First Display of the SummerOn June 19th, 5 members of the Rex went to downtown Baltimore to present their robot at the African American Heritage Festival. With us, we brought our robot and did demonstrations from noon till 3:30 for everyone. On several accounts, we had some curious spectators take part in our demonstrations. We were able to attract a good audience as well as talk to many about FIRST robotics and who we are.




2010-2011 LeadershipCongrats to the 2011 Build season leadership! President - Matt Verne, Vice President - Max Depalma, Business Management - Laura Panneton, Treasurer - Katherine Chen, Historian - Fiona Lyons. We look forward to your guidance and leadership in the coming season. Good Luck!


Summer Engineering Design courseApplication Application


D.C. Regionals 2010 Success REX 1727 went to the Washington Regional this past week with high hopes, yet only modest expectations. We knew we had a good machine, but without ironing out all the kinks and getting almost no driver/team practice time, we were unsure of the extent of our capabilities and limitations. Our robot was very complicated as we designed it to do every function needed to score, with the help of a variety of sensors to make it more precise. In spite of everything, we could easily cross the bumps into the different strategic zones of the field, score 1 to 2 goals a match, and hang from the tower slowly but surely.

After the first three qualification matches, REX was ranked 30th out of 59 teams. But after 3 more qualification matches we rose to number 1 and stayed there. For the elimination round we decided to play midfield, and selected both an excellent scoring and defending robot to be our alliance partners. With the help of rookie team 3123 Wildcogs and team 176 Aces High, we stuck to our strategy during the entire elimination rounds and were victorious. And not only did we end up regional champions, but we were also awarded the “Quality” award for our efforts in making the robot design the best we could.

In regards to our all around dependability, the team is nothing short of content. We were one of the most reliable hanging robots on the field, even when teams tried to get in our way or tip us over. We programmed the robot to kick multiple balls in autonomous; moving them to where our partners could score, which they did with particular skill. We had no mechanical issues at all until the very last round of the finals when our kicker holder broke, but with some fast thinking and quick repairs, all was mended. The result of last round of the finals is determined by the best 2 out of 3 matches, and due to the mechanical issue we lost our first match. However, after fixing the problem we went all out and were victorious in the next two matches, giving us the WIN!

There are a few things that have really made me overjoyed this year. We have a lot of mentors that helped us along the way, without them the kids could not have done what they did. And our sponsors came through in such an invaluable way. NASA has always been our biggest sponsor and has provided many different forms of support from equipment to display opportunities. AAI not only funded us; they provided space and mentor help during the “snowmageddon” and they helped supply us with promotional items like banners, patches, and the blinkie REX buttons which were a huge hit in DC!

What gives me the most pride though is that our club is student run and the robot is student built. We had an unusual situation on Thursday where none of our mentors were able to be present. We did have a parent come along, but he was a volunteer for the event and he could not work with the team. Even with that the kids had our robot ready quickly—we were the second robot to pass inspection. They practiced, set up teams for scouting, pit admin, and operator teams. They handled everything by themselves and were well organized and efficient.
It is anticipated that we will be even better at the Chesapeake Regional this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will be at the Baltimore Convention Center from about 9-5 daily and is free and open to the public, so please invite everyone to come to this important event!


Stem Fair At Chesapeake High SchoolOn February 26th and 27th 2010, Rex helped the BCPS Stem Initiative in hosting a VEX Competition at Chesapeake High School. On the 26th, we set up the field and associated equipments; while some members assisted the Cockeysville and Ridgely Middle School Teams in completing their robots. On the 27th, we directed field management and reset, queuing, audio and video displaying and also supported teams in need of help. As a result of our hard work, we were recognized as the “partner of the year”; and our participating team 1727A was able to compete in the semifinals with alliance partners Sparrows Point and Parkville High Schools.


Washington DC RegionalWe will be meeting daily (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) at the school at 6 AM to depart by bus to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Downtown Washington DC. While you are on this field trip you MUST wear REX apparel as an outer garment. Wearing a REX shirt, but then a random jacket over it dose not count, you must have our team name on display at all times. We encourage you to take plenty of pictures and videos at the Regional so that we may update our PIT slideshows as well as post some exceptional ones in our picture gallery. Most importantly, have fun!!!


BCPS Vex CompetitionThis weekend BCPS is hosting a VEX contest as part of the STEM Olympics. We are helping with setup, administration, and we are sending a team. Mr. Bruneau will need help with setting up on Friday from about 2:30 PM until about 7 PM. If anyone has a pickup or large van to carry equipment that would help enormously. On Saturday we will compete and run part of the event. The event itself is from 7 AM until about 5 PM on Saturday at Chesapeake high School. Chesapeake High School is a Baltimore County school in the Dundalk area! I will need as many people as I can get and I will need drivers if any parents can help.


Important MeetingOn Wednesday, March 3rd, there will be an important meeting that everyone must attend if you plan on going to any regionals or the Atlanta Championship. If you do not attend, you may not be allowed to go to any of the events. After the meeting, everyone going to the DC Regional should stay and help pack up everything for the ride to DC on the next day. That process usually takes 2 hours and requires the entire club. We should be done by 5 PM.


Work on Saturday 13th of February As you know we have lost a lot of build time due to inclement weather. AAI has generously offered space for us to work this weekend since all weekend activities are cancelled through the school sysytem. We will work from 10 - 5 tomorrow and saturday. We cannot go to the school, we will meet at a parking lot by AAI. We must meet as a group and process through security.

We will meet at the parking lot for the main building When you turn from York onto Industry Lane it is the very first right turn and there is a parking lot as soon as you go in the turn! We will meet there at exactly 10 AM and then we will go as a group to security in building 110. We will sign in and then go to our work location which is in building 115. We have a nice space there to work.

NON-citizens can come but must bring their green card!

Everyone else must bring a photo ID. You will not gain access without a photo ID.

To gain access we must have an escort from AAI, if you arrive late you probably will not get in, if you must leave early, you probably should not come!

We will do a pizza run for lunch so bring a bit of money for lunch.

Once we are there no one can leave without an escort becasue of security concerns so come prepared to work the entire day!




Build season leadersCoordinator: Maggi Csipo
Integraotor A: Stephen Gienow
Integrator B: Yalun Wu
Devices A: Hao Sun
Devices B: Matt Verne
Drive: Sam Morekas
Electronics: Prashil Patel



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