Delphi E.L.I.T.E. experienced its most widespread success during the 2000 FIRST season. While we weren't able to repeat as National Champions, we performed extremely well at all three competitions we attended. Xtremachen3 was widely regarded among team members to be the most powerful, most reliable, and best looking robot created up to that point. The use of extruded aluminum as a primary construction material was responsible for much of this. Xtremachen3 sported a rectangular frame. Power was provided by four motors - one per driving wheel. The front wheels were set up in a car steering; The robot had power to spare to push other robots off the ramp and still have ample speed to zip around collecting balls in its 3-ball capacity basket. The basket could be rotated up and down and was attached to a sliding aluminum assembly that could be extended out and retracted in. The entire basket and lift assembly could be rotated down to a ball loading position near the ground or rotated up to facilitate unloading balls or hooking onto the bar. Xtremachen3 had a hook attached to the basket which could latch onto the bar as the robot drove up and over the ramp. The motors driving the aluminum slide assembly would then retract the slide, pulling the entire robot off the ground, leaving Xtremachen3 hanging in space. Delphi E.L.I.T.E. attended two regional competitions in 2000. The first one was the Great Lakes Regional, held on March 9-11 in Ypsilanti, MI.Our team performed very well at this competition. We were the #2 Seed following the qualifying matches, and our elimination round alliance finished in the top 8 among all teams. The second regional was the Philadelphia Alliance Regional, held on March 23-25 in Philadelphia, PA. The team really performed well at this event. We again finished as the #2 Seed and our alliance finished #2 in eliminations. Delphi E.L.I.T.E. took home the Delphi Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award, the Best Play of the Day Award, and the Finalist Award. T he 2000 Nationals were held on April 6-8 at Epcot Center in Orlando, FL. Xtremachen3 and the team were up to the challenge, as they finished 25th out of 268 teams going into the elimination rounds. The 12th seeded team selected us for their alliance, and we ended up making it to the quarterfinals with seven other alliances before being eliminated. Delphi E.L.I.T.E. ended up taking home the coveted Golden Gear Award for placing highest out of all Delphi-sponsored teams. We also had the privilege of meeting Florida's Governor Bush, who was impressed with the technology used by the team. The Governor said that Xtremachen3 was the most technically advanced robot at the competition. All in all, the 2000 season was a very satisfying and successful campaign for the team. The robot performed flawlessly with little mechanical or electrical difficulty, and Delphi E.L.I.T.E. continued to make a name for itself in the FIRST community.
During a match, each alliance scored points by placing balls in their goal, and by positioning their robots in a designated area at the end of each match. Each alliance competed using two team-built robots, four robot operators, two human players, and four coaches. There were two 6-foot high, fixed goal structures located mid-field. Each alliance had its own color-coded goal. Under each goal was a 30-inch high clearance bar, which robots could pass under to access the opposite end of the field. Connecting the two goals in the center of the field was an 8-foot wide carpeted ramp, which the robots could use to access the opposite end of the field. This section had a 5-foot high clearance bar that robots could hang from to acquire points. At the end of a match, robots positioned on the ramp generated additional points. The robots competed within the bounds of the playing field, while the human players were located at stations just outside the playing field. Only human players and robots could score points with the balls. Each match lasted two minutes. In order to win a match, an alliance had to score more points than the other alliance. At the end of each two-minute match, points were awarded to alliances based on the following criteria. Each alliance received one point for each yellow ball and five points for each black ball in the goal and not in contact with or supported by their robot. Each alliance received five points for each of its robots that were completely on the ramp. Each alliance received ten points for each robot hanging from the horizontal bar connecting the two goals and not touching any part of the carpeted playing field. After tallying the point totals, the alliance with the most points won the match but only received the losing alliance points x3 to carry as qualifying points. This prevented a dominant alliance from running up the score and in many cases resulted in a dominant alliance scoring points for the other alliance. This extra added twist resulted in many exciting matches and is regarded by many as the best game FIRST has ever created.
