprenticeship model already built. You may add the
people to it by hand, any time, including prematch setup. Just by having the model in
view of the referee (in Base or any other Rule 35 storage area) you get 20 points. To
get 35 points instead, bind the people to it, and have the robot place it such that it’s
touching the northwest circle and not touching Base. This will not cause a Junk Penalty.
(Mission clarification)
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
ROBOT GAME UPDATE!!!
3 - ENGAGEMENT DIAL MATH
There is no error in the Engagement mission scoring examples when you realize this: When the dial is set
all the way counterclockwise like it’s supposed to be, it’s one tic BELOW the first red position.
2 – PINWHEEL ARMS
The correct and only way to build the Engagement model’s pinwheel is with 2 arms. Refer to the last
sentence of the last bullet in Rule 5 on Page 10 (On all pages, videos and pictures are for guidance and example
only. Often they can not express complete information, and are therefore misleading. When there is conflict between
pictures/videos and text, the text takes precedence!). You may notice blue lines instead of green on some field
setup pictures… Pretend they’re green.
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
From RULES:
32 - Junk Penalty - A junk penalty is given at the end of the match for each strategic object abandoned outside Base.
33 - Sprawl Penalty [Match End-Based] - A sprawl penalty occurs at the end of the match if either:
• the robot’s max dimension is obviously greater than twice the (south/north) width of Base.
• a strategic object extends out of Base obviously farther than the (south/north) width of Base.
43 - Robot Penalty - These occur whenever you touch an autonomous robot which is OUTSIDE BASE.
44 - Cargo Penalty - Any time you touch the robot, no matter where it is, if it has cargo OUTSIDE BASE it didn’t have
during the most recent start, the referee takes that cargo out of play.
45 - Sprawl Penalty [Hand-Based] - A sprawl penalty occurs whenever you either:
• touch the robot while its max dimension is obviously greater than twice the (south/north) width of Base.
• touch a strategic object while it extends out of Base farther than the (south/north) width of Base.
2014 Robot Game Field Set-Up
NXT Programming Basics
The easiest way to get started with NXT Programming is to go through
“Getting Started” and then use the NXT Tutorials for common tasks.
Example:
Drive Forward
EV3 Programming Basics
The easiest way to get started with EV3 Programming is to go through
“Quick Start: Programming Overview” and then use the EV3 Robot
Educator Tutorials for common tasks.
Once you master the BASICS, you’re “in the game”!!!
Straight Move and Curved Move are
the actions you will use the most, so
these 2 tutorials are VERY helpful…
EV3 Robot
You can also check out the excellent website
below to get up to speed:
http://www.stemcentric.com/ev3-tutorial
Where do you start?
Great source of information!!!
2014 updates coming soon….
LA FLL Qualifying Tournaments
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A team may participate in ONE qualifier, designed to accommodate 12 teams each
Registration will open in early Oct. with selection based on geographic proximity
Advancement based on total # of LA teams
Check LAFLL.org website for updates
CONFIRMED QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT HOSTS
(additional dates will be added when confirmed)
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Comeaux High School, FRC Team 3616, Lafayette, Saturday Nov. 15
Destrehan High School, FRC Team 3039, Destrehan
Fontainebleau High School, FRC Team 2221, Mandeville, Saturday Nov. 15
McNeese University, Lake Charles, Saturday Nov. 8
Northshore High School, FRC Team 1912, Slidell, Saturday Nov. 15
Red Stick Robotics
• LA Tech, Ruston, Monday Nov. 10
• LSU, Baton Rouge, Wednesday Nov. 12
• SUNO, New Orleans, Friday Nov. 14
• SUNO, New Orleans, Saturday Nov. 15
• Sci-Port, Shreveport, Saturday Nov. 15
• Scotlandville Middle Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy, Baton Rouge, Saturday Nov. 15
• Woodlawn High School, FRC Team 3337, Baton Rouge, Saturday Nov. 8
FIRST Award Structure
Determined by
judging sessions
Determined by highest
score in three 2½ min
robot rounds
Additional Judges’ Awards may be given as a tournament choice. Typically 1st and
2nd place awards are given for Robot Performance. In qualifying tournaments, core
awards are combined into one each in Core Values (blue), Robot Design (red), and
Research (yellow). Refer to FIRST rubrics for judging criteria.
Great Information on http://lafll.org!!!
Team Portal has ANSWERS & RESOURCES
A Closing Thought…..The Complete FLL Participant 
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Unique Headwear
(Temporary) Hair Color
Face Paint
Team T-Shirt
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Team Name – Sea Dragons
Team Number - 5315
Yearly Theme – Ocean Odyssey
Color Theme – Purple, Grn, Gld
Sponsors, Logos
Cheer, Song, Chant
Team Buttons
Team Handouts
Posters
Laptop
Pit Display
Pit Decorations
No Advertising!