TechnoTitans.org Blog

BEST Competition

2009-11-02T17:10:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone,

The Techno Titans participated in the BEST competition at SPSU in Marietta, GA. The Techno Titans fared pretty well at the competition making it to the Semi-Finals. The team hopes to do better next year. The team will start preparing for the FIRST competition pretty soon. Look out for news on that.

Thanks,
Techno Titans.

BEST Competition

2009-10-27T16:19:00.002-04:00

Hey Team,

The date is finally here. We have the BEST Robotics competition this Saturday. Yes, it is Halloween and all of you might have plans, but the Robotics team would like to ask everyone to come out and support the team at SPSU(Southern Polytechnic State University). You can find the directions to SPSU campus by clicking on this link. Hope to see everyone there.

Thanks,
The Techno Titans Robotics Team.

Parent Meeting.

2009-10-13T16:56:00.002-04:00

Hey team,

Mr. Weinberger is planning a parent meeting on Saturday 24 October 2009 at 3pm. Please have your parent reply to Mr. Weinberger's invitation email if they can attend. The agenda for this meeting is to organize carpool for the competition day (31 October) and to introduce each parent to the BEST and FIRST robotics seasons. It is especially important for new team member's parents to attend this meeting. Please share the importance of this meeting with your parents. Mr.Weinberger's e-mail is weinbergerj@fultonschools.org

Thanks,
Techno Titans

Making Progress.

2009-10-13T16:46:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone,

The Techno Titans are making great strides of improvement. With 3 weeks left until the competition, the team is well on its way to produce another great robot. The mechanical team mounted the wheels on to the robot and they have also mounted the motor on the robot. They are currently working on the robot arm this week. The notebook team is making good progress; they finished one of the papers that they need to write. Software team is also doing good. They finished some coding this week and will mostly finish it in about 2 or 3 weeks. The team wants to see if they can take the robot to Mall day this year. All in all, the team is trying to build of its previous success and have another great competition to start the 2009-2010 year. GO TECHNO TITANS!!! You can access information about the game this year by clicking on this link.

Thanks,
The Techno Titans Robotics team.

Welcome Back!!!

2009-10-03T11:03:00.003-04:00

Hey guys,

Welcome Back to Techno Titans Robotics Club. We are off to a great start this year. We have some big shoes to fill as our seniors have gone to colleges. The team is preparing for BEST at this point of time. We will keep you posted GO TECHNO TITANS!!!

Thanks,
Techno Titans Robotics Team.

Techno Titans Take 2nd at SERVO 2008

2008-09-27T13:41:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to the Techno Titans SERVO Team, which won 2nd place in overall competition as well as the Rookie of the Year Award at the 2008 SERVO Competition at South Forsyth High School. The game challenged involved a "King of the Hill" scenario, and robots had to be robust and speedy in order to succeed. Once again, many congratulations to those who participated in SERVO!

Freshman Orientation

2008-07-30T18:36:00.002-04:00

Attention Techno Titans:

As we discussed at today's meeting, Northview's Freshman Orientation will be held on the night of August 5th, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. This is a great recruitment opportunity for the team, and we plan to set up an information table at the event and also demonstrate last year's BEST robot. Volunteers are needed for three time slots.

From 7:00 - 7:30, to set up and staff the table,
From 7:30 - 8:00, to staff the table,
And from 8:00 - 8:30, to staff the table and clean up.

Of course, you are more than welcome to stay for the entire time; in fact, that is encouraged if your schedule allows it. At any given time, we should probably have 4 or 5 people staffing the table, with at least one of those people being able to drive the BEST robot.

Also, we need someone to create a half-page flyer to distribute that night, which will advertise our first new-member meeting. It should contain the following information:

* Very brief introduction to the team itself
* Purpose of the meeting
* Date and Time (Thursday, August 28th, 4:00 PM)
* Location (Mr. Weinberger's trailer, 834)

Please reply if you are interested in volunteering, and specify what times you are available. Also reply if you would like to create the flyer, and we will coordinate making copies, etc.

Thank you all in advance for any help you can provide.

Techno Titans Calendar

2008-07-29T22:04:00.002-04:00

The team's upcoming events can now be viewed on the calendar page. This includes meetings, competitions and other special activities.

