2018 Battlecry@WPI
From May 19 to 20, 2018, Morpheus travelled to WPI to compete in our third Battlecry offseason competition. Going into Battlecry, we were hoping to improve on our performance at the Championship and climb in every match. After setting up our pit, we successfully tested our climber during a practice match. In our first match, we faced Team 195 (Cyberknights) and earned 0 ranking points, which landed us in last place in the rankings. Going forward, we prioritized earning as many ranking points as we could by using our 2 cube switch auto and our climber. During our next match, we got our first climb! Following that, we were able to score several 4 RP matches, which boosted us up to first place within five matches! Towards the end of qualification matches, we were able to cheesecake an extension onto Team 61's (The Intimidators) climber to allow them to get a double climb with us. At the end of qualifications, we were ranked second with a win-loss record of 7 wins and 1 loss and 25 total ranking points, only two ranking points behind 195! During alliance selection, we chose our friends on Team 2168 (Aluminum Falcons) to join Alliance 2. At the other end of the draft, we picked up Team 3719 (STEM Whalers), our 2017 District Championship Finalist alliance captain! Going into the eighth finals, we prioritized ownership and climbing. In our second eighth finals match, our alliance controlled all three game elements and scored three climbs. Due to missing one climb in our first match, our alliance became the third alliance going into the quarterfinals. Our alliance breezed through the quarterfinals and faced the alliance captained by Team 3314 (Mechanical Mustangs) in the semifinals. Although we fought hard, we were ultimately eliminated in the semifinals. After taking alliance pictures, we found that we had won the General Staff award! Morpheus had a great time working with Team 2168 and Team 3719 and hopes that we can work together again soon. We had a great time at Battlecry 19 and would like to congratulate our friends on Team 195 (Cyberknights), Team 319 (Big Bad Bob), and Team 9985 (Team 4041's offseason robot) for winning the event!
2018 Concord FLL Jr. Expo
Today, May 12, 2018, Team 5813 demonstrated our 2016 robot Goatnado at the 2018 Concord, NH, FLL Jr. Expo hosted by Team 1517 (Lumberjacks) at Bishop Brady High School. We talked to FLL Jr. students about the progression of FIRST programs and FRC. It was thrilling to observe the raw inspiration pour into the brains of the FLL Jr. Students through their eyes and ears. Morpheus had a fantastic time at the 2018 Concord FLL Jr. Expo and would like to thank Team 1517 for inviting us to this event! We'd love to return next year.
2018 Aerospacefest
Today, May 5, 2018, members of FRC Team 5813 participated in the 2018 Aerospacefest at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discover Center in Concord, New Hampshire. After loading in this morning, we demoed our 2016 robot Goatnado to the various attendees. We had a great time talking about our team and FIRST to the participants. Morpheus would like to thank the Discover Center for hosting the 2018 Aerospacefest. Additionally, we would like to thank Team 6763 (FUSION) and Team 1517 (Lumberjacks) for lending us some robot batteries while we wait for our batteries to return from the FIRST Championship in Detroit.
The Concord Monitor Covers Morpheus' 2018 Championship Performance
On Monday, April 30, 2018, The Concord Monitor newspaper featured a front-page article about our team's performance at the 2018 FIRST Championship - Detroit - Curie Subdivision. We were excited to talk with the Monitor at various points throughout the Championship. You can read the article online here.
2018 FIRST Championship - Detroit - Curie Subdivision
On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, members of Team 5813, Morpheus, trekked from Concord, New Hampshire, to Detroit, Michigan, to compete at the first ever FIRST Championship - Detroit. Immediately after setting up our pit, we fixed some intake wrist issues and attached our new climbing mechanism. Once everything was mounted, we spent the rest of the day cabling and tuning the hook deployment as well as exploring the new vast venue of the Cobo Center. We were glad that we had a fairly short walk to both the field and the practice area. After running our practice match and discovering some tweaks that were needed for our climber, we travelled to the practice field to tune both our climber and our autos.
