Genome Alpha

In 2009, FIRST paid tribute to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing by introducing the game Lunacy. The game was played on a slick playing field surface with slick robot wheels, which was intended to simulate the low traction environment in the 1/6th gravity of the moon. This was also the year that Triple Helix introduced the Genome-series of robots, with Genome Alpha. Genome Alpha used a 4-wheel skid steer drivetrain, a ball collection and storage device to handle up to four Moon Rocks (the balls used to play the game) at a time, and a ball shooter mounted on top of the robot to launch balls into opponent trailers, the scoring objective for the game. The ball shooter was mounted on a turret, which permitted nearly 270 degrees of motion to enable shooting balls at opposing trailers from various angles. This feature proved to be very advantageous, particularly when coupled to the shooter-mounted video camera that was programmed to track opposing trailers.

Back to top

Snowflake

Snowflake, so named because of the shape of the cross-section of the 80/20 aluminum extrusion from which the robot was built, was the first Triple Helix entry into the FIRST Robotics Competition in 2008. The robot was designed to play the game FIRST:Overdrive. It utilized a 4-wheel skid steer drivetrain, a large gripper to manipulate the 40-inch diameter Trackballs used during the game, and an elevator system consisting of a vertically oriented track system and a 4-bar mechanism. The elevator system was used enable the gripper to lift and hurdle the Trackballs over the 7-ft high Overpass structure in the center of the field.  The elevator and gripper were also used to place the Trackballs on the Overpass at the end of the game for bonus points.

Back to top