​Kinetic Knights headed for Ontario championships after successful district events

The Kinetic Knights Robotics team of Kincardine is headed for the Ontario championships in Mississauga, after competing successfully at two district events over the past two weeks.

This year’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) challenge, called “Crescendo,” requires the robot to shoot rings (called "notes") into amplifiers and speakers to gain points and then, at the end of the game, dangle on a chain with two other robots. Each match features two alliances (made up of three robotics teams each) competing, and the alliance that scores the highest number of points wins the game.

FRC Team 781 has spent two-and-a-half months designing, building and programming its robot, “Breakout,” to complete the challenge.

The team’s first competition was at Durham College in Oshawa, March 15-17, where it finished the qualifying matches with seven wins and seven losses, and was ranked 14th. The Kinetic Knights were then chosen to join Alliance 4, with Team 7712, ACCN UMOJA of Scarborough, and Team 8731, Wild Wyre of Lindsay.

During elimination matches, Alliance 4 won its first game, but lost its second, moving into the consolation rounds where it played two more matches before being eliminated in the semi-finals.

Team 781 also won the Creativity Award which celebrates the creativity that enhances strategy of play and was intentionally designed and not discovered. The judges appreciated the robot’s design, particularly the extension and the climber, and said it was a “cool-looking robot.”



Team 781's robot, "Breakout," in competition at the Durham College District event in Oshawa; videos by David Dadson

The Kinetic Knights travelled to North Bay for the Nipissing University competition, held March 22-24. Their robot performed better, with eight wins and four losses, finishing in 10th place at the end of qualifying rounds.

They became Alliance 6 captain and were joined by Team 4069, Lo-Ellen Robotics of Sudbury, and Team 6514, Sutton Robotics League of Sutton West.

In elimination matches, they lost their first game to Alliance 3, moving them to the consolation round where they came up against Alliance 2 and lost, 85-69, ending their shot at the championship.

The team is now focused on repairing and upgrading the robot for the Ontario championships, slated for April 3-6 at the International Centre in Mississauga.

The Kinetic Knights robotics team – FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 781 - is a community youth robotics organization, open to young people, ages 13-19, in Kincardine. Currently, there are about 25 members and 12 mentors who focus on various aspects of team-building, as well as constructing a robot to enter in FIRST competitions.

For more information, contact lead mentor, David Dadson, at dcdadson@live.com.



The Kinetic Knights' robot in competition at the Nipissing University District event in North Bay