4/11/2017
FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 4613
Chairman's Award ­ Team 4613 Print
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2017 ­ Team 4613
Team Number
4613
Team Name, Corporate/University Sponsors
AARNet / Innovation First International & Barker College
Briefly describe the impact of the FIRST program on team participants with special emphasis on the 2016/2017
year and the preceding two to five years
FIRST ignites a passion for STEM. Our students are learning essential teamwork skills & engaging in STEM,
increasingly preparing to study STEM courses at University. Our alumni have gained engineering scholarships &
targeted university entry. FIRST allowed us to broaden our career horizons in STEM jobs & inspires us to help others
by creating projects like the REDBOX (an FRC­compatible gearbox), ARACHNE (a programming library which makes
coding robots easier), & Indigenous mechanical workshops.
Describe the impact of the FIRST program on your community with special emphasis on the 2016/2017 year and
the preceding two to five years
FIRST encourages us to promote STEM in our community through co­curricular evenings, presentations to business
networks like PROBUS, conferences, & in school awards in front of ?2000 people. 4613 is proud to have held DDU
(Duel Down Under) at Barker from 2012­2015 (the only FRC Australian competition pre­2015). We give mechanical
workshops for students around NSW such as 5876 & 4802, & for indigenous students at Barker's Darkinjung campus.
We take action to develop STEM & FIRST in our community.
Team's innovative or creative method to spread the FIRST message
We seek to spread the FIRST message with everything we do in the Barker Redbacks, creating unique & new
solutions. We co­host weekly mentor calls with the aim to unite FRC Australia, we eliminated $35,000 worth of VEXpro
shipping costs, & we create innovative team­spirited initiatives like ARACHNE, indigenous workshops & the REDBOX.
We participated in the China Robotics Challenge to assist teams internationally. Our creative solutions spread FIRST's
messages, locally & globally.
Describe examples of how your team members act as role models and inspire other FIRST team members to
emulate
Our team members are role models to all. One of our founding students won 3rd place in the NSW YoungScientist
awards. We have shown teams in China FIRSTs spirit & cooperative nature. Our students mentor our Junior School's
FLL teams weekly. We have helped teams like Ivanhoe, 5876 & 6510 to develop in on­field conduct, inspection,
establishing pits & game analysis. Our students have started up initiatives like the REDBOX & ARACHNE for new
teams, becoming role models for others in coopertition.
Describe the team's initiatives to help start or form other FRC teams
Our goal is to spread FIRST ideals to as many corners of the globe as possible. In 2015 & 2016, we worked with other
international teams to start up numerous Chinese Teams: assisting with building, advice & providing event support. In
2016,Along with 1772, we set up/mentored the Brazilian Team 5800. We support the supply of parts to both 1772 &
5800. We have independently assisted developing teams like 5876 & 6510 in starting FRC. ARACHNE & the REDBOX
also assist developing rookie teams.
Describe the team's initiatives to help start or form other FIRST teams (including Jr.FLL, FLL, & FTC)
Over the last 2 years we created 2 new FLL teams & 8 new FTC teams in Barker College. These teams receive
assistance from students & mentors twice a week before competition, & serve to introduce a previously unreached
number of participants into the FIRST program. FTC will likely expand over 2017. We plan to introduce Jr.FLL to the
Junior School in 2017. By the end of 2017 FIRST will be available from Barker's prep school (Jr FLL) through Year 12
(FRC).
Describe the team's initiatives on assisting other FIRST teams (including Jr.FLL, FLL, FTC, & FRC) with progressing
through the FIRST program
4613 embodies our school motto: 'Honour Above Reward.' We have given FRC Teams access to our field for practise &
hosted scrimmage events to give experience with defence & game elements in 2016/2017. In the last 2 years we have
hosted webinars for remote teams & held various technical/strategic workshops for local teams. We helped 6510 &
5876 develop through FIRST, & eliminated all shipping VEXPro costs for the entirety of Australia. In all competitions we
assist teams with their progression.
https://my.usfirst.org/frc/ca/site.lasso?r=0924838&fuseaction=ca.print_submission&sid=14203&pid=524179
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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 4613
Describe how your team works with other FIRST teams to serve as mentors to younger or less experienced FIRST
teams (includes Jr.FLL, FLL, FTC, & FRC teams)
4613 takes prides in its dedication to spreading FIRST. Our FRC students mentor students in Year 5 & 6 in FLL & in 7 &
8 in FTC twice a week. We spread the range of FIRST in nearby schools, helping team 5876 & teaching 6510 to use
ARACHNE. For 2 years we have co­hosted a national weekly mentor call across Australia to answer questions from
less experienced teams. We have travelled internationally, twice to China, to mentor less experienced teams outside
Australia alongside others.
Describe your Corporate/University Sponsors
IFI (Robot Part Manufacturer), AARNet (Educational Telecommunication Provider), Barker College (Our High School),
AllPlastics (Plastics Supplier), Aluminium Warehouse (Aluminium Supplier), OBA (Barker Alumni), Blackwoods
(Industrial Supplier), Auto One (Automotive Shop), Rockwell Automation (Automation Supplier), Treotham (Automation
Supplier), IGUS (Automation Supplier), Solidworks (CAD Software), Autodesk (CAD Software Supplier), VEXpro (Parts
Supplier), Direct Automation (Equipment Supplier).
