FIRST ROBOTICS CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

FTC Team 801

Panteras The First Latin American Robotics Club

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

Panteras FTC Team 801

FIRST TECH CHALLENGE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

TEAM NUMBER: 801

TEAM NAME: PANTERAS FTC

UNIVERSITY SPONSORS: UNIVERSIDAD PANAMERICANA PREPARATORIA / CENTRO

ESCOLAR CEDROS

2008 FTC Team Main Objectives

- Increase the number of teams that participates at the Mexico FTC Regional

o Go to school to promote FTC and Vex programs

o Make workshops to teach new mentors about Vex

o Elaborate new materials in Spanish about robotics, FIRST programs, and Vex

- Assisting in the creation of a team of Women in Mexico

- Spreading the work done elsewhere. Sharing experiences and material with other

teams

- Begin the Robotics for all project where low-income schools are involved in First

programs

- Become a true robotics club, through the convening of a larger number of members of different ages

- Improve participation in the FTC Regional in Mexico

- Improve the place obtained in the FTC World Championship

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

Our Innovation Philosophy

We have a model that permit us to be a team where all ideas are important and all

members have a clear role to develop

The Soccer Model i

- Coach More, Direct Less Inspire the team to develop confidence and skills so we can seize critical “big game”

opportunities

- Celebrate Passing Break the team into smaller groups to increase the number of triangles where team

members can pass ideas and responsibilities

- Everybody Touches the Ball Every player must have one or more responsibilities. Don´t relegate team members

to the linemen who rarely touch the ball

- Overlapping Skills Create opportunities to assume nontraditional roles and push forward initiatives.

Invite techies to brainstorming big concepts and sketch out ideas and encourage

those with a less technical bent to access technology issues. Find out team members’

unique passions and interests, and put them to work

- Less Dribbling, More Goals Encourage the sharing of ideas and initiatives. Solo dribbling can give a project the

critical first push, but then you need team work to bring a project home.

Team Organization

Each Member has asigned a specific area, however everybody have relation with each other

and every team member has the knowledge about the complete team activities. The diagram

about theteam organization is:

ANGEL

ADOLFO

JORGE

SIXTY ATHIE

ARPIPEDRO

PACO PELOS

MANI

ROJO

PACO

CARLOS

DAVID

Mechanics

Programming

Team Coordination & Engineering Notebook

Media & Public Relationships

Coaching Staff

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

Who we are?

Who is in the team? The Panteras team consists on 13 members, from which 10 are regular students from 10th, 11th, and

12th grade and 3 teachers. As we want to involve our community into the project, we have invited

many students from different grades to be part of the project. They might not be included as team

members because of logistics, but they have participated in one way or another. For example,

children from “Cedros” school, which is the elementary institution from Universidad Panamericana,

have helped in minor tasks during the assembling process or events organization. There have been

other classmates and teachers that are not part of the team that have helped on many tasks.

Team Members

Francisco Padilla Monroy

Coaching Staff

Founder (as coach) of FLL, FTC & FRC

Teams at Universidad

Panamericana. A Real Robotics Fan

Age: 26

School Year: Engineering Master

FTC Experience: 3rd Year

Tasks:

- Mechanic & Programming Mentoring

- Engineering Notebook Support

- Other Teams Mentoring - Promotion

Hobbies: Design, Robotics, Progressive Rock, Football.

Why I Join FTC Team?

I love robotics and I think that is a great opportunity to develop my creativity and imagination. The robotics shows me the value of team work and gracious professionalism to obtain greater objectives.

I´m proud to help new young people to get involved in this amazing world

Francisco on the Web

www.proyectorobot.blogspot.com

www.wikistorming.blogspot.com

E-mail

broncopray@yahoo.com

Inside School Activities

One of the most relevant situations in the integration part of a Robotic Club is de continuity of its

activities among the time. Based on this objective we organized different activities with the purpose

of promote Robotic Clubs inside of our school to achieve a bigger number of interest alumni.

Internal UP – VEX League

It was formed, inside the school, a league of Robotic teams that use VEX platform. This

league is conformed for more than 50 students and organized different challenges among

the year, with the finality of promote science and technology inside the school.

