Byting Bulldogs' Third Year
2013 marked the third season for the team. That year, the Byting Bulldogs successfully recruited a veteran FIRST mentor and procured several pieces of fabrication equipment to add to its build space. The Bulldogs were able to take advantage of the new equipment by prototyping many mechanical systems before a final design was established. These early prototypes led to extraordinary accomplishments during the 2013 competition season.
The Robot, "Consuela"
Consuela was designed to pick up, index, and shoot frisbees. It used a carbon fiber spatula and roller system to scrape the ground and intake frisbees. A magazine system indexed each frisbee and raised it to the shooter where a pneumatic cylinder pushed it into the flywheel. The entire index and shooting system were on an articulating tower for aiming and climbing the pyramid at the end of the match.
Honors
Waterford District Competition:
District Semifinalist
Motorola Solutions Foundation Quality Award
Troy District Competition:
Rank 1
Alliance 1 Captain
District Finalist
General Motors Industrial Design Award
Michigan State Championship:
Winner
FIRST World Championship:
Rank 9 in Curie Division
Semifinalist in Curie Division
The Game
In 2013, alliances had to shoot frisbees into goal slots in the walls at the ends of the field. Goals made during the autonomous period were awarded double the points of goals made during the teleoperated period. In the final seconds of the game, robots could earn bonus points by climbing one of two jungle-gym-like pyramid towers. The higher they climbed, the more points they earned, as long as they remained there at the conclusion of the game.