Describe the strength of your partnership with your sponsors with special emphasis on the 2016/2017 year and the
preceding two to five years
4613 works closely with our sponsors, who benefit from brand exposure: personalised promotional videos, newsletter
articles & invitations to events. They give parts & provide guidance for outreach projects which spread FIRST. We have
saved teams ~$35,000 through the free delivery of VEXpro parts. AllPlastics supply Polycarbonate & Acrylic for
REDBOX; with IFI we showcase VEXpro parts to FRC teams; AARNet provides industry mentors, host webinars & live
streams for remote teams around Australia
Describe how your team would explain what FIRST is to someone who has never heard of it
FIRST is a non­profit organisation that aims to inspire a new generation of scientists & engineers through its core
values of teamwork, creativity, ingenuity & gracious professionalism. Through 4 different competition levels, students
solve problems, & design & build robots to tackle unique challenges. The time­pressured competition environment
encourages the learning of technical skills in a team setting, building individual confidence & thereby producing our
future thinkers & innovators.
Briefly describe other matters of interest to the FIRST judges, if any
Team 4613's mission is to bring our students' ideas into reality & to challenge our thinking with out­of­the­box,
innovative solutions, reinforcing their mental strategies. Our team exists to develop our students' minds in FIRST. When
we want a drive­base capable of crossing all defences, we challenge ourselves to think up a solution. When our vision
tracking isn't quite working, we challenge ourselves to identify the problem & fix it. We are all about the potential in our
students.
Team Captain/Student Representative that has double­checked this submission.
Jarrod Zammit
Essay
FIRST has changed the world. Through our involvement in FIRST programs, the Barker Redbacks have been forged
into constant innovators, aspiring to greater heights & seeking to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.
Through our projects we strive to raise the bar not just in Australia but all around the world, & empower teams to
develop their STEM capability through FIRST.
Student­Led Global Impact
Throughout our FIRST journey, team 4613 has undertaken projects to extend the reach of FIRST & assist rookie teams
as they begin their development in FRC. The Barker Redbacks are all about giving our students the power to create
change. This begins with the influence & inspiration of FIRST & its mission to spread the scope of science & technology
all over the globe, & results in student­led innovation.
Last year, one of our students identified that some teams were struggling to make use of the Denso motors supplied in
the Kit of Parts, due to its non­standard design. To solve the problem we created a reliable FRC­compatible gearbox
called the REDBOX. This gave inexperienced & less resourced teams the potential to create competitive mechanisms.
We gave team 6035 a REDBOX during the 2016 season, which they used as an instrumental part of their intake
system. They succeeded as part of the winning alliance in Australia & placed 13th in their Championships subdivision,
winning the award for the highest­placing rookie seed at Championships. Later, they told us they could not have done
it without our help. We gave out nearly 200 gearboxes over 2016­2017 & shipped them to 14 countries (such as China,
Turkey & Brazil), each one transforming an unused Denso motor into a valuable resource.
In 2017 our programming team released ARACHNE, a Java programming library created in­house to simplify the
challenge of developing advanced FRC programming routines. One of the key features is to help inexperienced teams
develop complicated autonomous robot routines quickly. ARACHNE is the result of the last 4 years (& many hundreds
of hours) of development work. This year we have made a dedicated effort to promote its usability to new teams. Not
only has our team created online video tutorials which show how to use the ARACHNE library, but updates are made
available each week & questions are answered by our lead developer on the weekly mentor call.
ARACHNE makes FRC coding easier for inexperienced teams & can reduce over 100 files of code to around 10. Many
teams have trouble finding experienced programmers or people interested to learn, & ARACHNE makes it much easier
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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 4613
for new teams to create effective software programs in FRC.
Another initiative which we have launched is student­led Indigenous Workshops at Darkinjung Barker. Last year Barker
College started this new school in Yarramalong on the Central Coast, which provides low­cost, high quality education
for Aboriginal Australians from the area. Team 4613 has organised workshops at Darkinjung & will run them on site
throughout 2017. The focus is on empowering Indigenous students by sharing the expertise that we have gained
through FIRST, with the ultimate goal of enabling Djarkingjung to start & sustain their own FLL & FTC teams. This will
help share the benefits of STEM education to even the most disadvantaged of Australian communities.
Inspiring the Engineers of the Future
Inspiration is the defining quality of FIRST & one that distinguishes it from other groups around the globe. FIRST is all
about creating opportunities in the fields of STEM, & team 4613 tries to emulate this in everything we do, both locally &
internationally.
In 2013 we provided the venue for "Duel Down Under", run by 3132, which was the only way Australian teams could
compete in FRC at the time. This was so successful that the team continued to provide the venue for DDU again in
2014 & 2015, allowing teams to gain experience in FRC before there was a formal national competition. During DDU,
4613 provided immediate assistance for teams requiring mechanical repairs, loaned parts & debugged software,
providing volunteers for field setup & pack down & running a national live stream.