In the present scholar course we´d had more than 10 challenges, e.g.:

Cars with test drive, speed and strength

Robot that climbs stairs

Robots that climb pipes

Robots that run on ropes

Hot dog´s Machine

Robots that interact with objects on tables

Robot serving beers

Robot Art Exhibition

Videos, photographs and presentations are available at:

www.proyectorobot.blogspot.com

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

K-12 Project

Inside the Universidad Panamericana and with the support of many of the robotic clubs

members, it was possible the creation of K-12 Project, which pretends to integrate activities

of different clubs of FLL, Junior FLL, FTC and FRC, with the finality of standardize objectives

and the education inside them. This project was awarded by AMITI (Asociación Mexicana de

Tecnologías de la información) as one of the projects with more relevance in educative

technology in the country.

Integration of mult idisciplinary clubs

Panteras´ team made a purpose to the school to integrate Robotics club, Entrepreneurship

club, Visual design club and Cinema club, with the idea of generate multidisciplinary projects

inside the school. This purpose is in the review stage and it´s possible that it can run the next

scholar course. Inside the first projects that we want to realize is an Art Multimedia

exposition and the creation of promotional videos and banners of Robotic teams.

Junior FLL Project

We´re in process of create the first Junior FLL team inside Colegio Cedros. In this plan we are

considering some members of the Panteras´ team as couches in this club. We hope start

activities on September 2008.

Robotics Entrepren

eurship Cinema Visual Design

Multi-Disciplinary

Projects

Community Activities

Regional Tournament organization of FTC in Mexico

Universidad Panamericana was host of the 2° Tournament of VEX in Mexico, supported by

the members of Panteras´ team. The tournament was realized the 5th of April, with the

participation of different teams of the UP-VEX League.

Integration of 8 teams from different schools, coaching and working

together with some of them

One of the main objectives during the present season is to help to integrate new robotics

teams in Mexico, thus an arduous work of conviction was carried out, obtaining 7 schools

involved in 2008 Mexico Regional. We help many of them from promotion period to

technical aspects in later dates. Within these schools they are: Colegio Alamos, Centro

Escolar Yaocalli, Colegio Williams, Instituto Simon Bolivar, Inhumyc, among others. Also we

have been had contact and a visit of the team of Andres Bello University of Santiago of

Chile, with the purpose of supporting them in diverse activities related to VEX that they are

developing

On the other hand the Team Panteras, with the support of First Mexico, organize the 1st Vex

Coaches Workshop in Mexico. It was made in the month of February in the facilities of the

Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) with the participation of more than 20

students and coaches of diverse educative institutions.

Support for the creation of the First Vex Team of Girls in Mexico (Yaocalli )

After an arduous work it was managed to create the first vex team of girls in Mexico, in the

Yaocalli School, being the members of Panteras' team mentors of the girls. A great

enthusiasm was obtained that we hope that it manages to influence to other schools of

women.

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

Panteras – Deloitte Project: Robotics for All

In the last months we have been working together with people of human resources of

Deloite, with the purpose of taking Robotics for all projects with them. The objective is that

Deloitte includes robotics like a part of its social activities on poor schools (one of them of

women).

The contribution of Panteras’ team would be the teaching of workers of Deloitte so that

those were they that distributed the clubs, whereas the company pays the costs of

equipment and trips. The project is advanced and we hope that, at the beginning of May, the

first workshops are carried out.

ROBOTICS FOR ALL MODEL

Develop material and education

techniques

Promote new robotics teams

Teach new robotics mentors

Help to obtain funds, linking

with interested companies

Support the teams development

Elaboration of Support Material in Spanish

During the last year we have developed material of support for the new teams of Vex in Latin

America. Within the developed material they are:

- Videos with explanations of subjects related to mechanics, programming, etc. The

translation of the Quad Quandary challenge animation.

- We elaborate a book of tips for the new teams, focused mainly to mechanical problems.

- The Panteras team members translated to Spanish 5 chapters of the Vex Starter´s Kit

manual (Logic, Programming, Control, Structure, Power)

- We made a video tutorial to explain (in Spanish) how to install and use the Competition

template.