First Meeting of 2008-2009 School Year

2008-07-07T12:25:00.002-04:00

The first Techno Titans of the 2008-2009 school year will take place on Wednesday, July 30, starting at 1:00 P.M. Part of the meeting will be devoted to discussion about the upcoming year, and the rest will consist of the team giving a robot demonstration to new teachers at Northview. Both students and parents are invited to attend, as are prospective team members. As you all know, Mr. Weinberger is the main sponsor this year, and he is very excited about what is in store for the team. Hope to see everyone at the first meeting.

Note: A leadership meeting is being held on Tuesday, July 29 at 1:00 P.M. Kyle, Miles, Ian and Josh are being asked to attend. These students, please email Mr. Weinberger about your availability for this meeting.

Letter From Ms. Taylor

2008-05-12T16:58:00.001-04:00

Dear Techno Titan Parents,

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that I am leaving Northview after this school year and will no longer be supporting the Techno Titans Robotics program nor related engineering competitions. The pre-engineering program is being consolidated under the current Drafting teacher Tim Como. Mr Como has been trained on the application of Fulton County pre-engineering, is capable, and he is favored by many students. This is a necessary move for the school. I will be teaching pre-engineering in Cherokee County at a high school very near my home.

I sincerely want to thank all of you for your continued support to me and ALL the students over the last few years. Your passion and devotion to the kids and the program over the years have always motivated me to continue to find a way to support these special life altering opportunities for the kids. I sincerely appreciate your kindness to me and especially to my family. By far, Northview robotics parents are the best!

The seed has now been set for a strong robotics/ preengineering program for the Northview community. I expect our efforts to flourish again at some point. Mr Zervakos is evaluating the robotics program and Northview’s continued participation in FIRST Robotics. The teacher involvement is a voluntary contribution to the community. I have always considered my work with robotics a gift to Northview, the students, and the Northview community. It’s brought joy to my heart to see the unity, joy, and increased student confidence derived from the culture our students have created here at Northview.

Our common mission to spread the unique values inherent to the field of engineering, and our common passion to foster the ability to improve human lives through application of technological solutions must continue beyond me. Our children will be faced with a future unlike we ever experienced. I hope your children have now seen the opportunities that exist within engineering and the business of technology. I expect some of them to make a recognizable difference that I will see. (It may be the bionic knees that I would use or perhaps some of our kids will be instrumental in developing the TRUE next generation car!)

Good luck to you all and God bless. I know I have surely been blessed.

Warmest regards,

Abbie Taylor

taylor.abbie1@gmail.com

FIRST Championship Details

2008-03-27T18:08:00.001-04:00

Some information about the Championship from Ms. Taylor:

The *FIRST* Championship Schedule & Agenda
*FIRST* has been advised that all events will occur as previously scheduled.
The originally scheduled dates and agenda for the Championship will not
change.

The Georgia Dome
The damage done to the Georgia Dome will be repaired prior to the
Championship.

The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC)
*FIRST* is working with the GWCC management to house our events, meetings,
conferences, etc. inside the available space in the GWCC. Details on
locations for various events will be published as soon as they are finalized
with the GWCC.

Hotels
The only hotel affected is the Omni Hotel downtown. Rooms booked at all
other hotels will not be affected. Teams originally scheduled for the Omni
have been contacted by Steele Meetings to make alternative lodging
arrangements.

*FIRST* Finale at Centennial Olympic Park
Damage done to Centennial Olympic Park will be repaired prior to the
Championship, so the *FIRST* Finale will not change.

Activities at the Georgia Aquarium
No damage was done to the Aquarium. Events will not change.

CAD Drawings Now Available

2008-02-29T18:01:00.002-05:00

CAD Drawings from this year's FIRST season are now available on the Documents page.

2008 FIRST Summer Day Camps

2008-02-29T17:36:00.004-05:00

From Ms. Taylor and FIRST:

It's that time of year again!

Registration for the FIRST Place Summer Camps is scheduled to open on
Monday, March 3rd at 4 PM EST. We are currently in the process of
updating our registration system and if for any reason opening is
delayed, it will be updated and noted on our website.

This year, we have added several new camps along with our classic
robotics camps. The price of these camps will vary this year and this
information will be available once the registration system is open.
Remember, there is a 10% discount on each additional camp or child you
sign up.

The dates and descriptions of the camps are available on our website at
www.usfirst.org/summercamps. Please review and discuss the camp options with your children. Some camps this year will require previous camp or
FLL experience so please read the descriptions carefully and contact us
if you have any questions.

We look forward to having many of you again at this year's camps and
many new faces to join in the fun!

According to USFIRST.org, volunteer opportunities are available for high-school students.

