About this project
$578
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Who/what is Inconceivable?
For starters, let’s begin with the definition of the word ‘inconceivable’:
in·con·ceiv·a·ble
[in-kuh n-see-vuh-buh l]
adjective
1. not conceivable; unimaginable; unthinkable
2. unbelievable; incredible.
Many people find it hard to believe that robots exist in today’s world. The study of robotics has had countless advancements in recent years, and continues to grow at a staggering pace. Some would say that robotics alone is a pretty unfathomable concept. But what if you took the process of building a robot and limited it to 6 weeks? Now, what if you got rid of most of the experienced scientists and mechanics, and replaced them with high school students? Now, that’s what we call Inconceivable!
Inconceivable is FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team 2530, located in Rochester, Minnesota. Containing students and teachers from four high schools in the area, as well as a handful of mentors, our team has experienced exponential growth over the past few years, expanding from just a handful of people to over 50 members and nearly 10 mentors! Not only do students get hands-on experience with building, wiring, and programming a robot, but also develop life skills needed in today’s work environment. These skills include (but are not limited to) :
Metalworking
Carpentry
Electrical Wiring
Computer Programming
Economics
Marketing
Public Relations
Social Media
Time Management
Leadership
...just to name a few!
What is FIRST?
FIRST is an organization founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, holder of over 440 patents worldwide, including many advancements in medical science. He is most commonly known for inventing the Segway, and is also accredited with the first portable insulin pump and an all-terrain wheelchair system known as iBOT. FIRST’s mission is to promote science and technology in today’s youth as well as help them enhance various skills for their adult life. Therefore they founded the FIRST Robotics Competition, as well as the FIRST Lego League and other such programs for those not yet old enough to participate in FRC.
The FIRST Robotics Competition, the ‘varsity sport of the mind’, is a program that involves thousands of teams worldwide. These teams have 6 weeks to build a robot to compete against others in a new, unique game every year with its own set of rules and regulations, which is not revealed until the start of the build season. Students must not only build their robot from scratch, but also raise funds and promote their team. This means a unique and fun way for teams to spread science and engineering to their communities. There are hundreds of thousands of students who make up thousands of teams to participate in FRC. Games are played in two alliances comprised of 3 teams. Students are encouraged to interact with opposing teams, and the concept of Coopertition (a mashup of cooperation and competition) is heavily promoted, as well as the term ‘Gracious Professionalism’. In addition, FIRST offers over 15 million dollars in various college scholarships annually to members of the program.
What makes your team unique?
Team 2530 is unlike other FRC teams in the regards that we have a reputation of making robots primarily out of plywood, instead of metal. This allows our machines to be surprisingly lightweight and mobile without sacrificing endurance or efficiency. Because of this, our robots have won multiple awards for ‘Industrial Design’ and ‘Engineering Excellence’. Our robots have all been built with the preceding version in mind, building off of our ever-growing experience. So far all of our robots have gone the name of Twēk followed by their respective version. The most recent robot, Twēk III, is highly maneuverable and fires basketballs from a rotating turret with incredible accuracy and power. With this robot, our team has consecutively reigned as champions of both the 1st and 2nd annual Minnesota Robotics Invitational in Roseville; we have also been finalists in various tournaments, such as the 10,000 Lakes Regional and the Minne-Mini Regional in 2012. Twēk III was also awarded a blue ribbon at the FIRST Robotics Exhibition Competition at the Minnesota State Fair. We have also held an engineering and robotics summer camp for junior high students during the past two years.
Here's a video of our robot from 2012:
The team’s name, Inconceivable, comes from the 1987 film The Princess Bride. Our mascots are Inconceivable Man and Plausible Boy, sporting capes and masks in our team colors, green and black. Another tradition kept by Inconceivable is our drive team’s dance, performed as our team is announced before a match. Each year the new challenge is announced worldwide simultaneously via NASA TV; our team hosted the kick-off event in our area, bringing at least 15 teams to Rochester. This notably benefits our community as well as ourselves, as the large number of people brought attention to the program, and business to the nearby area.
Our challenge this year is Ultimate Ascent, which requires robots that can climb and launch disks. We’ve already begun developing this year’s robot, and are eager to start testing it. A lengthy history of achievement and improvement paired with an easily recognizable image paints our team apart from the rest.
Why should I give you my hard-earned money? How will it be used?
An excellent question! As stated previously, FRC teams must raise funds to build their robot entirely of their own efforts. We are very graciously given funds by our sponsors, which include Medtronic, as well as the Rochester Public Schools Foundation. However, this is not enough. Therefore, to achieve our budget, we participate in a lot of community events. We often do High School concessions, and during the winter we wrap gifts and bag groceries for businesses in our area. We’ve also provided concessions, MC-ing, technical support, and more for our local FIRST Lego League’s competition for the past 3 years; this also shows members of the Lego League what their next step is, and gives them something to look forward to. In 2012 we also volunteered for the RPSF’s seasonal ‘Haunted Hallways’ event, in which we had a section of their community-run haunted house, and gave a demonstration of our robot. These are only a small example of the vast quantity of things we do to raise money for our team.
Usually these efforts are enough, but due to an unexpected surge in membership, our budget requires more money than usual. Over 20,000 dollars must be raised for us to participate in everything that we plan to. Your money, should you choose to share it with us, will go towards covering expenses in 2013 such as building the robot, travel costs (such as lodging), and admission fees required to enter tournaments. You will also be allowing us to continue our tradition of not charging for membership, allowing teens from any financial background to learn these vital skills. By investing in our team, you are granting us the opportunity to grow further as a team, and are helping our members become responsible adults with a large set of skills to choose from. Not only this, but you are helping us advocate for science and engineering, and directing attention and interest towards it. In this way, you are ensuring the quality of your future neighbors, coworkers, and customers. Any contribution that you can make is a great help. After all, as one of our team’s mentors, Vince Wagner, often says, “A little bit here, a little bit there, and soon we’re talking about some real money!”
This stuff is really interesting! But, I’m not sure if I want to donate.
By all means, take your time! It’s a lot to take in. We’d like to personally thank you for taking the time to read up to this point, even if you just skimmed it. We greatly appreciate any assistance, even if its just passing this along. Should you choose to donate, we can guarantee it’ll be put to good use and will be an incredible help! Or maybe this isn’t for you, and that’s okay! After all, it is your money. If you’d like to help us without having to spend any money, please tell people about us; word of mouth is an invaluable commodity in our line of work.
Thank you, from FRC team 2530; we hope 2013 is an Inconceivable year!
Risks and challenges
In building our robot, there is no guarantee of its quality. You are investing your money in a project with many outcomes. However, we are very optimistic in our ability and experience and will do our best to make the greatest machine that we can.
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Funding period
- (45 days)