Byting Bulldogs' Rookie Year

The Byting Bulldogs started out as a small club consisting of eleven students, Mr. Dan Gardner (an electronics teacher), and a few parent mentors. Gardner asked Armada's team 1718, The Fighting Pi, if they would be willing to mentor a rookie team. The Byting Bulldogs, being a small team, were able to simply streamline into The Fighting Pi's build season process. The Pi pointed us in the right direction, teaching us valuable skills and proper design processes that would help us in the future.

Under the guidance of The Fighting Pi, the Byting Bulldogs exceeded even our own expectations during our first year!
 

The Robot, "Martin"

In 2011, the 3539 robot was named Martin. Martin's drivetrain had an 8-wheel tank drive, was chain driven, single speed. It had a telescoping arm that pivoted up to 270 degrees to pick up and score tubes on either side of the robot. In the end game, a “ski jump” style minibot deployed and was launched to the top of a pole in under two seconds.

Honors

• Waterford District Competition:

  • Rank 5

  • Alliance 5 Captain

  • District Winner

  • District Rookie All-Star

• Troy District Competition:

  • Rank 3

  • Alliance 3 Captain

  • District Finalist

  • District Rookie All-Star

• FIRST World Championship:

  • Rank 2 in Archimedes Division

  • Alliance 2 Captain

  • Highest Rookie Seed in Archimedes Division

  • Quarterfinalist in Archimedes Division

The Game

Robots placed inflated triangles, circles, and squares (which make up the FIRST logo) on racks of varying heights to score points. During the final ten seconds of each match, robots deployed minibots to climb a tower.