Coopertition. It’s at the heart of FIRST.

Boneyard Robotics wants to take Coopertition to the next level in North Carolina. We have started The Scouting Collaborative so that teams can share scouting information at FRC events.

But, it’s not just scouting how teams score. Yes, there are going to be match scouting sheets, but also pit scouting, and drive team scouting (a new type of scouting that tracks the interaction between drive teams on the alliance).

Are you a rookie team or do you have a small team? No worries. The Collaborative is designed to help you out. Here’s how it works:

Teams in the Collaborative provide students to handle pit scouting and scout matches at all NC FRC events.

After a set number of matches (usually 6-8), paper scouting sheets are scanned, digital scouting information is collected, and both are uploaded online for all Collaborative teams to access.

The goal is to have all data available at two critical times during a competition. The first is shortly after competition wraps up for the day on Saturday, so that your team will have important information for your Saturday night drive team meeting. The second is at the end of qualifying matches, so your team has the information you need to make wise choices in alliance selection.

Not going to a competition, but want to see what other teams are able to do? No problem. All members of the Collaborative are able to access the scouting sheets from all teams in all matches at all NC FRC competitions.

Interested? Have questions? Want to join? Send us an email!

Originally, the Piece Of the Puzzle Alliance (POP). The idea for this came from Boneyard Robotics wanting teams to come together to help build a better future for all students. Learn more about our efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive FIRST community at thepopalliance.org.

Why Piece Of the Puzzle? The puzzle piece has become an international symbol for autism and is embraced by many in the autism community, including the autism organization that Boneyard partners with locally. Boneyard realized several years ago that there were several students on the team who happened to be on the autism spectrum. They were key pieces of the team and helped make the team better. At the same time, being on the team helped them as well.

That realization was a powerful moment – one where the Boneyard had found its true purpose, and the way they could have the largest impact on their community and others.

After that first year, it became a part of Boneyard’s mission to actively seek to help include these underserved students. But, why stop with Boneyard? There are neurodiverse students everywhere (1 in 59 with Autism Spectrum Disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and even more when considering other neurological disorders). By working together with teams in other communities, they could have an impact on these students everywhere.

When FIRST teams work together, they form an alliance. Each team that joins would become a piece of the puzzle and, working together and learning from each other, we can build a better world where students, through FIRST, use their talents and grow, in STEM fields and in life.

We believe that sensitivity is a part of inclusion. During its efforts to grow the alliance, Boneyard became aware that some in the international autism community are adverse to the puzzle piece as a symbol for autism. Although we had already started growing the alliance and building its graphics and its brand, we felt it was important to make a change so that all would feel welcome.

When looking for a new name, we only had to look at the reason we were doing this – to share the power of our purpose and equip others to do the same.

We hope you will consider joining the Power Of Purpose Alliance. Here, we will encourage teams to join, share resources, and work together to make a difference in our own communities to welcome, empower, and inspire these underserved students for the future.

Here is our Chairman’s Video! Thank you to everyone who supports us and we hope that you are able to see what it truly means to be a part of the Boneyard in this representation of our team.

Boneyard Robotics Chairman’s Video 2019

 

After being announced as Chairman’s Finalist at the World Championships in Houston, Boneyard was featured on the FIRST Robotics Competition Twitter! Check it out!

Congratulations to all our award winners, especially our Chairman's Award Finalists!!! #morethanrobots #FIRSTChamp #omgrobots #DestinationDeepSpace pic.twitter.com/WfIjFCM7lI

— FIRST Robotics Competition (@FRCTeams) April 20, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

It has taken 5 years, loads of hard work, and a dedication to helping others, but there is a blue banner hanging in the Boneyard! Boneyard Robotics won the Chairman’s Award at the Wake County District competition on March 10, 2019.

We are so very excited to be recognized for reaching out to others and serve their needs while making the Boneyard and FIRST a more inclusive place.

Our mentors are manning the quiet room (we call it the Quiet Space to go along with this year’s theme) at all NC FRC competitions this year. It’s something we developed with a Certified Advanced Autism Specialist to make sure we were able to meet the needs of our neurodiverse population. In space, noone can hear you scream. At NC FRC events, EVERYBODY screams! That can get a bit overwhelming for some folks. If the noise, lights, and action has you stressted, please stop by the Quiet Space, relax for a few minutes, de-stress, then go back out refreshed.

Remember, there’s room for everybody in the Boneyard!

Here is the 2019 Game Manual. Please download it to your own computer and bring it with you to the big kickoff on January 5th (details of that on TeamApp). We get the code to open the manual at the end of the big reveal. See you there!

2019FRCGameSeasonManual

Hey guys! We got a lot done today (wooohoooo!!) Here’s what we did:

Marketing:

We made a group chat (definitely not to share memes ;). We also prepped to present our Stop The Bleed event with a skit/powerpoint.

Programming:

We just finished our course in Java (yay!) and they all ran perfectly (mostly). Can’t wait to work with you all!

Engineering:

We had a test today (boo!!) on identifying the different parts of a robot. Fingers crossed that