2020 Season Newsletter
Click here to view the CyberKnight’s 2020 Newsletter! https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?e=&u=a1a67722e9e9b06c17149e5f6&id=0c7eb56cd1
CyberStore
Want to get some cool CyberSwag? Visit the CyberKnights store!
New York Tech Valley Regional Competition
The SHS CyberKnights competed March 16-18th at the FIRST Tech Valley Regional Event held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. With its rapid fire turret dialed in, the robot was the first in the world to score 40 kPa in the autonomous mode. The CyberKnights were the #1 seed after qualification rounds and selected FIRST Robotics Team 20 The Rocketeers from New York and Team 6459 AG’Robotik from Istanbul, Turkey as their alliance partners. Due to a drive train breakdown of an alliance robot, the team ended their day as semifinalists of the event. A great time was had during awards ceremony where the CyberKnights won the Excellence in Engineering Award sponsored by Delphi for their awesome machine design.
CyberKnights Facebook Page hits 1,000 Likes!
Thank you to all our 1,000 Facebook fans that liked our FIRST Team 195: The CyberKnights page! Tell a friend and follow the team as we begin the 2017 competition season on March 4th and 5th in Waterbury, CT.
FIRST STEAMWORKS Overview
FIRST® STEAMWORKS, the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition game, invites two adventurers’ clubs, in an era where steam power reigns, to prepare their airships for a long distance race. Each three-team alliance prepares in three ways:
- Build steam pressure. Robots collect fuel (balls) and score it in their boiler via high and low efficiency goals. Boilers turn fuel into steam pressure which is stored in the steam tank on their airship – but it takes more fuel in the low efficiency goal to build steam than the high efficiency goal.
- Start rotors. Robots deliver gears to pilots on their airship for installation. Once the gear train is complete, they turn the crank to start the rotor.
- Prepare for flight. Robots must latch on to their airship before launch (the end of the match) by ascending their ropes to signal that they’re ready for takeoff.

Figure 2-1: FIRST STEAMWORKS playing area
Each match begins with a 15-second autonomous period in which robots operate only on preprogrammed instructions. During this period, robots work to support the three efforts listed above and also get points for crossing their baseline.

Table 2-1: Auto Point Values
During the remaining 2 minutes and 15 seconds of the match, the teleoperated period, student drivers control robots. Teams on an alliance work together to build as much pressure and start as many rotors as possible – but they have to be sure they leave enough time to latch on to their airship before the end of the match. Points for these efforts are awarded as shown in Table 2-2.
Table 2-2: Teleop Point Values
Alliances are seeded in the Qualification tournament using ranking points which are awarded based on a combination of their Win-Loss-Tie record (2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie), the number of times they reach a 40 kiloPascal (kPa) pressure threshold (1 point), and the number of times they start all rotors (1 point).
Introducing the New CyberKnights
We welcome new students to the 195 Family!!!
Betul Agirman
Mary Bilodeau
Asami Castellano
Kristen Gorham
Maxwell Heath
Josh Maccione
Matthew Maciejewski
Ryan Monte
Henry Roper
Madalin Verderame-Malachowski
Daniel Yu
“To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.” – Dean Kamen, Founder
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST is a not-for-profit, public charity organization incorporated in the State of New Hampshire. A volunteer-driven organization, FIRST is built on partnerships with individuals as well as businesses, educational institutions, and government.
Some of the world’s most respected companies provide: funding, mentor-ship, time, talent, and equipment to make FIRST’s mission a reality. There are over 45,000 committed and effective volunteers who are vital to introducing 100,000 youths to the joy of problem solving through engineering. Since 1992, the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) has challenged high school students working with professional mentors to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way. Not only is the program is a life-changing, career molding experience; it’s also a lot of fun! In 2006, the competition reached more than 28,000 students on 1,133 teams in 33 regional competitions and one Championship event. Not only are there hundreds of teams in the United States, there are also teams that come from Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Israel, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
FIRST provides high schools students with the ability to put their education to use in the real world. They apply their skills throughout each season to better themselves, minds, and life. FIRST offers over $14.8 million in scholarship funding that allows students such as from FIRST Team 195 to attend colleges such as Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. FIRST not only inspires the teachings of science, engineering, and technology, but as well as essential life skills and values.
FIRST is prominent in expressing the thoughts and values of coopertition as well as Gracious Professionalism. Coopertition is achieved by encouraging not only yourself, but other teams to work together for a greater cause. Coopertition emphasizes high-quality work while maintaining a strong relationship with others even when in the face of fierce competition. Teams should always treat others with the utmost respect, promote learning, and encourage great working relationships. Likewise, Gracious Professionalism emphatically enforces good sportsmanship. Teams should always be seeking a way to maintain their integrity through the use of Gracious Professionalism. This means not gloating over a victory, or an award, but representing your achievement as an effort for all of FIRST.
For more information, visit www.usfirst.org
St. Louis World Championship
Today the CyberKnights are leaving on a long bus ride to St. Louis Missouri for the FIRST Robotics World Championship event! 600 FIRST Robotics teams from around the world will compete for the title of World Champions. This event also has conferences, college fairs, and business exhibitions so it is an amazing experience for everyone who attends.
For the competition, the 600 teams are split into 8 “Subdivisions” which consist of about 75 teams each. These Subdivisions act the same as normal competitions where teams participate in Qualification rounds to determine rank then Elimination rounds to determine the Subdivision winners. The winners of each Subdivision then compete against each other on the field to determine the World Championship Winners!
The CyberKnights will be in the Newton Subdivision and are ready to represent Southington, CT to the world and perform our very best!!
General Championship info can be found here: http://championship.usfirst.org/FIRST-championship and we will post more info as competition match details are finalized. You can also follow our twitter for updates on our progress: www.twitter.com/FRCTeam195
Sponsors
Why sponsor the CyberKnights?
In an average year: the robots, materials, equipment, competition entry fees, travel expenses, and more will amount to thousands of dollars. Without some form of funding, it would be impossible to sustain an FRC team. Team 195 relies exclusively on donations and grants from local businesses and organizations to sustain our program. Without our sponsors generosity and support, our team simply would not exist.
How can you sponsor the CyberKnights?
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or learning more about FIRST or Team 195, you can contact us here. Additionally, you can print out this form and mail it in. We are a non-profit organization and accept donations of any amount. All donations are tax deductible. We are hoping you will consider supporting this awesome program while promoting your business. Additionally, we will be happy to come to your place of business, make a presentation, and tell you all about our team along with one of our robots.
Sponsorship Levels | Donation Amount | Sponsor Benefits |
Platinum Plus | $5000 and up |
• Company name announced as part of our team name at competitions • Company name or logo on robot • Company name on team shirts • Year book documenting the season in pictures • Deluxe Sponsor plaque
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Platinum
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$2000 and up |
• Company name or logo on robot • Company name on team shirts • Year book documenting the season in pictures • Wood Sponsor plaque to hang at your business site
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Gold | $1000-1999 |
• Company name on team shirts • Year book documenting the season in pictures • Wood Sponsor plaque to hang at your business site
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Silver | $500-999 |
• Wood Sponsor plaque to hang at your business site • Year book documenting the season in pictures
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Bronze | $100-499 |
• Wood Sponsor plaque to hang at your business site
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· Along with the above benefits sponsors are able to establish strong relationships with their future workforce.
· Many of our sponsors have added to their workforce by hiring 195 Alumni as interns and long-term employees. |