Oregon Robotics
Tournament
and Outreach Program
I. Introductory Workshop for
ORTOP’s FLL Program
2013
Opening doors to the worlds of science
and technology for Oregon’s youth
1
Instructor Contacts
Ken Cone
ken_cone@ous.edu
(503) 725-2918
Terry Hamm
terry.hamm@gmail.com
(503) 720-5157
Dale Jordan
Dale_A_Jordan@msn.com
Jim Ryan
james.r.ryan@intel.com
971-215-6087
Roger Swanson
swanson@hevanet.com
503-297-1824
2
ORTOP Project Administrator
Cathy Swider
Cathy_Swider@ous.edu
(503) 725-2920
3
Today’s Goal




Provide an understanding of the ORTOP
and FLL programs
Show the value these programs bring to
our youth
Demonstrate the fun and excitement by
building and programming a LEGO® robot
Explain the opportunities for your (or your
friends’) involvement
4
Agenda







Introductions
Our motivations
The ORTOP and FLL Programs
Build a LEGO® robot and try it out
More on FLL Teams
Simple programming of your robot
Along the way: A complete Senior Solutions
field set-up kit and a video of FLL tournament
action
5
The Problem



Fast growing demand for engineers,
technicians, and other technologists
Slow growing supply of young people
interested in technology, especially among
women and minorities
How do we expose youngsters to science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at
an early age so they might pursue such a
course in later studies?
6
The Opportunity with FIRST®
"To create a
world where
science and
technology
are
celebrated..
where
young
people
dream of
becoming
science and
technology
heroes"
Programs from FIRST ®(For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology)




Jr.FLL (Junior FIRST ® LEGO® League) 6-9 yearolds – initial ORTOP pilot in 2006
FLL (FIRST ® LEGO® League) 9-14 year olds –
started by ORTOP in 2001
FTC (FIRST ® Tech Challenge) for high school
students – initial ORTOP pilot in 2006
FRC (FIRST ® Robotics Competition) for high
school students – not an ORTOP program but
active in Oregon
7
The Opportunity -- FLL

FIRST ® LEGO® League (FLL)





Targets 9-14 year olds
Uses relatively inexpensive LEGO® robotics
kits
Defines a mini engineering project based
on real-world problems
Features hands-on experience and multidisciplinary teamwork
Show these youth that STEM studies
can be fun
8
ORTOP (Oregon Robotics
Tournament and Outreach Program)
Opening doors to the worlds of science
and technology for Oregon’s youth



Runs the FLL (as well as Jr.FLL and FTC)
program in Oregon and southwest
Washington
Connected to the Chancellor’s Office of the
Oregon University System
Heavily volunteer based
9
Additional ORTOP Goals

Reach out to girls and minorities





Look for partners that can help: Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls
Clubs, 4H, etc.
Special outreach to schools and community organizations
with the demographics that fit our focus
Scholarship program so cost does not limit participation
Every team that registers gets to participate in a
tournament
Success for a team is working together through the
season and showcasing their results in a tournament
SUCCESS = PARTICIPATION
10
Build a Robot
Let’s take a break from all
this talking and get out the
LEGO® kits to have some
fun building an NXT robot!
11
Before We Start

The NXT






Outputs(A,B,C)
Inputs (1,2,3,4)
Buttons (Enter, Back, Left, Right)
USB port
Motors
Sensors

Touch sensor, light sensor, color sensor,
ultrasonic sensor, rotation sensor
12
Build the Sample Robot


Follow pages 2-10 and 18-23 in the booklet
to build your base robot
Do not build the following assemblies – they
should be already assembled in your kits:




Caster Mount (pages 11- 18)
Cowcatcher (pages 32 – 33)
Fork Lift (pages 34 – 35)
Left light sensor (pages 24-27), touch sensor
(pages 28-29), and ultra-sonic sensor (pages 3031) may or may not already be assembled.
13
Build the Sample Robot (cont.)





Add the left light sensor (page 25)
Add the touch sensor (page 29)
Color of parts need not match what is in the
photos.
Part that looks like trailor hitch on p. 28 does not
exist.
Be sure to route wire inserted on p. 5 towards
gears when you add NXT on p.20
These assembly instructions can be found
with all the workshop materials at:
www.ortop.org/Workshops
14
What Is an FLL
Team?



4-10 youngsters each
Ages 9-14
Led by coach and mentor



Coach – adult with overall responsibility for the
team
Mentor – technical expertise
Sources of teams



Schools
Community groups
Neighborhoods
15
The FLL Team Experience

Miniature engineering project team stressing







Creativity and teamwork
Engineering principles: requirements, alternatives,
rapid prototyping, testing, …
Hands-on problem solving
Context is a real-world situation
Illustrates multiple roles: Designers, Builders,
Programmers, Sales and Marketing
Insights into possible careers
The youngsters do the work – FLL Coaches’
Promise and FLL Core Values
16
FLL Team Costs

