In the fall of 2015, Code Red started its brand new elementary program, Next Robotics Generation (NRG), a program designed for 4th-6th graders. The foundation of the program is that is is designed and led by our high school FRC students and that it involves each student building and competing with his/her own robot along with a parent.
For this first season, we had nine students participate for the six week season. Code Red’s own FRC students designed a game to play on an 8’x8′ field. This inaugural game was called Cube Chaos and involved pushing cubes from an alliance’s home field to a goal across the field. An added element to the game was a small ramp with a tube holding balls in the center of the field. The balls would be released during the end game, and students would try to push a ball into their goal as well as end the match with their robots parked on the ramp. Once the game was designed, FRC students wrote a game manual and made the field elements.
Twice a week for six weeks, NRG students came to Code Red’s build space to assemble their Arduino robots. Each student had his/her own robot to assemble, and a parent helped with that assembly. Once the robot was assembled, it was time to design and make modifications for the robot to allow it to play the game. Students chose and made their own designs, sometimes having to problem solve by fixing designs that were not effective. FRC students mentored the NRG students by offering assistance with assembly and modifications.
At the end of the six week season on October 29, 2015, we held a tournament at the build space, complete with a DJ, music, referees, and an emcee. Students played qualification matches, and the top qualifiers went on to the tournament. Once again, FRC students were in charge of running the tournament. At the end of the fun day, we held an awards ceremony to recognize the winners and all the hard work put forth by the students. Great job FRC and NRG in running a successful first season!