The next day, we won all four of our qualification matches with three ranking points each. On Friday, we had six more qualification matches. Of those six, we won five and earned 18 more ranking points. In our last qualification match, we placed eight cubes in the scale! At the end of the qualification tournament, we were excited to be rank seven with a ranking point average of 3.0! On the morning of the last day of the Championship, we started transporting our pit equipment over towards the elimination pit area to prepare for the quarterfinals. During alliance selection, we became the captain of Alliance 5. For our alliance, we chose Team 2175 (The Fighting Calculators), Team 316 (LUNATECS), and Team 503 (Frog Force) to join us. After alliance selection, we quickly set up our eliminations pit and strategized with our partners. Going into our quarterfinal matches, we were hopeful that we would advance to the semifinals. Unfortunately, in our first quarterfinal match, our elevator had an issue, 503's intake broke, and 2175 fell from their climb and broke their elevator. Despite these setbacks, we reworked our strategy and subbed 316 in for 2175. In the next match, everything was going great, we controlled our switch and the scale. Then a bit over halfway through the match, our alliance accidentally knocked two cubes off of our side of the scale. This gave control of the scale to Alliance 4. Unfortunately, we were unable to regain ownership of the scale and ultimately lost the match by 51 points. Although we had just been eliminated, we were proud of our alliance and team for our performance and our ability to compete at a world class level. We had a great time working with 2175, 316, and 503, and hope to work with them again soon. After taking alliance pictures, talking with our alliance partners, and cleaning up our eliminations pit, we moved to the lobby to take team pictures with the giant FIRST logo. Once we had taken our pictures, we started to load up our crate and watched the Curie Subdivision finals. Morpheus would like to congratulate Team 3707 (Brighton Technodogs), Team 195 (Cyberknights), Team 333 (MEGALODONS), and Team 70 (More Martians) on winning the Curie Subdivision! Until Einstein started, we finished loading our crate, congratulated our pit neighbors and friends on Team 195 on winning Curie and representing New England on Einstein. During the Einstein Round Robin, we cheered for the teams and had a great time watching the high level of play on display in Detroit. Immediately following the round robin, we helped Team 195 move their Einstein pit back to the Curie pits and then talked with Team 1241 (Theory 6), the Tesla Subdivision winners, about their robot and build season schedule. We were excited to head over to the Ford Field and watch the Daly winners face off against the Carson winners in the thrilling Einstein Finals! Morpheus would like to congratulate Team 2767 (Stryke Force), Team 27 (Team Rush), Team 2708 (Lake Effect Robotics), and Team 4027 (Centre County 4-H Robotics) on winning the 2018 FIRST Championship in Detroit! Overall, Morpheus had a great time at the 2018 FIRST Championship; we competed hard, ranked 7th, became alliance captains, and made it to the quarterfinals! Morpheus hopes to compete at the FIRST Championship in Detroit again next year.
Morpheus Assigned to the 2018 Curie Subdivision
FIRST announced the divisions at the 2018 Detroit Championship today, and we have been assigned to the 2018 Curie Subdivision! Morpheus is excited to compete with all of the awesome teams in the Curie Subdivision. To watch matches live from April 25 to 28, go to the Curie Subdivision Twitch stream.
Morpheus Appears in the Concord Monitor Newspaper
On Monday, April 16, 2018, the Concord Monitor newspaper featured an article about our team's successes at the 2018 UNH District Event. We were excited to see that this article was on the front page of the Concord Monitor! You can read the article online here.
2018 New England District Championship
From April 11 - 14, 2018, Morpheus travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, to compete at the 2018 New England District Championship. On load in day, we quickly set up our pit and spent the rest of the day installing and testing our brand-new elevator gearbox. This gearbox features four 775Pro motors and can shift between controlling the elevator and controlling the climber winch. In a practice match, we were able to make a 4-tall cube stack when the scale was tipped in our favor. The next day, qualification matches began. On the first day, we had a tough match against Team 125 (Nutrons) and Team 1768 (RoboChiefs), but we were able to pull out the win with Team 95 (Grasshoppers); in that match, we were able to make a 3-tall cube stack in the scale while it was tipped away from us. During Thursday and Friday, we perfected our scale auto starting on the left side of the field. Additionally, we worked to attach and debug the climbing system that we had been designing since SE Mass. Although the hook deployment of the hook and the actual climb worked wonderfully, it was very hard to align. At the end of the qualification rounds, we were ranked 19th with a win-loss record of 8 wins and 4 losses. Unfortunately, we were not selected for an eliminations alliance. Instead of packing up the pit right away, we focused on improving our elevator PID and acceleration in case we qualified for the Championship. We would like to congratulate our friends on Team 195 (Cyberknights), Team 319 (Big Bad Bob), and Team 5846 (Southcoast Corsairs) on your District Championship Victory! Morpheus had a fantastic time at the District Championship and hopes to return next year.
