Otariinae

The Game

FIRST® POWER UP℠ had an 8-bit classic video game theme. The game featured a large balancing scale and two switches, all with the goal of getting them to tip in your direction by stacking covered milk crates called “power cubes” onto their bases. Gaining ownership of the scale or switches would earn your alliance +1 point per second each. The power cubes could also be used to earn power-ups, giving the alliance a temporary advantage during the match. During the endgame, robots could earn additional points by climbing up the side end of the scale to “defeat the boss.”

The Robot

Otariinae featured a six-wheeled tank drive with a power take-off gearbox and a three-stage lift that had a grabber to pick up the cubes and could be used to climb. During competition, Otariinae could grab cubes and drop them into the vault, switch, or the scale using its three-stage lift. The lift gave it the ability to reach any height a cube needed to reach. During end game, the lift also doubled as a climbing system using hooks to latch onto the climbing rungs. The power take-off gearboxes would shift to add extra power to the lift and enable it to pull the robot up.

The team won the District Chairman’s Award and was a Finalist at Tippecanoe District. At Plainfield District, the team received the Entrepreneurship Award and Safety Award. At the Indiana State Championship, the team was District Championship Finalist and won the Regional Chairman’s Award, earning a spot at the FIRST Championship Curie Division.