Some teams' solutions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGMbtr2ahcs
Two insights, how many points does the Animal conservation mission have, 60 points? See how they hang the robot on the wall!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBFeD7jijPU
Very interesting solution on some missions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYGqdg1iL9M
See how they release the pushing bar after deliver the shark tank, and some other missions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H47c1foS1I
They combined the pet, sea lion with what we are doing in the milk mission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tpfypANYkU
Another interesting solution.

An interesting blog for our project.

http://www.brainstuffshow.com/blogs/the-bees-knees-solutions-for-colony-collapse-disorder.htm

Qualifier Feedback

Dear Lymin Ducks,

Please check out the tournament feedback


Core Values Feedback
Project Feedback
Robot Design Feedback
Table Scoresheet - Round 1
Table Scoresheet - Round 2
Table Scoresheet - Round 3
Table Scoresheet - Round 4

Our bee oasis web link

http://tiny.cc/beeoasis

Google Drive

Here is the link of Google Drive.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bwisms0In6D3T1drakY0blgwR0U?usp=sharing

Robot solutions we can learn from.

Here are some solutions posted by other teams and we can learn from.

. This trip finished all food delivery and milk collection in one trip (100 points). Look how they design a stable gear to drop food and how they locate each animal post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azbj3CtNiAQ

. Look how fast they collect food from the refrigerator, and how they finish the research people, panda, and seal missions in one trip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shco3dQqgj8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoyJ5iNtgJU

. Another solution of food delivery and Gecko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAn3W71XsmM

. See how they combine the shark tank mission and dog service together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQU8boNqpqo

FLL Project Homework - Week of 10/9/2016 - 10/16/2016

Today the team presented the root causes of the CCD, and came up with the solution:

The Lymin Ducks will build a prototype habitat which is a sanctuary for bees. In this habitat, bee will not be exposed to the elements which will cause CCD. This will be a long-term experiment to  build a smallest yet functional bee habitat which, if successful, can be replicated.

Components of the Habitat and Assignment:
1. Fruit Trees - Chungtai
2. Pond with aquatic plants - William
3. Bee Hives - Williams
4. Wildflower to feed and attract Bees - Aiden
5. Bee Hotel - Sammy

Project Requirement:
Chungtai:
Come up with a list of fruit tree or flowering trees which will be best habitat for bees.
Research for breed name, where to buy, the price
Calculate how many months these trees can support the bees
Calculate how many trees needed to support a hive of 50,000 bees.

William:
Design the shape and size of a small pond which can support bees
Come up with a list of required aquatic plants for our planting zone. 
Present a design which will be a future bee hive and what material is needed to build it

Aiden:
Come up with the names of flowers for this bee habitat
List a few species of flowers for each of the season
Research what plants can feed the bees during Winter.

Sammy:
Come up with a design of the bee hotel
Consider how to improve upon the bee hotel to make it more bio-diverse.
Research the placement of the hotel to keep it safe from predators
Come up with a material list needed to build it
Come up with the design and instructions for the hotel

Project Homework:

Lymin Ducks:

We have 4 weeks to come up with the solution for the problem we picked: Colony Collapse Disease.

Homework:
Borrow books from library; borrow DVDs, do online research for the CCD and list the solutions we can do to solve this problem.

Background:
The team voted to select this CCD as the existing issue we face today: 30% bees are dying and the food and fruit production is affected.

Please research how Bees help humans and how humans can help Bees to survive and flourish, solving the CCD mystery will be the key for it.

Robot homework 10/1 - 10/7

We have made some progresses in our last meeting.
. Sammy finished the refrigerator duplicate
. William redesigned the food basket and made it smaller. He also finished the hook to pull the release bar.
. Aiden started working on the Honeybee mission and pat mission.
. Chungtai finished the base, and the Shark Tank mission.

In the coming week, here is the Robot homework assignment:
. Sammy needs to think how to use motor to release food from the refrigerator and how to hook this mission block with the base.
. William needs to finish connecting mission blocks with the base, and start testing the task in our next meet. This means you need to start programming too.
. Aiden needs to find solutions to two tasks. 1) How to pull back the pet and bee once foods are collected from the refrigerator. 2) How to deliver the honeybee to bee hive and bring the honey back to base.
. Chungtai needs to work on several things. 1) Duplicate the frame of the base, so we can test how to connect mission blocks with the base. 2) Duplicate wheels and color sensors on the other brick, so we can do routing experiment on this brick. 3) Help Sammy and William to hook up their mission modules with the base and programming the robot to finish our planned missions.

