2008 was the 17th consecutive season of the FIRST Robotics Competition program. The game was FIRST Overdrive, where the objective of the game was to manipulate 40-inch-diameter trackballs while scoring laps around a rectangular playing field.
Learn more about FIRST Overdrive...
Students from all four Torrance schools were re-invited to join, and a minimum of one student from each high school in the area was a member of the team. The robot this year was elaborate, with a flipper system made of PVC (steel, later on) to pick up large 40-inch diameter Trackballs, and a forklift to move the ball over an overpass.
Although shipping the robot incomplete affected the team's performance, its lack of practice was ultimately its Achilles heel. The team's first regional in San Diego left the members in a state of deja vu, ending the first competition day in dead last, and finishing the competition in 46th place out of 49 teams.
The team fabricated a new device to take the ball off the overpass at their second regional. The system of using a flipper to carry the large ball proved successful, and along with several software upgrades, including but not limited to having a working hybrid code, the team ended in 5th place after qualifying in Los Angeles.
The three-team alliance that was ultimately defeated during the semi-finals consisted of us, team 2102, and team 1726.
Team President: Jerry Shu
2008 was:
- the year with the highest team membership to date
- the second highest we've ever seeded before alliance pairings (in 2004, we seeded 3rd)
- the first year that we've had at least one member from every Torrance high school
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