In 2015 the Barker Redbacks were invited to Shenzhen, China, to participate in the China Robotics Challenge with 9
other internationally renowned teams. The aim was to spark the camaraderie & the spirit of FIRST in China by running
workshops to build up the skills of rookie Chinese teams ­ guiding them through the process of engineering &
exemplifying the values of FIRST. The Barker Redbacks were invited back to China in Shanghai in 2016, allowing us to
contribute to the growth of almost 30 Chinese FRC teams, for which we won an FRC Ambassador Award. At the
competition, it was announced that due to the international assistance provided, China would have its own official
regional competition for the first time in 2017.
In 2016, team 4613 partnered up with the Brazilian team 1772 to create team 5800, increasing the number of FRC
teams in Brazil for the first time since 2009. We machined the chassis for 5800 during the build season of 2016,
creating a partnership which we maintain through assistance by mentors, supplying parts & hosting team members at
the start of the 2017 build season. We also organised & funded the transportation of the Kit of Parts to both 1772 &
5800 in 2016 & 2017.
To extend the reach of FIRST & STEM, we have launched FTC & FLL programs in Barker College, including the
creation of 8 new FTC teams & 2 FLL teams. This program widens the range of students participating in FIRST &
teaches the essentials of STEM, preparing students for active involvement in FRC. The message of FIRST is also
spread at presentations at school events (>2000 people) & to large organisations such as PROBUS, & at conferences.
Through FIRST's programs our students are on track to become the next generation of engineers & programmers.
FRC is teaching us the skills to become the innovators of the future & inspiring us to change not only our students, but
the world, 1 person at a time.
Essay ­ page 2
Values FIRST
The Redbacks value partnerships & support with teams over rivalry, aspiring instead to the higher values of co­
opertition & Gracious Professionalism. We strive to constantly grow the capacity of teams around us, & make it a priority
to use our expertise to assist teams in need.
Last year 4613 significantly reduced shipping costs of VEXpro parts to Australian teams so that rookie teams could
obtain vital parts at cheaper costs. Not satisfied with this, the Redbacks wanted to do more. This year, in partnership
with IFI & VEXpro, we have completely eliminated all transport costs of VEXpro products to teams around Australia,
saving a total of appx. $35,000 AUD. With the help of our sponsors, 4613 is completely covering the customs & import
fees, GST & local delivery costs. We are proud to remove a significant barrier preventing entry into FRC, & making
FIRST robotics more affordable in Australia.
Due to the success of weekly mentor calls in 2016, we have furthered our involvement throughout 2017. Every week
we talk with teams from all over the country to help with strategising, rule clarification, mechanism ideas, & more, in
meetings hosted jointly by team 3132 & team 4613 mentors.Through this our aim is to assist other teams, & foster an
even more supportive & close­knit community, while growing their skill level. We view other Australian teams as
comrades rather than competitors, including:
­ In 2015: assisting team 3132 when they were unable to mill their chassis, by CNC milling it for them.
­ In 2016: running an ideation workshop with team 5876 to help them in their first year of FRC.
­ In 2016: teaching Ravenswood essential mechanical techniques.
­ In 2016&17: visiting Pymble's campus & teaching them to construct their first drive train, & invaluable mechanical
skills, & a first­hand tutorial on the usage of our ARACHNE Java library.
We also host & run the annual Week 0 scrimmage for Australian teams. In 2016, teams competed with all obstacles &
tower on a half field. Following the successful 2016 scrimmage, teams played 'Steamworks' in 2017. This allowed 'real­
game' experience for drivers & human players with hundreds of balls, many gears, & a 'real' airship for pilots.
We make it our goal to encourage as many teams as possible into Australian FRC & help them out. At regionals we
strive to help fellow teams with anything they need by offering tools & materials for other teams to use. We have a team
practice of students visiting other pits & helping teams ­ we are always delighted to contribute to the FIRST community
& assist its growth in any way possible.
Many of our students have volunteered at FLL, FTC & FRC competitions. 14 of our students, parents & mentors have
volunteered at 14 different competitions over 2015 & 2016. FRC has also inspired us to help to spread the influence of
FIRST closer to home. In 2016 & 2017, students weekly go to the Barker Junior School & mentor students in FLL,
guiding them through the process of engineering & showing them what FIRST is all about. As with everything we do,
the Barker Redbacks are constantly aspiring to greater heights.
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FIRST Robotics Competition ­ Chairman's Award ­ Team 4613
A Future in FIRST
We have joined in on FIRST's mission to inspire young engineers. Now it is also our mission to inspire others in
everything we do. Whether it is our small part in assisting China to establish a regional FRC competition, or helping
rookie teams program with ARACHNE, or assisting in the creation of multiple new teams both locally & internationally ­
we aspire to lead the way in all we do. Our school, Barker College, has the mission of having a global impact ­ 'Beyond
the Mint Gates'; encouraging its students to go out beyond the school gates & make a difference in the world. FIRST
has given us the opportunity to bring this motto to life & engage in this challenge: aspiring to more than just
competition, & taking on the challenge to inspire the world.
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