Contest Results

After reaching the 3rd room marked with the Number 5 on it and opening the door the girls steel themselves for the final test of their robots capabilities before apprehensively opening the door and find various objects of different shapes and sizes that are generally loaded onto shelves either by people or by forklifts as well as a single staff member with a clipboard.

The girls wheel in the Robot and its modules before uncovering both the robot and modules ready for use as the staff member quietly takes notes on his clipboard while keeping up her poker face Lisa thinks “These guys are thorough with both the details they seem to be taking as well as the criteria they seem to be taking note of.”

After installing the second Removable Link Device for the Modules, Alison and Jean lift the Forklift Pallet Lifter into place while Lisa spots for them and Mary uses the controller to lock it in place once positioned.

After finishing installing the Module Lisa walks over to the Staff Member before saying “We’re ready to begin the test, is it ok if we display the various modules for our robot with the items they’re best suited to?”

“You may, the rules allow for full display of your robots capabilities with whatever Applicable functions it may have.” The Staff Member replies while taking notes in response to both the module being set up and Lisa’s question.

After hearing the Staff Members reply Lisa simply replies “Understood.” before turning around and walking back to the group while with one eye looking over the objects that are part of the test.

Once she rejoins the group Lisa looks at everyone and explains “This is how our game plan goes, first, we use the Forklift Pallet Lifters to move the palleted objects to their destinations.”

“After that we use the Barrel Clamps to move the Loose Barrels to their destinations, then finally we use the Box Lifters to move the Loose Boxes and any other loose items to their destinations.” Lisa continues with a calm yet professional tone before taking a breath and saying “The final phase may be the trickiest part but we built this machine, if our baby is going to falter we’re here to help it through the issue.”

After hearing Lisa’s explanation, everyone nods and preps the Robot for the test, ready to carry the objects through the course of shelves.

As soon as they install the Removable Link and turn on the Controller Jean positions the Robot near one of the pallets and lines up the lifter forks ready to insert into the pallet as she thinks “This responsiveness is dramatically improved from when we were testing and tweaking, I can even see better on the fork camera.”

Using the Camera on the front of the Forklift Module Jean carefully aims the fork teeth and slides them seamlessly into the slots of the pallet and lifts it up gently off the ground keeping it steady at 5mms elevation.

Once the Pallet is lifted Jean raises the Forklifts Periscopic Camera to the top of the Forklift Rails allowing her to see in front of the Robot and Pallet before slowly moving the Robot into position to begin following the markings that match those corresponding to the route to the destination of the Pallet.

While keeping a close eye on the environment, Jean keeps the robot at a steady walking speed with the orange LED hazard lights running to alert anyone nearby to the danger of a heavy machine with cargo in the area.

After carefully following the markers showing the way to where the Pallet needs to be placed for the test Jean comes to a gentle stop, positions the Robot to place the Pallet before raising it up high enough to be placed before inserting it into position and lowering the forklift teeth and laying down the pallet.

As soon as the pallet is safely deposited Jean drives the Robot back to the starting area where Jean and the girls re-equip it for moving Barrels.

The moment the girls finish swapping out the Forklift for the Barrel Lift Jean positions the lifter arms around the barrel carefully before bringing them gently yet firmly into contact with the body of the barrel at which point she has it lift the barrel off the ground, bring it backward closer to the robot before positioning the bottom support plate to keep it from falling in the event of a hydraulic failure.

As soon as the barrel is safely secured Jean positions it 7mms off the ground before following the markings corresponding to the Barrel to its destination before seeing on the camera that it is in a horizontal barrel storage shelf.

After seeing the spot where the barrel is supposed to go Jean lowers the support plate and raises the barrel to the point its centre is level with the shelf before extending the lifter arms forward and rotating the top of the barrel backwards toward the rails of the lifter.

After the barrel is completely horizontal Jean uses the Periscopic camera to line up the barrel with the shelf leaving a 8mm gap between the resting position of the barrel and the barrel itself before inserting it carefully within the shelf, lowering the lifter arms until the barrel is securely in the shelfs barrel holder before releasing it and retracting the lifter arms.

As soon as the barrel is positioned and resting peacefully with no signs of issues Jean retracts the lifters all the way back and lowers them to the same height as the support plate before returning to the start area.

Upon returning the Robot to the starting area Jean notices the Staff Member taking careful notes on the results of the test as the girls re-equip the Robot for lifting boxes.

As soon as the Box Lifter is attached everyone gets back and once they’re clear Jean positions the Robot to use the lifter arms to pick up the box for the test before lifting it up with the lifter arms and positioning it on the Support Plate.

After getting the Box positioned, Jean begins to drive the Robot through the shelves following the markings at walking speed before finding the spot the Box is supposed to be placed.

After carefully moving the robot into position Jean raises the lifters to the level of the shelf and lines up its position carefully before carefully placing it and retracting the lifter arms and lowering them again.

As soon as the lifter arms are lowered Jean carefully drives the Robot back out of the shelves and returns it to the start point.

