Welcome to the website of The RoboDoves, team 2528 from Western High School. Team 2528 is an all-girls robotics team that competes in both VEX and FRC robotics leagues.

The RoboDoves in Action

The RoboDoves win Seat #4 at 2009 Battle O' Baltimore

On August 22, 2009 the RoboDoves played "Lunacy" at the 2009 FRC Battle O' Baltimore Competition at Park High School right outside of Baltimore City on Falls Road. The RoboDoves were exceptional as they worked their way up to the number four seated team that day, but only lasted up until the semi-finals. Despite the RoboDoves' failure to move on in the competition, they gained new sponsorship interest from Gargoyles Inc, a company that specializes in protective eyewear. Much success is anticipated from this new partnership.

2009 VEX World Championship in Dallas, Texas

Congratulations to Team 2528 for qualifying for the 2009 VEX World Championship by winning the programming skills challenge at two out of three regionals in Maryland they attended.

Also from Baltimore City was the Dunbar/Patterson robotics team who landed a spot in the top 20 at the end of the qualifying matches.

The RoboDoves also performed well, but due to physical damage on the airplane during travel, the drive team had difficulty in controlling the robot especially in making turns both in the autonomous and teleoperated period. The drive team had to compete with a robot that had several bent axles. Repairing the robot took a long time, and it was even more stressful when the robot had to be on field for scheduled matches. The build team literally had to disassemble the robot to replace the bent axles in the front . Otherwise the autonomous was good and in most matches, team 2528 alliances won the autonomous challenge.

VEX Elevation Competition in Carrol County

Congratulations to the RoboDoves for once again snagging the Programming Skills Award and The Judges' Award at the VEX Elevation Competition hosted by the 4H Club in Carrol County.

In the programming skills challenge, team 2528 scored as much as 29 points, which is more than the high score the team scored at the VEX Competition hosted by Dunbar High School.

Congratualtions to senior Thalida Noel, the current lead programmer for being awarded a full scholarship to Capitol College this fall. Luckily she has passed down her knowlege about programming to freshman Amber Matthew, who is already preparing to be the head programmer for next year. This fall also, senior Rian Kinnard will be attending college at Ball State University and Kara Hughes will be attending Hofstra University.

FRC "LUNACY" at the Chesapeake Regionals

Team 2528 was one of the fifty five FRC teams competing at the Chesapeake Regionals in Annapolis hosted at the Naval Academy. For that weekend only, Halsey Halls was called the Robotics Dome. There were teams that came from as far as Pennyslyvania to New Jersey. The Baltimore City teams were represented by Western High School, Digital Harbor High School, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and Dunbar/Patterson High School. The RoboDoves were exceptional. Though the RoboDoves were not selected or qualified to enter the semi-finals on Saturday, the drive team performed remarkably on field. At one point, team 2528 was at the number two spot. The first day of the competition, the score for the robodoves was four wins and one loss. Also, team 2528 was the only all-girls team present at the Chesapeake Regionals in Annapolis this month.

Kick-Off on January 3-The Countdown Begins!

Western High School hosted a live broadcast of the FRC kick-off from New Hampshire on Saturday 3. The other team present was The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute robotics team, the High Tech Parrots, team 1893.

After the broadcast, the two teams splitted up into two separate rooms to review the rules of "Lunacy". They brainstormed ideas and concepts, and made suggestions for robot designs. The RoboDoves even came to school on Sunday, the day after kick-off, to brainstorm and finalize designs. With less than 6 weeks ahead, the RoboDoves are pacing the "lunacy" of the game. The drive team has already tested the polymer wheels out on a previously built machine, and has consulted with the programming team about possible changes on the control system.

For more information about "Lunacy", click here to see the game.

Keyword: "1GiantLeap4FRC"

VEX Elevation at Dunbar High School

Western High School was ranked #1 in the qualifying matches at Dunbar High School and was the only team that left with four awards. Among these were the Finalist Award, The Judges' Award, The Excellence Award and The Programming Skills Award. Additionally, the RoboDoves' success that day earned them an invitiaton to the VEX Elevation Competition in Dallas, Texas.

Scrimmage at Woodlawn

Western High School robotics team was one of the several teams present at Woodlawn's Scrimmage. After testing the robot on an actual model of play arena that would be used in the competition, the team made some changes on the new robot to be ready for the big competition at Dunbar HIgh School. One of the new changes include an addition of omni wheels that would help reduce friction on the wheels while turning on the rubbery surface.

Ramp Riot

The RoboDoves won the Finalist Award and the Judges' Award at Ramp Riot Competition at Wissahickon High School in Pennyslyvania on Saturday, November 8, 2008. The event was hosted by Team 341, Miss Daisy. (Thank-you for the Invitation, Miss Daisy!). Much thanks to the number 6 seated team for welcoming the RoboDoves onboard their alliance.

 

Battle O' Baltimore

Battle O' Baltimore on August 9 was the first off-season competition for the RoboDoves this year. The driving team was lead by Kayanna and Ashley. The RoboDoves landed a spot on the alliance with the #1 seated team and made it to the semi-finals.

FIRST OVERDRIVE in ANNAPOLIS

Team 2528 won the Judges' Award at the FIRST competition in Annapolis, Maryland. The RoboDoves were also featured in a PBS documentary. The Western High School robotics team was one of the four chosen schools in the nation selected to be featured in the documentary that focused on young women in the field of engineering. Western High School and the RoboDoves was a perfect match! Team 341, Miss Daisy was also featured in the documentary at the FIRST OVERDRIVE Competition in Annapolis.

RoboDoves in California

Team 2528, the RoboDoves were given The VEX Energy Award in Los Angeles in May, 2008. May 2008, the girls travelled to the west coast to Los Angeles, California. Teams from all over the world were present. There were teams from as far as Brazil in South America and Beijing, China, South Korea, Singapore in Asia.

VEX Bridgebattle Competition at Morgan State University

The Western RoboDoves won first place in the City- Wide VEX Bridgebattle competition, December 13th 2007. Sharing the title were Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and W.E.B. Dubois High School.

That day, the girls snagged the Rookie All-Star Award and the Inspirational Award for the most Outstanding First Year Team.

September 2007 marked the beginning of the Western High School Robotics team. The first VEX competition of the school year was a historical event as it was the first Robotics competition for the RoboDoves. With just a few weeks to model, construct and test three robot designs, the girls anxiously awaited the challenging game that lasted an entire day. Just a few weeks prior to the VEX competition, Dunbar HIgh School hosted a playday. Playday at Dunbar was just a taste of what was to be expected on the actual day of the competition, which was December 13.

The pulsating rhythm of the Poly/Western high school band opened the list of events for the day and set the mood, clearing the air of anxiety. Led by team captain Cathryn, the RoboDoves were a force to be reconned with. Rian, Johnai, Samea, Kadijah and Ashley also represented Western High School that day.