D'Penguineers

FIRST Robotics Competition
1717 - D'Penguineers

Full name	Raytheon / Valley Precision Products / Allergan Foundation / Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope / ATK Space / Enerpro, Inc. / Tecolote Research, Inc. / Lockheed Martin / FLIR Systems / AFAR Communications Inc. / Santa Barbara County ROP & Dos Pueblos High School Engineering Academy
Nickname(s)	D'Penguineers
Organization	Dos Pueblos High School Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy
Director	Amir Abo-Shaeer
Events attended	Los Angeles San Diego Arizona Sacramento Galileo Division (FIRST Championship) Curie Division (FIRST Championship)
Events results	2007 San Diego Regional Finalist 2008 San Diego Regional Winner Los Angeles Regional Winner Championship Division Finalist 2009 Sacramento Regional Winner Los Angeles Regional Finalist Championship Division Finalist 2010 San Diego Regional Finalist Los Angeles Regional Winner Championship Division QF 2011 San Diego Regional SF Los Angeles Regional Finalist Championship Qualified [1]
Best result	Championship Division Finalists (2008, 2009)
All-time record	157–70–5 (.688)
Minutes played	464 (non-autonomous)
First game	March 9, 2006 9 1717 96 498 (34) 1527 1852 1013 [2]
Largest win	March 23, 2007 188 330 1266 1717 (32) 294 1216 1704 March 23, 2007 188 1717 696 1216 (32) 1704 980 1566 [3]
Largest defeat	March 10, 2007 0 1717 188 1722 (158) 254 4 330 [3]
Website	DPEngineering.org

Team 1717, the D’Penguineers, is a FIRST Robotics team associated with the Dos Pueblos High School Engineering Academy (DPEA) in Goleta, CA. The D’Penguineers have won multiple awards at the regional and international levels of the FIRST Robotics Competition, and participate regularly in outreach programs for junior high and elementary schools. The team was highlighted in the book The New Cool.

History

Team 1717, consisting of the 32-student senior class of the DPEA, began their first season during the 2005-2006 school year, under the direction of DPEA founder and director, Amir Abo-Shaeer. Since then, the D’Penguineers have participated annually in the FIRST Robotics Competition, developing new techniques for student education, team communication, team collaboration, and build season preparation.

Pre-build season

Preparations for the robotics build season begin at the launch of the school year, where Team 1717 students take both an Advanced Engineering class and an ROP FIRST Robotics class. During the months leading up to the competition, students begin to specialize, in areas such as computer programming, CAD, electronics, and machining working with mentors from the surrounding community. Throughout the year, the students are exposed not only to this educational specialization, but they also learn to manage the business aspects of the team--they also make up presentation teams, apparel managers, travel planners, and account managers, among others. The process of the actual creation of a robot, from initial brainstorms to paper planning to physical building, is a concept foreign to most high school students, and the pre-build season is devoted to developing the skills and team unity necessary to have a successful build season.

Build season

The FIRST Robotics Competition begins in January, when the game is revealed, and continues for six weeks, until the completed robot is shipped. Team 1717 assembles to watch the game video, and the build season is off to a running start. Over the following six weeks, each student on Team 1717 will spend over 360 hours working to collectively design, build, and program their game robot, as well as strategize and organize to find the most effective way to play the game.

Competitions

Once the Team 1717 “PenguinBot” has been shipped, the D’Penguineers attend regional FIRST Robotics Competitions and compete for their chance to go to the international FIRST Championship. In past years, Team 1717 has attended regional competitions in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Arizona, and have qualified for the FIRST Championship in Atlanta, Georgia for three consecutive years.^[1]

Awards

• 2006 Southern California Regional: Rookie All-Star
• 2006 Arizona Regional: Rookie Inspiration Award
• 2007 San Diego Regional: Imagery Regional Finalist
• 2008 San Diego Regional: Delphi “Driving Tomorrow’s Technology” Regional Champion
• 2008 Los Angeles Regional: Delphi “Driving Tomorrow’s Technology” Regional Champion
• 2008 FIRST Championship: Finalist - Galileo Division
• 2009 Sacramento Regional: Motorola Quality Award, Regional Winner
• 2009 Los Angeles Regional: General Motors Industrial Design Award, Regional Finalist
• 2009 FIRST Championship: Championship- Motorola Quality Division Finalist -Galileo
• 2010 San Diego Regional: FIRST Dean’s List Finalist Award, Quality Award sponsored by Motorola, Regional Finalist
• 2010 Los Angeles Regional: Engineering Inspiration, Regional Engineering Inspiration Award, Regional Winner
• 2010 FIRST Championship: Quality Award sponsored by Motorola

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "D'Penguineers - Team 1717 - The Blue Alliance". The Blue Alliance. http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/team/1717. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
2. ^ "D'Penguineers - Team 1717 - The Blue Alliance - 2006". The Blue Alliance. http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/team/1717/2006. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "D'Penguineers - Team 1717 - The Blue Alliance - 2007". The Blue Alliance. http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/team/1717/2007. Retrieved 28 September 2010.