Project Homework 9/25 ~ 10/2

On Sunday 9/25, we had a discussion about the assignment from the last week. Also we watched the video about Swale, which gave us a big picture about how a healthy farm system has been created. Also we  did brainstorm about the real-world problems that we can work on. We got a list of problems:

1. Bad food that farm animals eat
2.  Monocultrure
3. Fertilizer (chemical and natural)
4. Pesticides 

here are questions for pesticides reaserch?

1. Why use pesticides? (http://prairiecalifornian.com/why-do-farmers-apply-pesticides/)
2. Pesticides benefit
3. What are dangers of pesticides
4. How to get rid of pests without using pesticides (what is natural way)
5. What are the natural pesticides? What are they habitat? How to help them?
6. What are existing ways to help the natural pesticides(animal)?
7. If yes, how can we improve them?
8. If no, what can we do?

Your assignment for this week are:

1.  Find more real world problems that are related to farm, like animal system, soil system, insects system. Also please do some research on it.
2. If you cannot find more, you could research  one or two of the real world problems that we already listed on top. 

Everyone will share his researches during the project meeting on 10/2.

Robot Homework Week 9/24 - 9/31

On Friday 9/23, we made some progresses on our robot design.
. Sammi duplicated the refrigerator for our food delivery mission. It is not finished yet, but we are on the track.
. William finished the bucket to collect food from the refrigerator, and the hook used to pull the release bar of the refrigerator.
. Chungtai changed the rear wheel to make the base more compact. He also tested the idea of running over the ramp. It turned out that due to the structure and surface of the ramp, it is very hard to control (or predict) the direction of the robot after it climbs the ramp. We had a discussion on it, and agreed that the most possible mission will use this route is to deliver the manure to the R & D area. So we decide to leave this idea for future study.
. Zoey built the fork that sends the Shark Tank.

Your assignments for this week are:
. Sammi: needs to finish the refrigerator duplicate next time. Things you need to think include: 1) Current "refrigerator" has a slop at the bottom. This slop will let the food roll away from the refrigerator once it is released. However, when we deliver the food to animals, we need to make sure that food falls right in the feeding circle. Is current structure feasible to the mission? Do we need to make any change? 2) What route do you want to take to feed animal? 3) What other missions do you plan finish together with the feeding mission? Please start to think the programing part.
. William: We will test the task that collect food from the refrigerator next Friday. You need to think: 1) How do you want to hook up your mission blocks with the base? 2) What mechanics you plan to connect your release hood with the motor? 3) Make a testing plan to decide what you want to test, and how to test them. Also write programs that will help you do these tests.
. Chungtai: Finish the robot base. Test the Shart Tank mission as the building block is already finished.
. Aiden: Present your mission studies to the team, which you missed on 9/16. Pick the mission you want to work on (please see above to know which missions have been assigned and finished) and start to think about the mission block design.

From next Friday, we will have a short plan meeting at the beginning of the meet, and a summary by the end. So be prepared.

Hello Teams,

We would like to take this opportunity to make you aware of the policies and procedures rubric for the 2016 ANIMAL ALLIES season. We’ll be using a different Project from the ones you will find on FIRST LEGO League websites. The updated rubric has an increased focus on the process of developing the Project and includes the following changes:

1. Project Pilot - New this season! - Illinois is participating in a pilot of an updated Project to their topic to be at the Accomplished or Exemplary levels.

a. The Sources of Information criteria now more clearly reflects the need for quality sources and a wide variety of sources. Teams must consult professionals in fields relating that will be adopted in Illinois for the Animal Allies season.

b. The Review Existing Solutions criteria has been combined with Problem Analysis and Innovation. Teams are still expected to review and analyze existing solutions.

c. When teams are describing their Team Solution, they are now expected to describe how it solves the problem.

d. The new Solution Development criteria encompasses the previous Implementation criteria. Teams should explain how they developed the solution, considered and narrowed alternative solutions, evaluated and improved the solution they chose, and assessed feasibility and implementation factors.