As soon as the Robot returns to the Start Point Lisa and Alison remove the Box Lifter Module and and Mary removes the Removable Link Devices as Alison puts the Module Docking Port Cover back on.

As soon as they’re done Lisa walks over to the Staff Member with a calm look yet serious air to her before saying “We’ve completed our Demonstration now, what do we do from here?”

The Staff Member finishes taking his notes before looking over the results and making a few check marks on a separate page on his Clipboard before looking at Lisa calmly as he states professionally “You’ve completed the course of tests, head out of the door you came in through and head down the hall to the left until you reach the room marked ‘Contest Results’, you’ll be informed of your results there.”

After hearing the Staff Members instructions Lisa nods and thanks him before returning to the group and explaining what she was just told and helping them load up the Robot and Modules ready to transport.

After leaving the room through the door they entered through the girls follow the Staff Members instructions noticing how heavy the security camera coverage of the building is leaving them all wondering what the building is usually used for.

After a few minutes of walking with the Robot and Modules they reach the room marked “Contest Results” and stop before Alison and Mary look at Lisa and Jean curious yet apprehensive before Alison asks “Think we scored well?”

“I did everything within my power to secure us a decent score but I can’t guarantee we scored well.” Jean replies calmly on the surface but with subtle hints at how nervous she is about finding how well her handy work and skills measured up to the contest evaluator's standards.

Lisa looks at them calmly but under her poker face trying desperately to keep calm and not let the fact she’s worried about her heartbeat show as she says “If what I observed with the Staff Members is anything to go by then odds are we’ve made the cut.”

When they hear Lisa and Jeans feelings on the matter Mary and Alison breath a sigh of relief before Mary explains “We were just as nervous as you.”

“We’ve barely been able to do much but support since we got in here so we were feeling rather helpless.” Alison explains as she relaxes her body releasing the pent up mental tension from the stress of the tests.

Lisa realising how heavy the burden of the test was on her team puts a left hand on Alison’s right shoulder and her right hand on Mary’s left shoulder before saying “You two have had to carry a heavy burden but your rolls though supporting were crucial to our success, let’s keep it together a little longer and see this through.”

As soon as she finishes talking Lisa removes her hands from Mary and Alison’s shoulders before turning to the door calmly and saying “This is it, we finish this here and now, then we find at least 1 more person for the club, after that we’ve won.”

Mary looks at Lisa’s back, not showing the slightest sign of wavering in the face of what awaits them in the room and regains her composure before saying “I’ll follow you to the finish Prez.”

Alison looks at the certainty in Mary and Lisa in this moment before smiling gently and saying “Well, not like I didn’t know what I was signing up for with all those sleepless nights working on designs.”

Jean just giggles before looking at them and saying “You girls have a dynamic that would make most people laugh when they should be scared, I couldn’t think of a group I’d rather be a part of!”

Hearing everyone’s feelings Lisa smiles confidently without turning to them as she puts her hands on the double doors ready to open it as she thinks “I have the best club members a club president could ask for, now I just need to keep it up and bring this home for them and our efforts will be worth it.”

Lisa plants her feet, arches her back and pushes the doors open hard, getting everyone in the room eyes on the girls.

After opening the door the girls only see 3 of the teams there that were outside and none of them are the RCD Club team they noticed outside earlier.

A Staff Member walks over calmly and says “Welcome and congratulations, if you’re here then you’ve passed our tests and your submission is now the 4th passing submission.”

The girls look at the man in surprise before high fiving each other and rolling in the Robot and Modules ready to hear the results of the contest.

After using his radio to be sure no one else had passed the Staff Member looks at the various groups that passed and says “You have all done well to get this far and your machines have performed well to pass our tests, I will now announce the results of the tests.”

The Staff Member looks at the teams before looking at the team from Stow College and says “Your machine got high marks for its load capacity, speed and efficiency but has room for improvement in accurate handling and fine movement control.”

The Staff Member then turns to the team from Nautical Collage and says “Your machine performed well in terms of both precision control and accuracy of handling as well as showed good versatility when faced with different types of cargo.”

“However, the traction on unsteady ground and ability to spot hazards was lacking but otherwise a glowing result.” The Staff Member continues as he brings up a video on a nearby monitor of the Nautical Teams Robot attempting to handle spilled paint and a rigged shelf falling down and blocking their path.

The Staff Member then looks at the team from Glasgow University including the Man who spoke to Mary and Alison before the Staff Member says to them “Your Machine got the highest marks of any here, your robot proved remarkably versatile only topped by one other, the speed, traction and handling were all impressive.”

“The only issue we could see was the precision targeting when placing objects on shelves, otherwise the cargo handling was smooth as silk.” The Staff Member explains as he shows a video of the Robot’s handling of cargo.

After addressing everyone else the Staff Member finally turns his attention to the girls and says “As for Saint Joan of Arc Robotics Club, your Robot performed well on seemingly all fronts except one, the complexity of the Robot means it will require training and experience to use it effectively.”

