Team Update
We have been very busy building and programming our robot Grover to compete in the Montana FTC Championship on March 5th in Belgrade. There are only 2 days left at this point. Below you’ll see some of what we’ve been up to recently (besides building our robot and helping other teams) and the businesses and organizations that have helped us along the way this season. You can follow all of our season activities on our FreightFrenzy page.
RoboScout Squad’s FTC Dean’s List Semifinalist – Katie
Each team may nominate up to 2 members for the FTC Dean’s List each year. Each region (Montana is a region) may select up to 2 finalists and advance them to worlds where 10 are ultimately chosen as Dean’s List Awardees. Team 18240’s Semifinalist this season is our Lead Programmer Katie. She is a Junior at Flathead High School. Wish her luck as she goes through the interview process.
FedEx Outreach
Super interesting outreach the other morning. We were up bright and early for a tour of our local FedEx.
Why so early? Because that’s when the magic happens. Trucks arrive all night long. We were there to see unloading and sorting and loading up local trucks. We learned about the facility logistics, schedules, independent contractors, and safety. They have interesting equipment and we made note of several concepts that could be helpful on a future robot.
Thank you, CJ for the tour! It was really cool! Info about our team, visit, and FIRST will be submitted to their employee newsletter.
#FedEx #FedExGround #FedExExpress #FreightFrenzy
On the Radio! Kool 105.1 FM
On Feb 11th, we celebrated International Women and Girls in Science day by visiting Geoff Scott on KOOL 105.1 FM. It’s always fun to visit the radio station and see and hear how the technology works. We talked about FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST Lego League, the upcoming state championships, and Girl Scout Cookie sales.
In the Newspaper! Daily Inter Lake
The Daily Inter Lake ran an article about local FIRST teams on 2/16. We are thankful for the opportunity to bring awareness of FIRST programs to the community and for the local teams to be recognized for their hard work. https://roboscoutsquad.com/2022/02/16/kalispellteams_dil02162022/
Kalispell City Council
Coming up on March 12th is Girl Scout Day, the day we will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the founding of Girl Scouts. We visited Kalispell City Council on February 22nd, where Mayor Mark Johnson proclaimed the week of March 6th Girl Scout Week in Kalispell. This gave us an opportunity to share our nearly finished robot and what we do in FTC with the community. Council meetings are webcast and available for viewing online after the meeting.
SWAE Outreach & Spot the Boston Dynamics Robot Dog (November)
We had a great time at SWAE, a local business that makes advanced textiles.
Their current problem-solving adventure is figuring out how to protect the joints on Spot the Boston Dynamics Robot Dog. They asked us to come up with ideas to help, so we did some research and brought a couple concepts along. Everyone got to drive Spot and we had so much fun.
Thank You to Our Freight Frenzy Sponsors
As we have prepared our robot for competition this season, several local small businesses/organizations have donated time, services, and materials to help bring our ideas to fruition. Thank you all for your support.
Thank you Advanced Powder Coating for powder coating our robot wheels. This helps protect them from scrapes and damage during gameplay and they look fabulous.
Thank you Guiffrida Enterprises for laser cutting and engraving our robot’s rear acrylic panel. There’s nothing like seeing your team logo light up.
Thank you Trailhead Supply for teaching us about leather cutting and helping to make our unique intake design a reality.
Thank you Kalispell Toastmasters for coming to our meetings, sharing your expertise, and helping with our presentation preparation!
Thank you SignsNow for providing materials for us to put a team sign on our pit cart.
Thank you Bitterroot Screen Printers for providing vehicle wrap scrap for us to test our body panel concepts.
Thank you Kalispell Toyota for donating a van rental to get us to and from Bozeman. We really appreciate it.
More Than Robots
We’ll be sure you keep you up to date on how the state tournament goes.
Here’s one last fun note. Be sure to catch “More Than Robots” the new documentary about FIRST, on Disney+ starting March 18th.