At the end of the district season, Morpheus is excited to have 148 district points, which qualifies us for the World Championship in Detroit, Michigan, in a few weeks. See you there!
2018 UNH District
From March 29 to 31, 2018, Morpheus competed at the 2018 UNH District Event in Durham, New Hampshire. On load in day, we set up our pit, got inspected, played some practice matches, and tested our scale autonomous. The next day, qualification matches started. During the qualification matches, Insomnado performed extremely well. We consistently placed cubes in both switches, the scale, and the vault. On the practice field, we continued to refine our autos. After the first day of matches, we returned to Morpheus HQ to conduct our scouting meeting. Thank you to our generous sponsor Washington Street Cafe for providing wonderful food at our scouting meeting! The next day, at the conclusion of the qualification rounds, we were ranked third with 11 wins and 1 loss and a average ranking score of 2.33. During alliance selection, we were invited to join Alliance 2 by Team 138 (Entropy), and we gladly accepted. Together, we selected Team 5506 (Midcoast MAINEiacs) to join our alliance. With this alliance, we hoped to control all three game elements, fill up the vault, and get one climb in every match. Throughout the elimination rounds, a reporter from the Concord Monitor tagged along and talked to our team members for an upcoming newspaper article. Our alliance got off to a quick start and breezed through the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, our alliance was able to keep control of the scale and our switch in both matches, earning us a trip to the finals. At that point, we had an event record of 15 wins and 1 loss! Going into the finals against Alliance 1, we knew that we would need control of the scale early on in order to pull out a win. Therefore, we decided to run our scale autonomous mode. In Finals 1, our auto worked perfectly and kept the scale balanced. Although our alliance gave it our all, we ended up slightly behind on the scale, which lead to a loss. Our auto worked again in Finals 2! After a tough battle for control of the scale, Alliance 1 proved victorious. We were District Event Finalists! Morpheus would like to congratulate our good friends on Team 319 (Big Bad Bob), Team 1519 (Mechanical Mayhem), and Team 4555 (Sprocketology) on winning the event! We had a great time working with our Team 138 and Team 5506 and hope to work with them again soon. Additionally, we would like to congratulate Team 5422 (Stormgears) on winning the district event Chairman's Award! We are proud that the only three matches that we lost at this event were to both Team 319 and Team 1519. Throughout the last day of the event, we had a great time talking with and explaining our robot to Mr. James Blanco, Owner and President of JCB Performance Machine, LLC., one of our cherished sponsors. Morpheus had a fantastic time at the 2018 UNH District Event!
We are excited to see that, with 103 district points, we are officially qualified for the 2018 New England District Championship in two weeks! See you there!
2018 SE Mass District
From March 9, 2018, to March 11, 2018, Morpheus members travelled to Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to compete at the 2018 SE Mass District event. On Friday, we set up our pit and got inspected. The next day, we worked on tuning our center-switch auto. Once the auto was tuned, it worked in every qualification and eliminations match that we ran it. During qualification matches, our robot performed extremely well, completing the auto quest many times, scoring cubes in the exchange, and securing ownership of both the switch and scale. At the end of the qualification matches, we were ranked fifth. In alliance selection, we were invited by Team 4041 (Iron Tigers) to join Alliance 3. Together, we invited Team 2079 (ALARM) to join our alliance. With our alliance, we hoped to get control of the switch in auto; maintain control of our switch, the opponent switch, and the scale; fill up the vault; and get one climb and one levitate. In the quarterfinals, we won the first match. In the second match, we tried our brand new scale auto that we had been testing. Although the auto barely missed the scale, we dominated both switches and the scale for the whole match. Unfortunately, a few field faults caused the match to be replayed. In the replay, we ended up losing the match and one of our intake gearboxes broke. During the tiebreaker, we were still able to pick up cubes and score them. Our alliance was extremely excited when we won the tiebreaker match and advanced to the semifinals. For the semifinals, we were not able to fix our intake gearbox, but we still performed well. Despite our alliance fighting hard, we were eliminated in the semifinals by Alliance 2. Later on, during the award ceremony, we were elated to win the Innovation in Control Award for our autonomous path generator! We would like to congratulate our friends on Team 88 (TJ^2), Team 2168 (Aluminum Falcons), and Team 121 (Rhode Warriors) on winning the event and Team 6328 (Mechanical Advantage) on their Chairman's Award! Morpheus had a fantastic time at the SE Mass District event and hopes to return next year.