While the update will shift what teams should share with Judges, we do not expect it to have much impact on the work teams are doing for the FIRST LEGO League Project. Teams who are working toward the Accomplished and Exemplary levels for Solution Development may choose to spend more time designing their process than they did before, in order to ensure it is systematic and includes some type of evaluation or verification of their solution.

The final rubric will be posted on our website under ‘News’ on the weekend of September 24th at this link: www.ilfirst.org

2. Animals at tournaments – Teams are not allowed to bring live animals to the qualifying and championship tournaments in Illinois. Teams can bring photographs of the animal(s) they worked with but teams cannot bring the animal to the tournament. 

3. Table Specifications– The Illinois qualifying and championship tournaments will use competition tables with four inch walls. Illinois teams that attend post-season events may need to consider the possibility of three inch walls so their designs are robust if they venture outside of the Illinois competition arenas.

4. Illinois Qualifiers – We have made the following changes to the list of qualifiers available for the Animal Allies season. We will continue to add qualifiers to the list of tournaments available so please check our website frequently. Changes to your team’s tournament selections can be made until October 15th but tournament assignments will be made on a first come, first serve basis.

• The Southern Illinois tournament on December 3rd previously held at Edwardsville will be held in Troy, Illinois.
• We have added a qualifier in Evanston, Illinois on December 10th.
• The Peoria tournament previously held at Peoria Christian School will be held at Woodruff Career and Technical Center on December 17th.

5. Team Advancement Policy- Approximately 25% of the teams at a qualifier in Illinois will advance to a championship tournament. Teams are eligible for advancement if they meet the following criteria as required by the FLL Global Standards and Challenge document. Teams must: 

• Have between 2 and 10 members 
• Complete all required sections of the Project
• Have no disqualifying Core Values behaviors 
• Be competing at their first official FLL event of each qualifying level during the season
• Perform well in all three judged areas (Core Values, Project, and Robot Design)
• Meet the minimum Robot Performance hurdle percentage. The hurdle is based upon the advancement rate at the qualifier. At a 16 team qualifier, which is the size of most Illinois qualifiers, teams must have a table score in the top 48% of the table scores at the event to advance.

6. Robot Design Executive Summary (RDES) - Illinois tournaments will NOT use the RDES in Robot Design judging for the Animal Allies season.

• The Robot Design judging session will consist of an ‘interactive robot run’ which is a complete table run during which the team will talk about their robot and what it does, and the judges will ask questions. The balance of the 10 minute session will be Q&A. The judges will not time or score the table run.
• Teams may bring a RDES with them to the interview if they believe it will help them answer questions but teams will not be given an opportunity to present the RDES in the judging session.

7. Core Values Poster - A Core Values Poster will NOT be required in Illinois.

• We believe that the Core Values poster is a good way for teams to organize their thoughts in preparation for the Core Values judging session and is a good way for teams to celebrate the Animal Allies season as they interact with other teams in the pit area. However, due to the limited time available to judges, the Core Values poster is not required in Illinois. 
• Teams may bring a poster to the judging session but judges will not review the poster as part of the judging session. Teams may refer to an item on the poster if it helps them answer a question presented by the judges.

We wish all of you the best of luck this season!

FIRST Illinois Robotics
FIRST LEGO League Planning Committee

Homework for Robot

In last Friday's meeting, kids discussed all missions, and proposed ways to solve these missions. We agreed to finish Shark Tank, Honey Bee, and Animal Feeding first.
Following assignments were given:

Aiden: mechanic to send Shark Tank

Sammy: duplicate the refrigerator as our food delivery part.

William: design the bin and pulling bar to collect food from the refrigerator.

Chungtai: modify the base, so it can go through the bumper smoothly, and go back and forth the ramp.

I hope all kids should think their design before we meet tomorrow. Our meeting time should be used to build and test your designs.

Homework for the project

Goal: determine what to do for the farming project 

Homework:

1, Why animals are important to a farm and farmer?

2, what does chicken/pig/sheep/cow benefit the farmer? Choose one to study 

3, what things can be done to improve the soil and prevent desertation and erosion? 

4, why Bee is an important animal to human beings?

5, what's bio-diversity and why it is so important to farmers and the animals?

