Girls of Steel- FRC Team 3504

2012-02-18T19:40:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all teams and friends who attended the Girls of Steel (FIRST Team 3504)Week Zero Competition at the Ellis Armory Robotics Practice Field. It was terrific to see the Sewickley Academy Panthers (FIRST Team 2428), Gateway Quasics Robotics (FIRST Team 2656), 4H Incognito Robotics (FIRST Team 3962), Franklin Regional FRobotics (FIRST Team 4150), and the Central Vikings (FIRST Team 2641). We would like to offer a special thank you to FRobotics for the sound system today.

2012-02-15T13:58:00.000-05:00

The Ellis Armory Robotics Practice Field

Putnam St. (just off ofPenn Ave.)
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

will be OPEN this week on Thursday February 16th from 6 pm - 9pm.
Hope to see you there.

2012-02-15T13:14:00.004-05:00

Just a reminder: The Girls of Steel will be hosting a Pittsburgh area Week Zero practice competition event this Saturday, from 11:00am to 3:00pm. This mini-competition will be officiated by Pittsburgh Regional referees and we'll have awesome music! Collaboration between teams to finish our robots is highly encouraged and this is a fantastic opportunity for your drive team to get crucial practice in competition-like environment.

PLEASE RSVP BY 6:00pm TONIGHT. To RSVP, email us at girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com and let us know your team plans on coming. We hope to see you there!

Pittsburgh Week Zero Practice Competition!

2012-02-09T10:11:00.001-05:00

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Girls of Steel will be hosting a Pittsburgh area Week Zero practice competition event. This mini-competition will be officiated by Pittsburgh Regional referees. Collaboration between teams to finish our robots is highly encouraged. We hope to see you there!

What: Pittsburgh Week Zero practice competition

Where: FIRST Team 3504 Girls of Steel Practice Field, The Ellis Armory, address here.

When: Saturday, February 18th, from 11:00am to 3:00pm

Why: To offer area teams the opportunity to try their robots out under competition conditions and to give teams a chance to help others get their robots finished and ready for the Rebound Rumble regional competitions.

How: RSVP before 6:00 pm on February 15th by emailing girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com to let us know that your team will be attending.

2012-02-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

Another busy day at the Ellis Armory Robotics Practice field.

Halfway There!

2012-02-04T11:55:00.000-05:00

We are halfway through the build season! The Girls of Steel have successfully built two working chassis with a mecanum drive and six wheel drop center drive train. Every team ranging from chassis to programming had to help out to make sure the robots worked efficiently. Luckily, we were able to bring our chassis to our practice field at the Ellis Armory to really test out the robots. By the end of the third week, we were able to balance both robots on the bridge in the middle of the field.

Every team member has learned so much and we have grown very close over the past three weeks. We still have many more hours to spend in the machine shop, high bay, and electric lab as we build our robot for the Rebound Rumble competition.

Our team still has so much we need to get done, but with such a big group of hard working girls, we know that we can get it all done in time for the competition!

Come to the Ellis Armory Practice Field!

2012-01-28T10:52:00.002-05:00

Every Saturday from 11:00am-3pm and Tuesdays 6:00-8:30pm starting now through February 21, The Ellis School and FRC Team 3504 Girls of Steel will host the practice field at the Ellis Armory will be open to any teams who want to try out the field. All are FRC teams competing in Rebound Rumble are invited to bring a robot or come to share ideas with others.

We have a full practice field as well as two working robot chassis. If you want to bring a computer, we also have free internet access.The practice field is on Putnam St. (just off of Penn Avenue) Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

Please read the Ellis Armory Robotics Field Rules below:

1. Wear safety glasses and follow all standard safety precautions around robots and field pieces.
2. All activities are to be confined to the first floor spaces that are not blocked.
3. Use the practice field in a safe, respectful, and cooperative manner at all times. Horseplay on the
field or field pieces and eating or drinking on the field are not allowed.
4. Refer to the posted General Code of Conduct of Girls of Steel, FRC team 3504 as it will be followed
at the Ellis Armory Robotics Practice Field.
5. Water is not potable. Bring drinks and food.
6. Teams should bring their own tools and supplies.
7. All participants are expected to help with clean up.
8. If something breaks please notify the Girls of Steel Mentor on site.

In case of inclement weather please check out the Girls of Steel website (here) for possible closure information or a change in hours.

If you have any questions contact Terry Richards at 412-215-4466 or richarst@theelllisschool.org

2012-01-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

The Ellis Armory Robotics Practice Field

Putnam St. (just off ofPenn Ave.)
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

is open Saturday, January 28th from 11 am to 3 pm.
Hope to see you there.

2012-01-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

The Ellis Armory Robotics Practice Field is OPEN today January 21st from 11 am to 3 pm.

One Down, 5 Weeks to Go!

2012-01-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

The build season for FIRST is finally here! Everyone is scrambling around figuring out the design, finding parts, prototyping, and delegating important tasks. There's so much to do in these upcoming 6 weeks, we better get started now!

On Monday, all the girls got together and watched a presentation about some possible features for the robot. There were a lot of good ideas, but we had to narrow them down.

After a brainstorming session, we broke into small groups, drew a design of each group's robot and presented their idea to the other girls. The girls presented a lot of good ideas, and after another brainstorming session on Tuesday, we narrowed our options to 3 distinct robots.

The next time we met, on Thursday, we began the exciting process of prototyping our robot in small groups. It was nice to see all the girls working together and learning new things about building robots. Some girls learned how to wire robots, attach wheels, use power tools, and figured out what goes where. After some time, we all watched each small part come together to make the chassis of each robot.

So far, we're all having a really good experience teaching each other and learning new things about assembling robots. Saturday is the day of the Open Field event where families and other teams can come and see our Rebound Rumble field pieces and try out their own robots.

Upcoming Events: Open House at Ellis Armory

2012-01-12T21:32:00.001-05:00

This Saturday, January 14th, the Girls of Steel FRC team is hosting an open field event at the Ellis Armory! We are inviting anyone and everyone to join us and see the Rebound Rumble field pieces. The event is from 1-3pm.

