Knight Fury

The Game

FIRST® STRONGHOLD℠ challenged alliances to attack the enemy’s stronghold and cause their castle’s defense to drop to zero. Each team was given ten-inch foam balls that they would either launch into a six-foot goal for 5 points or push into a goal on the ground for 2 points. Robots also had to pass the other team’s defenses and avoid other robots. Defenses ranged from rough terrain to doors, drawbridges, and gates. Bonus points were given if a robot was on one of the three platforms by the castle or had climbed the castle wall at least halfway.

The Robot

Knight Fury featured an eight-wheeled coast tank drive with a ‘Y’-shaped shooter that used a flywheel intake system to pick up foam balls. Once a foam ball was loaded into the shooter, a 122-pound spring was pulled back by a cam-actuated radial extension, also called a choo-choo. This allowed the robot to gain the force needed to launch the foam ball six feet into the air. For bypassing defenses, a three-joint manipulation arm was used. Knight Fury’s highlighted feature was how effectively it crossed the terrain defenses.

The team received the Gracious Professionalism award at the Tippecanoe District and the Entrepreneurship Award at Walker Warren. At Perry Meridian District, the team won the Chairman’s Award. The team also won the Cage Match offseason event.