6, what is sustainable agriculture? 

Each kid can just pick one specific animal to study, here is one link for many animals, they can find their own for research. 

Working Animals - The Permaculture Research Institute 

Working Animals - The Permaculture Research Institute

Aiden: Manure

Chungtai: Worms

Sammy: chickens

William: sheep/cow

Robot Design Assignment

Dear Team Members,

We started our robot design brainstorm last Friday. Each team member worked independently on this year's robot mission assignments. We discussed the first three missions, and identified challenges each mission has.

This week's assignment is to finish all missions before our next meeting. We will finish the discussion this Friday, and start to work on the robot design. The document can be found at:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwisms0In6D3T1drakY0blgwR0U

The picture of this year's mat is attached at the end of the document.


To Parents:

Please spend time to discuss the assignment with your child. For each mission, I've listed possible design questions. Answers to these questions should be general ones like "Design a robot to finish the job." They need be specified to each mission. If there are any design questions you think should be added , you are welcome to do so.

Volunteer's arrangements

Parent Volunteers’ assignment

Robot Team

Head coach:  Feng Tian

Assistant coaches:  Jun Lu

Tasks:

·       help the kids decide how to tackle robot design and mission

·       Help the kids design their technical notebook and presentation

 

Project Team

Head coach: Robert Tang

Assistant coaches: Bing Tong, Qun Cai

Tasks:

·       Help guide the kids in project research, solution development and how to present their findings.  

·       Coordinate a meeting with an expert in the field of animal allies.

·       Coordinate sharing the research with the community. 

·       Help the research assistant coach and kids with the research binder, customers and presentation materials

Others

Practice Judge: Bing Tong, Robert Tang (robot)

                             Feng Tian, Jun Lu (project)

                             Qun (core values)

Coordinator: Qun

Tasks:

·       Organize team parties.

·       Prepare tournament.

·       Accountant

Tournament Snack and lunch Coordinator: Bing Tong

Video and Photo Historians: Everyone

·       Everyone takes pictures/videos and provide copies to Qun Cai

·       Help kids to create a team slide show for the session.

Aiden FLL homework

Aiden's assignment- Animal Allies means helping animals come through the problems that we’ve caused. We have to A) Stop creating problems B) Help endangered animals and C) Keep the animals that have stable populations healthy. Most problems that all animals have are made by humans, such as Global Warming, Bycatch, Habitat Loss, one of the biggest ones, Illegal Wildlife Poaching and Trade, and other problems. I created a chart that has endangered animals on it which includes the threats they have. Every single one of the reasons is manmade. We have to stop polluting (Air and Water), developing land, poaching, and enforce stricter laws. Project Ideas: How to raise money, Stop poaching, Raise awareness, and Save endangered animals.

Sammy FLL homework

To me, animal allies means helping other animals and taking care of them and preventing them from going extinct. Animals are our allies because we use them for food, entertainment, and research, and now we should help them back. Many animals have been hunted over hundreds of years and are becoming endangered, and many animals are being abused and mistreated, like chickens. We should respect our animal friends, by taking care of them and preventing animal abuse. Animals are our friends, and I love animals, so I know how they feel when they are mistreated. If everyone works together to help their allies, the animals will be fine.

The websites I found didn't change my perspective on animal allies, but their perspectives were the same as mine. Some were about giving shelters to homeless animals. I learned about pollution that kills animals living in the ocean and on land. I learned that animals are necessarily for the food chain, and can be used for food and research. When all animals go extinct, we will run out of food and the food chain will go out of balance. I already know that many animal species are endangered, but the species that aren't still need help. There is much evidence that factory food is being abused and that many animals are being treated inhumanely. I have found many organizations and websites dedicated to why and how we will save the animals. I have learned that animal allies isn't just about saving the animals, but treating them well so that they won't be endangered again. Animals have been used in agriculture for hundreds of years and used in war times. In world war one, dogs were used in warfare and pigeons were used as messengers. Basically, the overall idea of animal allies is saving and helping the animals, because of the history with humans and what they do for us.

Matthew's view of "Animal Allies"


Animal Allies to me means that animals are caring for humans and helping them to thrive and survive while the humans can also help them by building shelters, providing food, and helping different species like lions, turtles, wolves.