We hope to see some other pumped up teams ready for the season as well as anyone curious to see what FIRST does. So don't forget to be at the Ellis Armory from 1-3 pm this Saturday, January 14th. Contact Terry Richards at richardst@theellissschool.org or 412-215-4466 for more information. Click on this map for directions. See you on Saturday!

Past Events: GOS at the Children's Institute

2012-01-10T21:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of girls on our team participated at a robot demonstration for students at the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh on December 12, 2011.

Children from the day school and their teachers were in the audience. The children were so expressive, happy, and excited to see a robot moving around the room. The children participated by "driving" the robot using the controls with assistance from one of the girls and by tossing the game pieces for the robot to retrieve. One of the children said he wanted a robot for Christmas!

The girls really enjoyed seeing all the children's faces light up and smile as they watched the robot move around the room. Hopefully they had a fun and wonderful time, our girls definitely did!

Don't forget to check out our new resource website for rookie teams here!

Get Ready to Ruuumble!

2012-01-07T18:39:00.001-05:00

It’s FIRST Kickoff 2012! All the teams in attendanceat CMU were super excited to find out what the game for this year was. Before the game was announced, there were alot of different speakers who told all of us about their occupations, how FIRSTeffected their lives, what they have accomplished in school, and lots of otherreally interesting facts about engineering.

This year Pittsburgh had the most students, mentors,and teams that they have ever had signed up for the Pittsburgh regional and inattendance for the kickoff event. Thereare a lot of new rookie teams this year, a total of 9, as well as some second-year teams like ourown team, Girls of Steel. New rookie teams: check out this rookie resource website here, created by the Girls of Steel.

Dean Kamen, Bill Clinton, Steven Colbert, Woodie Flowers, will.i.am, and Muhtar Kent, as well as other speakers, talked about FIRST and the educational benefits that come with it. We were all on the edge of our seats as we waited for the announcement of the game for 2012.

Finally, we saw a diagram of the game field. It was set up like a basketball court. As the game was explained, there were a mixture of reactions expressed by the crowd; there were some groans as well as some whoops.

Overall, our team is very excited to plan out the design of our robot and begin the build season with a good start. We wish good luck for the next six weeks to all the other FRC Teams! And get ready for Rebound Rumble!

Past Events: Toys for Tots

2011-12-20T19:43:00.000-05:00

This year the Girls of Steel participated in an outreach event in support of the Toys for Tots Foundation. On December 17th, we packed up our robot and demo equipment and traveled to a Toys for Tots distribution location in the Strip District.

While the people waited in line, we handed out cool STEM trivia attached to pieces of candy. We also had a table with robot coloring pages where the kids at the event could come and draw while they waited.

While kids picked up their presents, they were able to enjoy watching—and even try test-driving—the robots which were featured at the event. We demoed in the morning and another local FIRST team, FIRST Team #1708 – AMP’d Robotics, demoed their T-shirt launcher robot.

The Girls of Steel hope that we made the kids' holiday season a bit more fun while also piquing their interest in STEM.

Past Events: CMU TechNight

2011-12-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

On November 28th, the Girls of Steel participated in the CMU TechNight from 7:15-8:30. CMU TechNights are for showing middle school girls different technologies like robots, programming, and a whole lot more!

The young girls watch intently as we show them how the robot works

Those of us who participated in the TechNight demoed the robot for young middle school girls and their families. The Girls of Steel gave a presentation explaining and showing the young girls the different robot parts used to build the robot and how they work.

Additionally, some of us gave individual presentation about different teams within our team. The TechNight was a similar set up to the open house except that this time the presentations were more geared toward the young middle school girls and interesting them in FRC.

The Girls of Steel giving different presentations about our team

The girls who attended had a lot of fun watching the robot operate and some even got the opportunity to drive it themselves! (With supervision, of course!) The Girls of Steel had a lot of fun explaining the robot and telling the girls about what we do as a part of the team. Great job girls!

28 more days until the kickoff!

Ready for Competition?

2011-12-06T21:20:00.001-05:00

Everyone FRC: the kick-off is in 31 days! Are you ready? The Girls of Steel definitely are.

Today we held a mini competition complete with qualifications, semi-finals, and finals. The girls were split into 10 teams and given the task to knock down or capture the "mentors" in the world. The "mentors" were Jenga pieces and the robots were made out of Lego Mindstorm Kits. Each team had a (real) mentor who could help slightly (and usually vaguely) besides with the programming--the rest the girls did all by themselves! Did I mention we built these robots in less than 10 hours?

Competition was intense! It was like a real competition, especially the quick fixes. Just as fun and exciting too.

Congrats to Team 4 for winning the competition, the only team to capture a "mentor"!

Past Events: Google FIRST Party at Bakery Square

2011-12-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

On November 11, 2011, the Girls of Steel were invited to the FIRST Teams TGIF hosted by Google Pittsburgh at Bakery Square!

The party was from 4pm-6pm that Friday, and we all had lots of fun! The Google employees were very welcoming. It was a great opportunity for us to mingle with neighboring teams on FRC as well as FTC.

The party was a chance for other FIRST Teams in the area sponsored by Google to get to know each other, as well as the Google employees to learn more about FIRST. The teams that participated were as follows:
FTC 4149 - Murrysville Terabytes
FTC 3900 - Pgh Sci Tech Academy

Our robot from last year's competition!

FRC 1708 - McKeesport Area HS & Tech Cntr
FRC 1743 - City Charter High School
FRC 2051 - A.W. Beattie Career Center
FRC 2656 - Gateway High School
FRC 3504 - Girls of Steel (CMU Field Robotics Center; multiple schools)
FRC 3511 - Central Westmoreland CTC

This robot shot things into the air!

Robot cookies!

This robot picked up boxes and collected balls on the ground.