Thank You to Our Newest Sponsor

2008-02-15T18:25:00.002-05:00

The Techno Titans would like to thank ITT Technical Institute for becoming the team's newest sponsor.

Nordson Meeting Moved to Sunday 1/20

2008-01-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

Due to the anticipated winter weather, this weekend's Nordson meeting has been moved to Sunday, January 20th. Students should eat lunch before the meeting and arrive by 12:00 noon.

More Engineering Websites

2008-01-11T19:50:00.000-05:00

From Ms. Taylor:

JETS: Junior Engineering Technical Society
-Website
-Example Newsletter

DIRECT2U Robotics Systems
-Website (News)
-Example Newsletter

FIRST 2008 Documents and Game Animation

2008-01-06T10:46:00.001-05:00

The FIRST 2008 Documents are now available on the Documents page.

In addition, the FIRST 2008 Game Animation is now available on the Video page.

2008 FRC Kickoff

2008-01-05T10:06:00.000-05:00

Watch the FIRST Robotics Competition 2008 Kickoff live here.

Founder's Day Parade Pictures

2007-12-07T17:17:00.000-05:00

The pictures of the Techno Titans at the 2007 Founder's Day Parade are now available. Visit the galley to see them.

South's BEST Updates

2007-12-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Here's a copy of an email that came in explaining some of the events that will be going on at South's BEST besides the robot competition.

Hi folks,

Just a few quick updates to help you plan your trip next week.

We have a number of special events and displays lined up for South's

BEST - some of these are on the schedule, and some are not, so pay close

attention because we really want the students to be aware of these

special opportunities:

- a number of engineering and science related exhibits from Auburn,

including student-built competition vehicles from War Eagle Motor

Sports, various robots, the AU Student Space Program, and much more.

These will be located along the entrance into the front of the coliseum

from 1:00 to 5:00 on Friday.

- A NASA Jet Propulsion Lab display all the way from California that

will include several replica models of the Mars Rover. Note that this

display will be available 1:00 to 5:00 on Friday, and 8:30 to 3:00 on

Saturday and will be located inside the coliseum across from the

Registration/Information booth. In addition, the display will be manned

by an engineer and a technician who actually design and build the Mars

Rover machines!!

- ABB Robotics 18-wheeler display truck (see attached ad). This will be

available for tour on Friday afternoon and Saturday and will be located

in the parking lot just across the street from the front entrance. It

will also be open during the Carnival on Friday night for tours.

Don't forget about the Celebrate BEST festivities that start at 5;30ish

on Friday night. It will start with a free pizza party, followed by our

distinguished guest speaker, Dr. Nancy Currie, from NASA at 6:30,

followed by the Carnival on the front lawn of the coliseum at 7:30.

Rules to the carnival games will be in the team's registration packets.

No money required, though there will be items for sale and carnival

tickets available for purchase.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend!

Founder's Day

2007-11-29T19:27:00.000-05:00

Attention, Techno Titans:

Please respond to the email sent out about Founder's Day saying whether or not you can attend. The parade starts at 10am, but we get there at 8! It's going to be a great event, so please come.

Thanks!

Officers and Committees

2007-11-13T18:10:00.000-05:00

I am happy to announce the new officers and committees of the Techno Titans Robotics Team.

Co - Presidents: Miles Paca and Michael McDonough
Secretary: Caitlyn Bishop

Communication: Ian Stainbrook
Outreach: David Elliott
Fundraising: Gowtham
Competition: Josh Sooknanan

Congrats to the winners!

Techno Titans Take Home the Gold at BEST 2007

2007-10-21T13:56:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, October 20, 2007, the Techno Titans participated in the 2007 Georgia BEST Robotics Competition at Southern Polytechnic State University. The Techno Titans placed 1st in robot competition, which allows advancement to the South's BEST Competition at Auburn University on December 7-8, 2007. The Techno Titans also garnered 2nd place in the BEST Project Notebook category. Congratulations to all members and mentors!

T-Shirt Orders and Member List

2007-10-06T10:19:00.000-04:00

Attention, Techno Titans:

Please turn in your T-shirt order forms as soon as possible. If you do not have a form, you can pick one up from one of the mentors. They will also be made available on both this website and the forum.

Also, please sign up on the forum's mailing list here. You will need to create a forum account if you haven't already.

Robotics Systems

2007-09-28T19:06:00.000-04:00

A very nice website for all sorts of robotics systems, including industrial robots, medical robots and autonomous programming.

Click Here.