All sorts of animals are being helped in shelters and habitats all over the world so humans are helping the animals but what are animals doing to help the humans? Well, animals are comforting humans, giving them food, and entertainment. Animals are helping lives in the world. We use dogs to help find people in an avalanche, or to sniff out drugs, you can use horses and mules as transportation, and you can use oxen, horses, and other animals to generate power. These are all examples of how animals are allies to humans too.

However, often times the humans leave pieces of trash here and there in the animal’s habitats which kill the animals because they think them as food. This can be a huge threat to wildlife.

William's view of "Animal Allies"

Animals aren’t really my passion, but as all things, they deserve rights.  Just like in the 1960’s there was the civil rights movement, we need to campaign for the stop of animal abuse and mistreatment. Sure, people have been saying that we need to help animals for decades now, but we need to take initiative and really push to the point that animals don’t have a worry in their mind.

Why? First of all, animals have equal claim to this earth and its resources as much as we do. This means that we cannot destroy their habitats and hunt them down just for trophies. Have you ever seen a lion kill a human just so it could hang that person’s head on a wall? No! In fact, the only lions kill humans in the first place is because they are provoked.  Another reason is because people need the animals. If one falls, it damages an entire ecosystem, and due to the butterfly effect, it would affect us humans, which nobody would like to happen.   

After reading articles from organizations like peta and the website that chungtai found, I learned a lot more in specifics about endangered animals, habitats in jeopardy, etc. it’s taught me that there are many liable reasons that people should save animals and protect ecosystems, one, being its cruciality to all life, and also because animals have feelings, they have needs and wants, just like humans.  That I think was the most important thing I learned through research.   

Chungtai's Revised version

Saving the animals; Animal Allies

This year’s FLL topic is Animal Allies. But what is Animal Allies? What does it mean? What is its importance to us? And that is what I am writing about today. I am writing about what Animal Allies means to me[1]. I will first write about my perspective now, then I am going to research and take a look at what other people think, and next I’ll explain how this changed my perspective.

So first of all, what are we doing to the animals? We are taking away their homes and killing them to benefit ourselves. We cut down forests for buildings, but many animals live in the forest. We hunt down animals to feed ourselves or to make decorations or other special things for ourselves. Once I write all of this, I feel like humans are sort of selfish. Still many people are fighting to help the animals. Some places, like pet shelters, find homes for animals like cats and dogs, while other wildlife foundations focus more on saving endangered species from extinction.

To me, Animal Allies means helping animals that are having a hard time living in the wild. Animals are amazing creatures, yet so many animals are becoming endangered because of our (the humans) actions. Pandas’ homes in the bamboo forests are being destroyed by us to make new homes for our people. Plastic bags and oil spills in the ocean are endangering animals like penguins and whales. There are so many more animals that are being put in danger by us. We need to stop these actions and keep the animals alive. And then there are the animals that are not endangered. We need to help them, too! Just because they are not endangered doesn’t mean they can’t become endangered! All animals deserve our help, and it is our duty to give them what they deserve.

Though I didn’t really find other people’s thoughts about what Animal Allies meant to them, I found a lot of organizations helping animals or saving them. Many organizations were finding homes for animals. Other ones were trying to cut back on using animals for food. A really good site is https://www.worldwildlife.org/.  It is an organization saving animals across the world.

Looking at these sites did not really change my perspective on Animal Allies. Their thoughts were similar to mine; we need to save the animals, and mostly just provided ways to save these animals. I think that with the growing community of people trying to save animals, we can very well give these animals a better life.

---

[1] This is from my perspective. You might think something else. Please don’t judge.