Each team had the chance to demo any of their robots from past years. It was interesting to see the different robots each team presented. The party gave teams a chance to reach out to other teams as well as families that may be interested in FIRST.

Thank you Google for this amazing party! I'm sure that every team had a lot of fun mingling and showing off robots they made for past competitions to families interested in FIRST. The teams look ready for the upcoming season, but so are we! Good luck, teams!

LEGO Make a Robot!

2011-11-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

This week was the second week of our mini LEGO Competition! So far, each team has had 6 hours to work on the design and function of their robot.

Remember: Each robot has a 20 second autonomous period followed by a 40 second period where the team has the option to operate the robot manually. If the girls choose not to interfere with the robot, and it continues to move autonomously, the team is rewarded extra points.

This week most teams are finished assembling their robot, but many glitches remain! Next week, each group will have an hour and a half to work out any problems they may have with their robot. Below are some pictures of girls working on their LEGO robots:

Working on getting the robot to work autonomously takes patience!

This team is working on their strategy!

Programming time!

It's very important for each robot to have a stable base!

Each team is working hard to make sure their LEGO robot works quickly and efficiently, scoring as many points as possible in the allotted time. Thank you to the parents who provided a very delicious dinner of pasta, rolls, and salad. We are very grateful for all that you do!

Make sure to check on the blog next week for the results of the first Girls of Steel LEGO Competition!

Ready, set, LEGO!

Legos, Legos, and More Legos!!

2011-11-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

This week the Girls of Steel are breaking up into 10 teams to create our very own Lego robots!

At the end of the building session, we will hold competitions between two teams at a time.

Watch out for those cinder blocks!

Each team wants to knock over as many blocks (representing our mentors) as they can to gain the most points, but they can gain even more points for "capturing" the mentors and keeping them on the robot for the whole 60 second period.

Each robot has a 20 second autonomous period where the robot has to operate autonomously and then each team has 40 seconds to control their Lego robot themselves.

The best kind of work is teamwork!

If the robot move autonomously for the whole 60 seconds, and no team member touches the controls, the team will be awarded double the points!

The 10 Lego teams scrambled to figure out how they would design their robot to work efficiently and quickly gaining as many points as possible!

Dinner time!

Just because we're holding a competition does not mean that we have suddenly become enemies, though!

We still talk and laugh with all the many friends that we have made over a dinner that the parents have graciously provided. Thank you, parents!

Tune in next week for more information on our Lego competition preparations after next week's meeting!

Upcoming Events:

GOS is participating in the CMU TechNight this coming Monday, November 28th from 6pm to 8pm!
Toys for Tots Volunteer and Demo! Friday 12-4pm and Saturday 10-4pm December 16th and 17th

It's Randy Pausch Day in Pittsburgh!

2011-11-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

Randy Pausch

Today, November 20th, has officially been named Randy Pausch Memorial Day in Pittsburgh by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl!

It has been named after the late CMU professor, Randy Pausch, and other alumns for raising pancreatic cancer awareness. Pausch co-founded the Entertainment Technology Center and helped researches to create a revolutionary way to teach computer programming known as Alice. He died of complications from pancreatic cancer in 2008 at the age of 47.

Pausch is remembered for his highly acclaimed last lecture on September 18, 2007 called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". This talk revealed his childhood wish to become a professional football player, experience zero gravity, and develop Disney World attractions. He also reminded listeners to always look for the good in others and work hard and life life to the fullest.

Randy Pausch will always be remembered for his many accomplishments while at CMU as well as in all the lives he has touched over the years. For more information about Randy Pausch Day click here.

Upcoming Events: Toys for Tots Organized by the Girls of Steel

2011-11-17T16:05:00.000-05:00

Can't wait for the holidays? Us either! This year the Girls of Steel organized an outreach event alongside the Toys for Tots Foundation. On December 16th and 17th, robots will be out at Guardian Storage in the Strip District from 12:00-4:00pm on Friday and 10:00-4:00 on Saturday. The girls of steel will be out for some of the time, but at other times it will be more amazing Pittsburgh FIRST teams!

While kids pick up their presents, they will be able to enjoy watching--and even test driving--robots that are featured at the event. Hoping to make the kids' holiday season more fun and exciting, the Girls of Steel's robot will be demoed and kids will be able to try their own hand at it while informing others about FIRST robotics.

A little tid-bit about Toys for Tots:

Mission: to collect new toys that can be distributed as gifts to the locally needy children
Goal: to provide hope to disadvantaged children that will in turn "assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens"
Objectives: to help less fortunate children experience the joy of the holiday season; to take a role in developing "one of our nation's most valuable resources--our children"; and to bring together communities under a common purpose with the collection & campaign

Make sure to plan ahead and reserve the dates above so you can experience a very merry Girls of Steel Christmas and learn more about other FIRST teams in the area!

Past Events: SWAT Symposium in Toronto

2011-11-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

Toronto

The Girls of Steel, represented by Rachel, Jaden, and Liz, participated in the SWAT Symposium in Toronto, Canada on October 22, 2011.

The SWAT Symposium was hosted by the FIRST robotics team, SWAT #771. A number of Canadian teams got together to share information about FIRST and their team.

The SWAT Symposium was an all day event consisting of many impressive presentations and workshops provided by some Canadian FRC and FLL teams. It was a lot of fun, and the girls representing the Girls of Steel even had the opportunity, along with the other teams, to talk to a Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, on the computer. Chris Hadfield, who is in Houston at the moment, is to be the first Canadian in charge of the International Space Station (ISS).

The Girls of Steel became friends with SWAT when our team met them at last season's Pittsburgh regional. Similar to the Girls of Steel, SWAT is also a 100% girls FRC team. They invited us to the event to give a presentation on how to get girls interested in STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Our presentation was aimed to teams who were made up of mostly guys who felt as if their girls were not as included as they could be.

The girls representing our team went to other teams' presentations and were very impressed. Karthik Kanagasabapathy, a famous mentor from the team Simbotics #1114, gave a presentation about how to come up with strategies for this coming year's game.