Start-up Costs



Yearly Costs







FLL NXT Robot Set: $435
Materials for table: Around $50
FLL Team Registration Fee: $225
Oregon Qualifying Tournament Fee: $75
Oregon Championship Tournament Fee: $50
Field Setup Kit: $75
Misc. including batteries, shipping: $50-$100
First-year total: $910-1010
Subsequent years total: $425-$525
17
Possible Sources of
Team Funding
Having some portion of
costs picked up by team
members gives a sense
of commitment
Team Member Dues
Fundraising
Activities
Team
Sponsors
Scholarship info -- http://www.ortop.org/fll/resScholarships.htm
ORTOP Scholarship
18
The Team Timeline







April – Sept.: Teams form
May 6: Registration with FLL opens –registration
materials begin to ship
June – Sept.: ORTOP workshops
Aug.: Robot and field set-up kits begin to ship
Aug. 28: The Nature’s Fury Challenge is
released
Teams develop their solutions for ~3 mo.
Culminating event is the Tournament


Qualifying tournaments in early December
Championship tournaments in January
19
Team Registration






National registration through FLL:
https://gofll.usfirst.org/
May through end of September or when max
reached
$225 FLL registration fee
Receive Coaches Handbook, web forum access,
DVDs on FIRST® and FLL, and support
Optional ordering of kits
First-Come-First-Served, so REGISTER EARLY!!
20
Purchases at FLL Registration





Registration fee: $225
FLL Robot Set (NXT): $435
Field set-up kit: $75
Extra parts: rechargeable battery and
charger, motors, and sensors (light,
touch, and color)
They don’t ship until they are paid
21
New EV3 Robot Kits
Pros


Latest technology
Sets up your team for
the long term
Cons




Not available until Aug. 1
More expensive -- $499
vs. $435
First generation could
mean more bugs
Less training support -Dale Yocum programming
tutorial available Aug. 1
Bottom Line:
 Focus on near term – go with NXT
 Focus on long term – go with EV3
22
ORTOP State QT Registration


Takes place early October 2013
ORTOP Tournament fees



We notify all coaches that have registered
with FLL in Oregon and SW Washington




$75 for a Qualifying Tournament
$50 for a Championship Tournament
Provide list of Qualifying Tournaments
Ask for 3 Qualifying Tournament choices in
priority order
We assign teams to Qualifying Tournaments
Register early!!
23
Tournament
Structure


Less focus on competition and more on
showcasing the team’s learning and results
Qualifying Tournaments




Around 15-20 teams each
Organized by Qualifying Tournament volunteers with
support from ORTOP
24 in 2012: Bend, Albany, Hood River, LaGrande,
McMinnville, Grants Pass, Salem, The Dalles,
Vancouver, and Portland Metro area 10
Championship Tournaments for 2012 season

~120 teams at two Championship Tournaments at
Liberty High School in Hillsboro in January, 2013
24
Tournaments Exhibit
Students’ Achievements



Three opportunities to demonstrate robot on
the Challenge playing field
Interaction with Robot Design Judging Panel
Presentation to Project Judging Panel




General presentation area specified by FLL to
enhance learning about the year’s theme
Requires research by the team
Develops presentation skills (the opportunity for
the developing sales and marketing youngsters)
Core Values Judging Panel
25
Tournament
Awards





Number of awards depends on size of tournament
Highest level awards (the Champions Awards) and
invitations to Championship Tournaments require
good results in Robot Design, Project, Core Values,
and Robot Performance
Other awards also recognize outstanding
performance in each of the 4 categories
ORTOP Young Team and Rookie Team awards are
given at Championship Tournaments
Participation awards for all teams
26
Plans for 2013






Theme: Nature’s Fury
~450 teams with more than 3200 youngsters
Around 24-26 Qualifying Tournaments
 Held first two weekends in December
 15 - 20 teams per tournament
 Expect same locations as last year
2 Championship Tournaments of about 60 teams
each in January, 2014
Continued focus on outreach to girls & minorities
More sponsors
27
Volunteer Opportunities






Coaches
Mentors
ORTOP Planning
Committee
Qualifying Tournament
Planning
Tournament Staffing
Financial Support
28
NXT Programming
Let’s get back to our
robots and learn how to
make them do
something!
29
How To Read Light Sensors









Turn on robot
First menu is “My Files”
Use arrow keys to move to “View”
Select with orange button
Use arrow keys to find “Reflected Light”
Select with orange button
Use arrow keys to find “Port 3”
Select with orange button
Read different areas of the mat – values will
be 0 to 100
30
What Did You Learn?


The robot does exactly what you tell it
to do.
The robot is almost always “right” even
though it doesn’t appear to be doing
what you told it to do.



Are the ports right?
Have you downloaded the program after
making changes?
Are you running the right program?
31
What Else Did You Learn?


Robot’s View Function can read what
the light sensor is sensing.
Make sure your robot is uncalibrated
unless you have calibrated it for some
specific reason.
32
Light Sensor Final Exam

You read the following values:





White: 68
Green: 38
Black: 25
Your program says Wait For with “until” set to
< value.
What happens if:




Value
Value
Value
Value
=
=
=
=
75
45
33
15
33
Contact Us
Web site: http://www.ortop.org
Email:
questions@ortop.org
Phone:
(503) 725-2920
34