Saving the animals from Chungtai

Saving the animals; Animal Allies
This year’s FLL topic is Animal Allies. But what is Animal Allies? What does it mean? What is its importance to us? And that is what I am writing about today. I am writing about what Animal Allies means to me. I will first write about my perspective now, I will research and take a look at what other people think, and I will explain how this changed my perspective.
To me, Animal Allies means helping animals that are having a hard time living in the wild. Animals are amazing creatures, yet so many animals are becoming endangered because of our (the humans) actions. Pandas’ homes in the bamboo forests are being destroyed by us to make new homes for our people. Plastic bags in the ocean and oil spills are endangering animals like penguins and whales. There are so many more animals that are being put in danger by us. We need to stop these actions and keep the animals alive. And then there are the animals that are not endangered. We need to help them, too! Just because they are not endangered doesn’t mean they can’t become endangered! All animals deserve our help, and it is our duty to give them what they deserve.
Though I didn’t really find other people’s thoughts about what Animal Allies meant to them, I found a lot of sites that were organizations helping animals or saving them. Many organizations were finding homes for animals. Other ones were trying to cut back on using animals for food. A really good site is https://www.worldwildlife.org/.  It is an organization saving animals across the world.
Looking at these sites did not really change my perspective on Animal Allies. Their thoughts were similar to mine; we need to save the animals, and mostly just provided ways to save these animals. I think that with the growing community of people trying to save animals, we can very well keep the wonderful animals from extinction.

An interesting website for 2016 project

https://www.worldwildlife.org/

Just got the email. Any comments?

Hello Teams,

National registrations for the Animal Allies season are now underway. Illinois registrations will be open on August 1st. Field set up kits will begin to ship at the beginning of August and will be shipped on a first come, first serve basis. The Animal Allies challenge will be announced on August 30th.

We will offer coach training sessions again this summer in various locations throughout the state. Details will be announced in the next few weeks.

We are aware that many corporations throughout the state offer matching donations or sponsorships for teams that are coached or mentored by their employees. Examples are Boeing, Motorola, Baxter, John Deere and Caterpillar. To determine if there may be funding available for your team, we recommend asking the parents and/or mentors to contact their employers.

We have received the following specific information with regard to Boeing-mentored teams. 

Boeing is adding FIRST Lego League to its suite of program grants offered to Boeing-mentored teams in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) competitions.

The addition of FIRST Lego League expands the company’s funding opportunities to engage younger students in robotics and engineering concepts. Boeing also is a supporter of the FIRST Tech Challenge and the FIRST Robotics Competition.

Boeing employees can get involved with FIRST Lego League by mentoring a team. Mentors will work with up to 10 children (ages 9 to 14) throughout the year to research a real-world problem and develop a solution using Lego Mindstorms as a construction base. Employees do not need to be in an engineering field to mentor.

The company will provide grants to cover the $225 FLL registration fee for teams mentored by a Boeing employee or retiree. Current and new Boeing mentors are encouraged to put together teams before the end of the school year. The internal, online, Boeing FIRST Grant Application tool will be available to employees May 4 through June 30, and includes applications for all three categories of FIRST competition: FLL, FTC and FRC.

We have received the following specific information with regard to John Deere-sponsored teams.

Applications for John Deere FIRST team grants for the 2016-2017 season are now open for FLL, FTC, and FRC using the link below. Applications for FLL Jr. will open on 8Aug16.

www.JohnDeere.com/Inspire

The grants are available for participants within a 50 mile radius of 14 U.S John Deere home communities for all four FIRST programs. Additionally, teams can apply for a grant in any U.S. location if they have a John Deere employee or retiree committed to actively supporting their team regardless of location. For Illinois, this includes Champaign, Quad Cities and Dubuque, Iowa (which includes parts of NW Illinois).

Teams must apply and get approval for the John Deere / FIRST grant prior to completing (paying for) registration for the 2016-2017 FIRST season. You can register with FIRST, but should not pay for your registration as you may potentially forfeit your grant.

We are looking forward to the Animal Allies season!
The FLL Planning Committee 

How the trash trek missions were completed by other teams.

Chungtai spent quite some time on the mission, but kept on failing. This led us to think our approach may not be right. So we searched on YouTube to see how other teams accomplished these missions. Here are some very interesting ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10U9NbF3rz4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqEvKem1-nQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-1eS_v8IJY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P1EREM1Yzc

M11 Purchasing Decisions

This is the toy factory mission which requires the robot to move the toy plane back to the Safety. It has two steps, first pull the trigger and release the toy plan from the toy factory, second pull the toy plan back to the Safety. This is a mission that we have accomplished in the tournament, but the result was not consistent. Questions we have met include:

. How will you locate the trigger? We could not pull the trigger successfully every time during the tournament. Can this problem be fixed?
. How will you pull the toy plan back? Our initial design had a problem, the hook went out of the safety, and we had to make change during the tournament. Do you plan to use the same structure, or not?
. How will you design the robot to include all these components?