Jaden, Liz, and Rachel had a lot of fun at the event and brought a lot of new ideas home to the Girls of Steel to better ourselves for this coming season. We would like to thank the SWAT team for inviting us to this amazing event that we were happy to be involved in. We hope that our presentation affected other teams like their presentations and workshops affected us.

Past Events: Mini Maker's Faire

2011-11-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Girls of Steel attended the Mini Maker's Faire on October 23rd at the Children's museum. Since not all sixty-two of us could go, Bryce, Nancy, Naoka, Liz, Shana, and Natalie represented our team.

The Mini Maker's Faire was about people around Pittsburgh making different things and exposing other people to what they are doing. For example, there were CMU students showing everyone the robots they built.

The Faire was not just about robots, though. One group had made abacuses out of beads, straws, and paper while another group had a slime machine that would spell words in a drop of slime as the drop fell to the ground. There was one group that also covered a cove in Christmas lights that would light up as they played instruments.

While the girls were there, they explained what FIRST was and told people who we are and answered any questions they had. The girls even demonstrated to young girls how our robot from last year moved! The young girls got the chance to control the robot themselves, with heavy supervision, of course.

Overall, the Mini Maker's Fair was a successful event that the Girls of Steel attended. The girls had a lot of fun at the Children's Museum seeing other projects around Pittsburgh, answering questions, and spreading the word about our team and FIRST.

Hey Rosie, Do You like Hamburgers?

2011-11-08T20:44:00.000-05:00

At this week's meeting we have accomplished a lot.

Programming has started working on how to move the robot with the joystick instead of just autonomously.

In the machine shop, the girls learned how to use the lathe and the mill!

The electronics team has put together a FIRST electronics board.

As you can see, Rosie, the girls here are working really hard to learn new things and later apply these new skills during the build season.

An Amazing Dinner

We would also like to thank all the parents who brought us a delicious dinner of hamburgers, fruit, and bread with hummus! Thanks so much!

Here as some upcoming events to keep in mind:

Google TGIF -- November 11: 4pm-6pm
Steel City Robotics Alliance Workshop -- November 12: all day
TechNights -- November 28
FLL Competition Judge Volunteering -- December 3
Toys for Tots -- December 16 & 17

Look out for more information on Sunday!

The First of November Already?

2011-11-01T20:26:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it's already November? We've had a busy 5 weeks of robotics since we started! Everyone tried their hand at Java Programming, Machine Shop, Electronics, and Solidworks. After getting the basics under their belt, the girls picked a technical and non-technical group to join:

Presentation

Social Media

Video

Website

Awards

Main goal: go to Championships!

The Girls of Steel are appearing at 3 events in the next two weeks:

Girl Scouts @ CMU -- November 5: 10am-4pm
Google TGIF -- November 11: 4pm-6pm
Steel City Robotics Alliance Workshop -- November 12: all day

First Meeting Tuesday!

2011-10-13T13:50:00.000-04:00

The Girls of Steel kicked off our pre-season with a bang last Tuesday, October 4th! With a total of 64 girls, we have just about tripled the size of our team. In the first meeting, we collaborated on four team-building exercises, getting to know each other while learning essential skills about how our team works. Check out some photos below:

George, lead team mentor, introduces our team to the new girls!

Grace, Hardware Manager, explains what mechanical activities we do during the season.

The new team gets to know each other.

The team plays people bingo!

Girls of Steel Pre-Season Pot-Luck

2011-09-22T12:34:00.000-04:00

This Saturday marks the end of the period to register for the Girls of Steel pre-season. We will celebrate our 30+ new members with a casual picnic before our season begins October 4! This will allow the girls and parents to get to know each other before the hard works starts.

We can't wait to kick off a new season! Stay tuned for pictures from the event.

Girls of Steel Open House: Thank you!

2011-09-20T22:33:00.001-04:00

Thank you to the over 150 people that made the Girls of Steel Open House such a success! 41 girls have signed up for the team this year, and we could't be happier. If you are still interested in joining, registration is open until this Saturday, September 24th. Email us at girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com for more information on how to sign up.

Check out some pictures from the event below:

Rachel R. and Kathryn H. present the Game Demo!

Naoka G. flashing a smile as the registrations rolled in!

Prospective girls, families, mentors and sponsors milling about the stations.

Girls of Steel Directions

2011-09-07T21:19:00.001-04:00

If you are attending our Open House, and would like a Word document with directions, please email us at girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com and we will send a copy to you. The directions are also here.

Directions to the Girls of Steel Open House

2011-09-05T13:33:00.013-04:00

For those of you coming to the Girls of Steel Open House, here are directions of how to navigate to the Planetary Robotics Highbay in the Gates Center for Computer Science building. If you want directions to the parking lot, go here.

1. Park in the Morewood Parking Lot on Forbes Avenue.
The lot is across the street from Carnegie Mellon University. The lot is free on Saturdays.

2. After parking, exit the parking in the opposite direction you entered. You
will see a cross walk at the light.

3. Turn left and walk up Forbes avenue

4. Turn right here

5. Head straight towards this building

6. Keep walking until you see this sign, and enter the building through
these doors

7. Keep walking straight, until you come to the end of the hallway, and then turn
left.

Keep walking straight through a lounge/work area until you reach the elevators.

8. Press the DOWN button.
Once inside the elevator, press "2", to get to the second floor.

9. Walk all the way down the hallway until you reach this room

10. Enter -
You have arrived at the Open House!

Open House Hints: Day Two

2011-08-28T19:44:00.000-04:00

Here is another hint of something you will see at the upcoming Open House!

What do you think this is?

REMINDER: If you plan on attending the Open House, please RSVP by sending an email to girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com, with your name and number of people. Thanks!

Open House Hints: Day One

2011-08-25T14:12:00.002-04:00

Are you as excited about the upcoming Open House as we are? Below is a clue as to what you will see there. More hints coming soon!