These materials, as well as diverse videos, official notices and information related to Vex and the

activities of the Panteras' team and the UP-Vex league can be consulted in the following sites:

www.proyectorobot.blogspot.com

www.panterasup.blogspot.com

www.paquitovex.blogspot.com

PAQUITO: Ambassador of Latin American Robotics Teams

Paquito is our team mascot and has been contributor of innumerable events of robotics

promotion in Mexico, and has been considered like ambassador of the Latin-American

robotics teams, from the part of the Universidad Panamericana Preparatoria. The main

objective of Paquito is to present science and technology on a friendlier way. In addition he

has been protagonist of diverse videos that can be visited in YouTube. His oficial site is:

www.paquitovex.blogspot.com

Robotics for All Project, f inal ist at the National Youth Award, Science and

Technology Chapter

With the purpose of obtaining funds to support low resources schools and to manage to take

the Robotics for all project, we present this in the national youth award of Science and

Technology, in the category of social projects with technology. It was managed to obtain a

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

place between the finalists, although the awaited financing was not obtained. Nevertheless it

is hoped to present again the project improved for a similar contest in June.

Organization of the FLL Mexico City Regional and the 1s t Cedros

Invitat ional Contest

The team participates as support at the FLL Mexico City Regional, and the Cedros Invitational

Contest, taking the role of judges, referees, and staff people. In addition, during all those

events we made activities of promotion of Vex and FRC.

Coaching a low resources school for FLL. Youngest Coach Award Winner

Manuel Carbajal "Mani" evolved like coach of the Secundaria Técnica #261 team, same that

was sponsored by Colegio Cedros. This equipment managed to classify itself to the National

Match, winning the best design Award. On the other hand Mani was awarded like the

youngest coach of FLL in Mexico

Logist ic support to bring robots to Mexico

One of the problems that FTC´s Teams in Mexico are facing is the purchase of the material

because of the higher price and the difficulty to bring the pieces. Panteras' team in

conjunction with Universidad Panamericana has purchased more equipment than the

necessary, with the idea to share with other teams this material.

Presentations of promotion in different Congresses and Schools

The promotion task has been a constant during this period of FTC. As part of this promotion

we participate in different congresses and exhibitions. During this year the team realized

expositions in more than 10 events, among courses, congresses, scholar visits, etc., besides

that the team built 4 VEX fields, with the goal that other students can play with VEX´s robots.

Pa

nte

ras F

TC

Te

am

80

1 |

1

Influence…

One of our main objectives is to influence our community. It is not common in Mexico to be

involved in a new technologies environment in the education field, even less to be into the

robotics environment. We want to let other institutions, whether they are private or public

that there is a great opportunity to go deep inside new education and technology fields. We

have already served as a great help for the Alamos, Yaocalli, Williams and Inhumyc schools in

their first participation on FLL, FTC, or FRC.

We organize the first Coaches Workshop of Vex with more than 20 participants. We are

mentoring the 261 public school, which is a low-budget school, for their first FLL participation,

it is important to mention they succeeded to the regional championships. We are working to

involve companies like Deloitte to have more funds to help us to promote the robotics projects

in many other schools.

Fundraising…

Besides our sponsors, we have organised many activities in which we have had the opportunity

to get more funds. One was to sell donuts; this was during classes and during some special

events held at school. All of our parents showed great support and helped on selling and

buying these donuts. We also organised two raffle of a one-week round trip to Cancun and an

iphone, which was a great success. With this activities our school, and community, showed a

great interest not only because of the prize, but because they are so involved with our dream

that they wanted to do the most for us.

We are searching help with companies like Deloitte trough collaboration activities (described

above) and participating in different contest related with youth and technology.

Ending

This experience has transformed us; we have matured and grown in many aspects, like being

more responsible and more engaged with our community. One of the greater lessons we learn

is: “Share is the best Business”. It is not only about showing our work, but about teaching and

helping others to create, dream and show our potential, more if we learn to work in team. We

have also grown in our interpersonal skills; we have had the chance to strengthen our

relationships with teachers, and in between us, making these relations more friendly,

confident, and special.

In our way we find friends in many schools at Mexico, and in the United State and in Canada.

We learn about the commitment that implies to be the leader team in our country and in Latin

America. We are proud and aware that a great responsibility is over our shoulders. We need to

expand the robotics in Mexico to improve the projects developed in our country. We work so

hard this year but have a lot of work to do. Our dream is that the Mexico Regional becomes

the more competitive regional in the world and that in Mexico the youth begins to give his

value to the science, and technology.

i Based on Soccer Model by Tom Kelley at The 10 Faces of Innovation