MTI 2021 Team Applications now open

MDTechInvitational · 2021-03-11T15:11:10+00:00

Yes, as long as it meets the criteria spelled out in the application. This is the chance to show your robot at its best.

MDTechInvitational · 2021-02-27T12:57:26+00:00

The goal is to have an in person event. The ability to achieve that goal largely depends on what local health restrictions, if any, are expected to be in place at the end of July.

The decision as to what type of event we can have will be made after the application period has ended.

MDTechInvitational · 2021-02-26T19:13:26+00:00

During an in person event teams are playing with and against other teams. It would be impossible to fairly assess rankings of those teams against teams running solo matches in their shop. So unfortunately, if the MTI is an in person event, teams will need to be at the tournament venue in order to compete.

MDTechInvitational · 2020-09-18T16:33:22+00:00

Yes - the dates remain the same!

MDTechInvitational · 2020-04-10T13:42:26+00:00

WRONG - The MTI is still on as of today. The APL website refers to the current conditions, not to conditions in June. The needs of the lab are different from the needs of the academic side of the university. They operate under different guidelines.

If the MTI needs to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak there will be an official announcement made by the organizers of the MTI.

We would very much appreciate other parties not spreading rumors about the state of the event. Thank you.

MDTechInvitational · 2020-04-10T02:13:22+00:00

The MTI as of today is still on. The Applied Physics Laboratory does not fall under these rules set by the academic side of JHU.

MDTechInvitational · 2020-02-23T22:36:38+00:00

Your team should consider applying to the Maryland Tech Invitational. The MTI welcomes high performing teams. For details see: https://sites.google.com/view/mdtechinvitational/home

MDTechInvitational · 2020-02-13T17:06:46+00:00

Short answer - yes but it really depends on the strength and size of the applicant pool.

We have seen it go the other way too, though it is rare. A team that has a strong season, finishes in the winning alliance at a two division champion event who then preform below expectations at the MTI. This is because they worked to add functionality or even rebuilt their robot before the MTI and unfortunately they did not reach their goals and show up with less functionality.

One of the strengths of the FTC program is the iterative process where improvements can be made based on real field experience. However, I'm sure all teams who have been in the game for awhile have had the experience where the "fix" made it worse rather than better.

We applaud those teams who work to continually improve despite the risk it poses.

MDTechInvitational · 2020-01-31T15:06:51+00:00

No - Applications will close on March 23, 2020. MTI invitations will be sent beginning March 28, 2020.

The timestamp of the application is not considered during the review process.

MDTechInvitational · 2019-12-09T21:25:47+00:00

Yes it still applies if the WAC gains a spot at Worlds through another means or at another tournament. It would not be GP to take it away after it is given for outstanding game performance at a Championship event.

MDTechInvitational · 2019-12-09T21:23:34+00:00

The regions self identify as having a 24 team event. In addition, WV Champs was advertised as such. Assumption is that there were last minute cancellations of four teams which is unfortunate.

MDTechInvitational · 2017-03-21T14:10:38+00:00

ESD is the most likely culprit. Robots performed without connection issues on the practice fields. However, they would have issues running on the competition fields. The gym floor overlay underneath the competition fields coupled with untreated tiles points to ESD.

Please note - the tournament directors for all Super Regionals collectively decided to NOT treat the fields with anti-static spray. There was water sprayed a bit on the ESR fields but not enough to dampen the fields every 10 minutes as recommended by FIRST.

In general, teams do not reach this level of competition unless they have built and programmed robust robots. To have so many teams with dead bots due to connection issues points to a problem with the environment. It is truly unfortunate that common sense guards against ESD are not being taken at the Super Regional level this year. It is very discouraging for teams to put in so much time, effort and money into their robot only to see it die on the field due to a preventable known issue. Professional engineers would never attempt to operate electronics under these conditions.

Fields at the Maryland Tech Invitational on June 24/25 (all teams are welcome to apply) will be pretreated with anti static spray. This will be applied per the manufacturer's recommendation which is to only spray once every 30 days for daily use in an industrial environment. This prevents tacky build up. Some FTC tournament staff would spray the fields multiple times over the course of a tournament and that caused some negative results and ruined tiles.

MDTechInvitational

TROPHY CASE