What do you think this a picture of? Come to the open house to learn more!

New Girls of Steel Video

2011-08-23T12:14:00.002-04:00

We have been working hard to create a video explaining FIRST, and our team! Are you interested in being apart of it? Contact us at girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com.

We Can Do It, So Can YOU!

Girls of Steel: Open House!

2011-08-16T15:34:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wanted to get involved with robotics, but didn't know how to start? Or have you wanted to find out more about the FIRST Robotics Competition, but never saw a convenient opportunity?

Well, the Girls of Steel are hosting a fun, interactive, and hands-on Open House on September 10^th, 2011 from 1:00-3:00 pm at Carnegie Mellon University, Gates Center for Computer Science, room GHC 2109. This event is for girls interested in joining the team, friends, families, other FIRST teams, interested parties, and current and potential sponsors – ANYONE interested in learning more about the Girls of Steel Robotics Team and the FIRST Robotics program.

This event will provide the opportunity to learn about the Girls of Steel Robotics Team experience and FIRST Robotics Program founded by inventor Dean Kamen. The interactive two hour Open House will offer information about what it is like to be a team member and the many benefits of participating. Participants will have the opportunity to see robot demonstrations as well as to visit a variety Team Experience Stations that will detail the many exciting facets of being a part of the team.

We hope to see you at the Open House. Keep tuned as we post weekly "hints" about what's in store for the Open House event! If you have any questions, email girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com

i.am.FIRST ABC News Special!

2011-08-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

This Sunday at 7:00-8:00 pm EST, will.i.am premiers his ABC special -- "i.am.FIRST: Science is Rock and Roll". The program covers the FIRST robotics program, including the benefit concert he performed with the Black Eyed Peas at the FIRST World Championships. The show promotes FIRST as a cool competition making science, technology, engineering, and mathematics extremely fun and accessible.

"A spotlight has been put on Michael Jordan. And people see him. And children grow up to want to be like Mike. What we need to do now is put a spotlight on Dean Kamen. So kids grow up to want to be like Dean Kamen." ~ will.i.am.

Watch the special this Sunday!

Girls of Steel go to the Entertainment Technology Center

2011-08-07T17:26:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday, the Girls of Steel had the fantastic opportunity to visit Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). The ETC's mission is to combine the left and right sides of the brain by using technology to entertain people throughout the world. As a project-based masters facility, the ETC's students use their imagination, creating everything from interactive interviews with Benjamin Franklin to exercise adventures using Wii-remotes and Dance Dance Revolution floor pads.

Check out this video of us talking to Quasi, one of the student-designed animatrons!

Tech This Out: Girls of Steel!

2011-07-29T19:45:00.005-04:00

Check out the Girls of Steel on the Tech This Out show! The clip premiered today on the ABC News Now network. Thanks to Tech This Out for providing this fantastic opportunity to spread our message even father.

We hope that it inspires some other girls to try their hands at science, technology, engineering, robotics, and especially the FIRST competitions. Way to go, girls!

"Tech This Out" this Friday

2011-07-27T13:56:00.005-04:00

The "Tech This Out" segment that the Girls of Steel helped film a few weeks ago will be airing on the ABC News Now Network at 12:30 pm this Friday, July 29. If your cable service does not carry this channel, you can still see the taping on the ABC News network website and Hulu.

The Girls of Steel are very excited to see the interview and are honored to spread the message of our team and FIRST to a national audience!

Team members Julia D., Grace H., and Jaden B. showing off their best Rosie arm in front of the ABC building in New York!

Out of This World

2011-07-11T11:52:00.009-04:00

The Girls of Steel team leader, Jaden Barney, wrote an article for her local newspaper, The Almanac. The article, entitled "Out of This World", was about our interview last spring with astronaut, Dr. Cady Coleman while she was in space.

Girls of Steel Meeting with Disney

2011-07-11T11:32:00.003-04:00

This Wednesday, the Girls of Steel will be meeting with Disney Research representatives, who are getting some information for a potential film!

Are you on Twitter more often? Tumblr? Facebook?

2011-07-04T11:09:00.003-04:00

You can find the Girls of Steel there, as well! Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. Happy Independence Day!

Girls of Steel showing off their Red, White and Blue!

We Can Do It! So can YOU!

2011-06-29T10:30:00.001-04:00

Looking to become a Girl of Steel? Do you know somebody who may be interested?

Please email girlsofsteelrobotics@gmail.com or visit our CONTACT tab on the top of the page. We will add you to our newly created Google Group so you receive notifications about open houses and registration events.

Hope you're having a great summer!

Recap of New York Trip

2011-06-18T15:14:00.002-04:00

The trip to New York, to film a segment for "Tech this Out", a cable news network part of ABC, went amazingly well! The three team representatives, Jaden B., Julia D., and Grace H., accompanied by lead mentors, George K., and Theresa R., had a great time taping the interview for the show!

Landing in New York, Wednesday night, the team walked around New York, ate a lovely Italian dinner, and then went to bed. At 9am the next morning (Thursday), they met with the host, Daniel Sieberg, and the producer, Rafael Jimenez, of the show . After chatting with the production team, they walked to Central Park, where they would all be interviewed. Jaden, Julia, and Grace were interviewed first, and George and Theresa followed.

After the interview wrapped up at around noon, the team explored Midtown Manhattan, spending most of their time in the American Museum of Natural History, and walking through Central Park. Then, they drove back to the airport, boarded the plane, and landed safely in Pittsburgh at around 10 pm.

The segment is expected to air either July 8th or 15th on the ABC News Now channel, at 12:30.

All photos from the shoot are on the Girls of Steel Facebook page, but here are some below.

Arriving at ABC!

Girls being interviewed by Daniel Sieberg

Mentors being interviewed by Daniel

They look great! Thanks for representing the Girls of Steel and FIRST!