M07 Clean up

In this part, the robot needs to collect the plastic bag from the beach, and put all three animals to a circle. This sounds easy but it is really challenging. At least we failed some time during the tournament on the easier part.

. How will you locate the plastic bag and turtle? It is quite far from the Safety.
. What mechanics do you use to pick up (or push?) the plastic bag?
. How do you guarantee that animals can be put in the right circle every time?
. Can you drop the chick to the smallest circle?

M05 Career and M07 Clean up

M05 Career only need the robot to send at least one worker to the Sorter area. This is very easy to finish if we treat it separately. However, there are two questions we need to answer:
. Can the robot send the worker to the same location every time? This means that you won't be able to just aim the direction manually every time.
. Do we need to consider where the worker should be sent? Will it block future missions?

M07 Clean up requires the robot to pull the plastic bag from the Sorter to the Safety. Questions you need to think include:
. What mechanics do you plan to use to pull out the plastic bag and drag it back to the Safety?
. Considering the space between the Sorter and the Toy Factory, how will you design the robot?
. How will guide the robot to the right location?

2016 ANIMAL ALLIES CHALLENGE

• 
• 
• 
• 

Coming 12 noon EDT, 30 August 2016

Get ready.  Get set.  Roar!  Or you could bark, quack, or squeak, because the 2016 ANIMAL ALLIESSM season is all about our furry, feathered, and finned friends.  In the 2016 FIRST LEGO League Challenge, more than 28,000 teams of students age 9 to 16* will look into the eyes of our ANIMAL ALLIES.  What might become possible when we learn to help each other?

FIRST LEGO League challenges kids in over 80 countries to think like scientists and engineers.  During the ANIMAL ALLIES season, teams will choose and solve a real-world problem in the Project.  They will also build, test, and program an autonomous robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology to solve a set of missions in the Robot Game.  Throughout their experience, teams will operate under the FIRSTLEGO League signature set of Core Values, celebrating discovery, teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism®.

http://www.firstlegoleague.org/2016-animal-allies-challenge

M9 Salvage and M10 Demolition

These two missions had been completed during our tournament. However, the problem was that the result was not consistent. The robot could not pull the valuable every time, and it could not hit the bar to demolish the setup building every time. The challenge this time is the consistency. Also, we plan to pull back all demolished parts, so new structure needs be added to accomplish this task. 

M06 Scrap Cars Questions

In this mission, the robot needs to carry the engine/windshield unit from the Safety and install it in the unfolded car in the right directions. Things you need to consider include:

. How do you want to carry the engine/windshield unit?
. How do you plan to install the engine/windshield unit in the car?
. How will you locate the robot to the right place? Which route will you take? What sensors will you use to guide the robot?

Mission assignments

Hello, all,

We start working on missions now. As we discussed after we finished the tournament, we plan to finish 500 points missions by the end of summer (consistently).

Below is the Trash Trek mission map. Please use it to design your own mission. Our current assignments are:
. Aiden (M06 Scrap Cars, 65 points): we need to install the engine/windshield in the unfolded car.
. Chungtai (M09 Salvage, 60 points): pull the valuable to the safety completely.
                 (M10 Demolition, 85 points): make sure no building block is standing in Setup position,  and pull back all building blocks to the safety
. Matthew (M05 Career, 60 points): move at least one person to the Sorter Area
                 (M07 Cleanup, 30 points): move the plastic bag from the Sorter to the Safety
. Samuel (M07 Cleanup, 90 points - 125 points): move the plastic bag from the beach to the Safety. Put three animals in any circle.
. William (M11 Purchasing Decisions, 40 points): move the toy plane back to the Safety

If we can finish all these missions, plus missions we had tried before, M03 Transport and M08 Composting, we will definitely pass the 500 points goal.

To finish these missions, you need to think some general design questions:
. How many sensors do you plan to use? What are they? Where should they be installed?
. How many motors except those two driving wheels do you need to use? How will these motors drive your mechanics? Where should these motors be installed? How should they connect to your mechanics?
. How will your robot start from the Safety? (directions, etc.)
. How will the robot base look like? What is the size of the robot base?

I will also post specified questions for each of you to think.

Best,

Feng Tian