GIRLS OF STEEL on National Television

2011-06-16T21:54:00.006-04:00

Three representatives, Jaden B., Julia D., and Grace H., and lead mentors, George K., and Theresa R., from the Girls of Steel will be making an appearance on national television. They are heading to New York to do an interview with "Tech this Out", a cable news network part of ABC. The team will be talking about the experience of participating in FIRST as an all-girls, rookie team.

The Girls of Steel are honored to have been invited, and are ecstatic to be able to spread the message of FIRST to the nation.

Stay tuned for more details on how you can watch!

Look how far we've come!

Julia D., and Grace H. working on a practice robot during one of the first meetings of the Girls of Steel.

What's happening with the Girls of Steel?

2011-06-11T14:30:00.002-04:00

The Girls of Steel have had a "month long vacation" since championships, but we are ready to jump back on the wagon very soon!

As for championships, it was one of the most exciting experiences of our lives. So many amazing people attended (Black Eyed Peas, Dean Kamen, Woodie Flowers, Kids from ALL OVER THE WORLD) and we were able to communicate in a special way through the coopertition and games. We took a defensive stance in the games (see the below picture of CRUSH in action!), something different than our previous regionals. It ended up allowing us to meet some really advanced and creative teams and robots. Overall, it was a fantastic learning experience and we can't wait until the next build season.

In the meantime, we are working on plans for the upcoming season. I've heard some rumors about a few pretty awesome surprises in store for the upcoming year!

Off to St. Louis!

2011-04-27T10:23:00.001-04:00

The Girls of Steel are already on our way to St. Louis for the FIRST Championships! We'll be updating the blog during competition, but if you'd like to watch us play, click on the picture above -- we will be playing in the "Galileo" division and we'll update you on the field number each morning. Want some more? 3504!

Unveiling of..... NEMO!

2011-04-26T20:58:00.001-04:00

Over the past four weeks, the Girls of Steel have started from scratch -- designing, building, testing, and tweaking a brand spanking new minibot! Over 4 seconds faster than our previous minibot, we look to be competitive as we compete at the World Championship this week. Wish Nemo luck as he flies up those poles!

Dr. Cady Coleman: International Space Station

2011-04-24T18:35:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday, even though the Girls of Steel were securely grounded on Earth, we were so excited that felt as if we were high in the sky, floating in space, looking down on the entire Earth from above.

A Girl of Steel asking Dr. Coleman a question!

The Girls of Steel had the amazing opportunity last week to talk live with NASA Astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman while she was on the International Space Station (ISS). Dr. Coleman gave us a tour of the ISS, showing us the European module, the Japanese module, and the main part of the space station.

She explained many of the robotic parts on the space station that help her and the crew perform experiments, put together new modules, and fix broken parts (often carrying very large objects) without even needing the crew to leave the safety of the station. She even showed us Dextre, the complicated robotic arm integrated into the ISS and explained some of its defects (such as the loss of maneuverability) as a result of over-processing -- cautioning us not to make the same mistakes.

Dr. Coleman also showed us Robotnaut, the newest addition to their crew. She described what the Robotnaut was built to test and explained the process of bringing him up to working order -- waiting for the last mechanical components before they could upload the programming to make him work.

Besides giving us a mind-blowing tour around the space station, Dr. Coleman made us feel at ease when talking with her. She shared her experiences about being a woman working in science and technology. She answered all of our questions, from "What's the thing you miss the most from Earth?" to "What was the endurance training like?" and even gave us advice to help us throughout our lives.

She recounted personal stories about her life, explaining to us how she came to be an astronaut. She described an incident where she joked over a public communication that she could see a UFO out of the side of the space shuttle -- a story that blew up into an extra-terrestrial scare -- making us realize that even she sometimes makes mistakes.

She also shared the core philosophies that have guided her life and career -- be determined, work hard, respect and never underestimate the contributions of your teammates, and never give up.

"Are you afraid when you strap yourself into the space shuttle or work on the space station, after everything that happened to the Challenger?" one of the Girls of Steel asked Dr. Coleman. She replied that no, she had made her decision about that risk before she even came to be an astronaut, and she knew that she was prepared and committed to her choice.

Dr. Coleman did more than inspire us to try our hardest. She empowered us. For the Girls of Steel, this was truly an experience we will never forget.

Check out the pictures of her talking to us, and of us being enraptured in the discussion on our facebook page.

Carnegie Science Center

2011-04-19T13:45:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend, the Girls of Steel were able to participate in Robotics Week at the Carnegie Science Center. With three other Pittsburgh FIRST teams present, Quasics Robotics, Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS), AMP'd Robotics, we were able to spread the message of FIRST and awe the kids with the amazing robot demonstrations. Check out the pictures below!

Girls of Steel: 2011 Flashback

2011-04-14T23:51:00.003-04:00

With the Girls of Steel heading off to St. Louis in two weeks, we thought it was time for a flashback of the rest of our amazing, fun-filled, rockin' rookie 2011 season.

Destination: International Space Station!

2011-04-11T22:26:00.002-04:00

...Well, not really. But almost as cool!

The Girls of Steel, through our awesome sponsor, NASA, will get to have a video chat with an astronaut located at the international space station!

Here's a taste of what it will be like (except we'll be able to talk back and forth with her!):

Check out more on our events page.

Missed Us in DC?

2011-04-09T19:07:00.001-04:00

Check out our best moves!

Check It Out!

2011-04-08T22:25:00.001-04:00

Check out our Events page to see what we're up to this spring!

Have any ideas on how we can inspire YOU or others? Let us know!

Give Girls of Steel an Extra Boost

2011-04-01T20:07:00.004-04:00

The Girls of Steel could use a hand getting to the Championship. This wasn't in our budget!! Your donation to Girls of Steel is tax deductible - make your check payable to "Carnegie Mellon University," with "Girls of Steel" written in the memo, and mail to:

Carnegie Mellon University, attn Lynetta Miller
Newell-Simon Hall - 4th Floor
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Many thanks for your help!!

An Invitation to "Worlds" in Saint Louis

2011-03-28T22:15:00.002-04:00

The Girls of Steel are taking a break for a few days before Saturday when we plan on getting back to work! Plans are being made to possibly create a new minibot, or Squirt 2.0, over the weeks before championships. Various edits and organization upgrades will be made to our pit and overall plan for the competition.

Along with mechanical changes, the team is beginning to plan outreach to local schools all over Pittsburgh and also create a database for scouting with various CMU grad students. We may even begin develop our own website domain!

For pictures please visit our Facebook Community.

Rookie All-Star...again!

2011-03-26T20:15:00.002-04:00

Just when we thought we were done, Girls of Steel won our second (the first being in Pittsburgh) Rookie All Star award for 2011 in Washington D.C. this evening! We were extremely complimented and elated because we had quite the challenge with three other AWESOMELY prepared rookie teams there as well.

Here's a little taste of the championship:
http://www.stlouisfirst.org/Championship/ChampionshipVideo/tabid/231/Default.aspx

Congratulations to all teams! Thank you to all judges, parents, and volunteers! It was a memorable weekend.

Stay tuned for pictures.

And now for St. Louis...

2011-03-26T12:17:00.003-04:00

Sadly, the Girls of Steel didn't get chosen for a final alliance. However, that gives us more time to work on and tweak the robot to perfection before we bag it for St. Louis! Good luck to the teams in elimination!

Stay updated!

End of qualification matches!

2011-03-26T11:43:00.003-04:00

The Washington D.C. regional is currently wrapping up qualification matches. The Girls of Steel are not in the top eight so we will not be able to choose our alliances. However, the other teams can choose us and our awesome showing so far gives us a good chance.

We will keep you updated!

Yay!

2011-03-25T19:11:00.002-04:00

Same as last night, we ended the day with a full logo and minibot, a total of 42 points to the other alliance's 1. The team is headed to the team soocial before we rest up for the last day of competition.

Have an Iphone or Android cellular device?

2011-03-25T12:29:00.003-04:00

Download the "frc spyder" application for current stats and rankings throughout the day.

Day Two Begins

2011-03-25T07:45:00.001-04:00

The team is currently headed to the Convention Center for day two of competition via the washington dc metro. We have eight qualifying matches today and two on Saturday morning. Wish us luck and feel free to watch on the live news cast described in the last post.

Live Streaming from D.C.!

2011-03-24T23:30:00.000-04:00

Want to watch the competition at D.C., with some amazing robots battling it out in Logo Motion style? Between 9:30am and 6:30pm tomorrow (and 9:30am to 4:15pm Saturday), this website is streaming the competition live! Thanks to all the amazing teams at the D.C. regional -- it's been really cool seeing all the new and creative designs.

We Rock, We Roll

2011-03-24T19:59:00.001-04:00

The team is headed to the Hard Rock Cafe right now to finish up an awesome day and fuel for tomorrow.

Good luck to all the FIRST teams!

Shoot and Score!

2011-03-24T16:39:00.001-04:00

Posting live updates from the convention center -- the robot has been modified to fix the problems we found at Pittsburgh, and now is ready to roll for the qualification matches tomorrow.

We just completed a full logo and succesfully ran the minibot in our last practice match of the day! Looks like a great weekend is ahead of us.

We have our rosie arms ready to cheer! :)

We Made It!

2011-03-24T10:12:00.002-04:00

The Girls of Steel finally made it to Washington D.C! Presently, we have organized the pit and are making some last minute adjustments on Crush and Squirt before out first match, match 11 at around 11:21. Everyone is much calmer and much more organized than at our first regional in Pittsburgh. The modifications are going well, looks like Crush and Squirt will be ready in no time!

We'll keep you posted.

Girls of Steel

Washington D.C regional

2011-03-22T19:00:00.000-04:00

Girls of Steel are so excited to go to our second regional in the nation's capital, Washington D.C.! We have had many tasks that need to be completed by tonight (Tuesday). A big meeting was held last week on Tuesday to go over the successes and failures of our first regional in Pittsburgh. We had a lot of organizational issues at the Pittsburgh regional so we decided to get shelves and reorganize our two tool carts to make tools easier to find. Now, we have a final list of all the inventory that is coming with us to D.C. and are in the process of cleaning up our work areas and packing up our supplies. Everyone is excited to compete in our second regional. We will keep up the posting throughout the competition starting on the first practice day on Thursday! Until then!

Want some more, 3504! :)

Girls of Steel in eTEQ Magazine

2011-03-22T14:54:00.002-04:00

On March 17, 2011, Girls of Steel were featured in The Pittsburgh Technology Council's Online Magazine. The article explains what we did at the Pittsburgh Regional, and what's to come soon.

Click here for the whole article.

Formally Introducing Crush: 2011

2011-03-17T14:09:00.002-04:00

Check out this fantastic video that one of the girls on the team made, showcasing both the Girls of Steel, Crush, and Squirt. Thanks to Julia for creating this video!

Rock on, Girls of Steel!

Girls of Steel: Rookie All Stars!

2011-03-13T20:34:00.001-04:00

At our first ever regional, the Girls of Steel experienced first-hand the amazing atmosphere of FIRST. Meeting new people, talking robots, and making our robot work was one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences our team has gone through. Thank you, Pittsburgh FIRST and the amazing teams who attended!

The Girls of Steel "Crush"ing the competition!

(note: the referee called that the tower malfunctioned, and that we did indeed hit the top in time for points).

The Girls of Steel: Rookie All-Stars!
Thank you to all the teams! If you were on a team at the Pittsburgh Regional this weekend, please join the facebook group the Girls of Steel created to stay in touch with other students.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_131920820214726&notif_t=group_r2j

CRUSHED It!

2011-03-13T15:36:00.001-04:00

The Girls of Steel made an awesome showing this weekend at the Pittsburgh Regional. Competing for the first two days, the girls exemplified gracious professionalism and coopertition amazingly. They met many kind, helpful teams and received lots of help during their first competition.

Chosen for a final alliance, the robot, CRUSH, and minibot, SQUIRT, were able to compete twice in finals on the third day. Blessed with the opportunity to watch all the other robots, including the winning alliance, headed by team 1114, the girls learned a ton.

And for the most exciting part, the girls won ROOKIE ALL-STAR award, one of the most prestigious rookie awards. This means that the Girls of Steel are headed for St. Louis this April for championships! WOOHOO!

Good luck to all the other teams and thank you to everyone who has helped the girls! See you in Washington D.C. and ST. LOUIS!

A day of FIRST(s)!

2011-03-10T20:46:00.004-05:00

Below is a picture of the AWESOME field at the University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center.

Today was team 3504's first competition event EVER! We are going to two regionals this year, the other being Washington D.C. It was a great way to kick off the competition season. We met a ton of great teams and received a lot of help and advice from their rookie team pastimes.

We look forward to a successful, educational, and most of all...FUN...weekend ahead of us.

Regional Time!

2011-03-09T15:35:00.000-05:00

After working hard for six weeks, waiting anxiously for another two, the day has finally arrived. It's the Girls of Steel's first regional! We're super excited to unveil Crush and Squirt, as well as finally get to see what the other Pittsburgh teams came up with.

If you want to come see the team make their FRC debut, we can be found at the Peterson Event Center this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Although we don't know our exact schedule of game times, we will be participating in many matches every day between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm -- so come and cheer the team on!

A sneak preview of Crush.

Good Luck to all the FIRST teams competing this week!

The Clock's Ticking!

2011-03-05T21:04:00.000-05:00

Our first regional in Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center is quickly approaching and we're making our final adjustments!

We built a practice robot and have been driving it around and deciding on signals.

A booklet is being made to give to sponsors, judges, and other teams with info on our team, robot, and abilities.

Our team positions were announced (see our "Meet Us" page for the drive team).

The team looks forward to our three-day competition. The first day will be practice rounds, the second seeding rounds, and the third will be championships. Stay tuned for further updates and awards!

Build Season: Crushed!

2011-02-26T13:28:00.002-05:00

Build season is over! Can you believe it? Our team is rejoicing at the fact that we can now start homework before midnight. Every one of the Girls of Steel worked extremely hard. The Girls of Steel went from not knowing what a phillips head screwdriver was to being budding engineering students, working with lathes and mills. "Exciting, exciting build season," said Chuck, one of the Girls of Steel's Mentors. "Unknown skills were revealed, smiles were spontaneous!" Congratulations to all the hard-working FIRST teams, especially the fellow rookies!

Girls of Bandanas?

2011-02-16T19:29:00.001-05:00

I spy with my little eye..

Someone building a robot?

Someone motivated enough to have fun and learn a ton?

Someone being guided by open-minded, trustworthy mentors?

Someone making compromises with another through unbiased, two-sided discussions?

Someone with insanely helpful parents, dedicated sponsors, and loads of resources?

Someone who's a GIRL OF STEEL?

I SPY ROSIE THE RIVETER!

Sarah Heinz House

2011-02-14T13:32:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, the Girls of Steel were lucky enough to be able to go and meet two other teams at a Pittsburgh FIRST robotics party, held at the Sarah Heinz House. We saw our competitors robots hang tubes on the scoring rack and successfully deploy their mini-bot for the first time.

But the most amazing aspect of the party was the helping hand that we received from the other teams. They showed us examples of pneumatics and electric systems on their own robots, they gave us helpful hints for making our robot better -- they even helped us wire our robot correctly so that it could move around for the first time. Every time we meet FIRST teams, we are astounded by the kindness and help that they willing give us, one of the most amazing things about FRC.

Below are some photos from the event.

Mini-bot success!

Wiring our robot with the help of the other teams.

The other team explaining how their mini-bot worked.

Robo-Fever

2011-02-11T16:14:00.003-05:00

The Girls of Steel have been working on Crush for so long, it seems as though they've become robots as well! A happy and successful end to Week Five.

2011-02-10T23:08:00.002-05:00

"There are very few things we AREN'T going to drill holes in on the robot."

"Well, hopefully programming is one of them!"

The Girls of Steel are hard at work during an extremely successful...and amusing... week.

Mini-Bot Magic!

2011-02-09T23:55:00.000-05:00

Five weeks into the build season, our mini-bot team has already accomplished so much. They designed the mini-bot, they tested their ideas with prototypes, they used CAD to outline their design, they conceptualized the deployment system, created it, and finally, made a less than 12 inch robot climb up a 8 foot metal pole in less than four seconds. Check it out below!

Girls of Steel: Halfway There!

2011-02-01T10:01:00.004-05:00

Three weeks of build season have passed already? We can hardly believe it ourselves! Check out the video below to catch up with what the Girls of Steel have been up to.

2011 Kickoff: Girls of Steel!

2011-01-14T22:29:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, after many weeks of anxious anticipation, the Girls of Steel participated in the 2011 FIRST FRC Competition Kickoff event, hosted locally by Carnegie Mellon University. Working with the veteran teams to brainstorm proved extremely beneficial to our rookie team. The atmosphere that Pittsburgh FRC created was simply amazing. Below are some photos taken at the event.

Waiting those final minutes before the presentation!

Talking to Red Whittaker, the head of the CMU Field Robotics Center.


Diving right into the kit of parts! Every team starts with the same kit.


First official meeting of the build season.


Ideas already flowing!

Welcome to the Girls of Steel Blog!

2010-12-10T15:38:00.001-05:00

Girls of Steel ~ Move Over, Rosie!

We are 26 unique, creative, motivated high school girls from all over the Pittsburgh area and we have joined together to create an amazing robot and compete as a rookie team in the 2011 FIRSTRobotics Team Challenge.

We are super fortunate to be hosted at Carnegie Mellon University and mentored by awesome experts from the Field Robotics Center at the CMU Robotics Institute.

We are looking forward to a very exciting rookie year! Use the button on the left to Follow our blog and stay up to date on all the exciting things we are up to.