“Aside from that your Robots Precision Movement, speed, cargo handling and flexibility is second only to that of Glasgow University.” The Staff member explains showing video of their robot in action as well as a copy of the screen shot they submitted of the potentially hazardous shelf.

After announcing the different groups' results the Staff Member looks at the Glasgow University team and announces “Your group has been selected as the winners of the grand prize, your design will be purchased and you’ll get 25% of the royalties for 10 years from the design.”

“Saint Joan Of Arc Robotics Club, you took 2nd Place, you’ll receive a 100,000 cheque which will be sent to your school with instructions to add it to your club budget.” The Staff Member states as he looks at the girls before adding “You and the others may not have taken 1st place but be aware, there is a chance your designs will be purchased by a different company after we post our results.”

The girls look optimistic at the mention of the possibility their design will be purchased when suddenly without any warning the Fire Alarm sounds throughout the building.

The Staff Member looks at everyone and states “Please remain calm and follow me, leave your machines here as they are covered by the events insurance and if damaged you will be compensated.”

Everyone apprehensively follows his instructions and follows him out of the building via the fire exits.

After reaching the assembly point and having everyone's presence confirmed, someone comes out of the building and says “It seems the Fire Alarm was pulled on purpose by someone, there was also a short power cut and all the winning designs have been stolen!”

All of the teams still on site all start talking with a mix of stunned, enraged and disgusted looks while looks at the other members of her group and says “Did anyone remember to install our insurance policy?”

Alison looks at Mary wondering if she’d taken advantage of her handy work before saying “Did you install it in the spot I designated for it?”

“I did, it’s in there, its battery life should be good for a week without a recharge.” Mary replies before taking a device out of her pocket and turning it on and says “As long as it’s within 3 kilometres the radio signal from the 3 second burst type tracking device should tell us where it is.”

“So that’s what that weird device I saw you install was?” Jean replies in surprise being the only one left out of the loop on the details of what the anti theft methods they used were before saying “By 3 second burst do you mean a burst type tracking device?”

Mary nods affirmatively and says “It gives a 3 second signal burst every 1 minute, my Big Brother is a big Burn Notice Fan even though it’s an old series.”

Alison and Lisa look on with meh looks having gotten used to such statements from Mary as she got into electronics because she grew up watching TV Shows about Spies with her Older Brother.

While Jean looks at Alison and Lisa perplexed as to why they are making such looks while Mary fiddles with the device she pulled out of her pocket before getting an grin that screams sinister excitement before she says “I’ve got a signal, they’re still nearby, they’ve not even gotten onto the Motorway yet!”

Lisa, Alison and Jean look at her in surprise before Lisa turns in the direction of their Hired Minibus Driver and says “Driver, we need you!”

The Minibus driver looks at them in surprise and simply nods before following them to the Minibus as he gets the keys ready.

The moment they reach the Minibus the Driver opens the main door and lets Alison, Lisa and Jean in the back before getting into the front with Mary to guide the way before asking “So where are the thieves?”

“Our Tracker pinged here last!” Mary replies, pointing to a spot on the digital map of the device she uses to track the robot before saying “They’re likely headed for the Motorway from there, the tracker pings once a minute so they can’t be far.”

“Understood, I’ll head them off.” The driver replies as she starts the engine after making sure everyone has put on their seat belts before looking at Lisa in the mirror and asking “Can I assume you’re about to call the police and have them join us once we have the thieves in sight?”

“Just about to make the call!” Lisa replies as she pulls out her phone and gets ready to dial the UK Emergency Services Number 999.

As the Minibus pulls out of the business park Lisa explains the situation to the police call centre staff member that answered the call before saying “We’ll keep you updated once we have the thieves in sight.”

Mary stares at the screen on the receiver device as she thinks “Something isn’t right here, the last two pings were less and less far apart, are they going below the speed limit?”

The driver follows Mary’s input on where the thieves are pinging from before suddenly they realise something and the driver says “Have we overtaken them?”

“Actually, the last ping was on this road here, they pinged on that road three times.” Mary replies while pointing at a road that unless you’re going below the minimum speed limit you’d never need more than 2 minutes to reach the end of, before saying “I think we need to swing back around and check there.”

After turning around and following the road systems' 1 way routes to get back to the road where the tracker pinged three times, they witnessed it ping several more times there after coming to a dead stop on a single spot where it has pinged the most times.

As all of them worried and confused approach the spot where the latest ping occurred they witness a parked 18 wheel Lorry that has pulled in to the side and parked there not moving at all with no signs the engine is running.

After pulling over in front of the vehicle they follow police instructions and stay put in the Minibus at a safe distance until police vehicles can arrive on the scene.

While they wait for the police the Driver asks “Are you sure the Tracker is inside that Lorry?”

“There’s no doubt, it just pinged from in there a moment ago.” Mary replies as she shows the ping log on the receiver and after a minute it pings there again.

Lisa looks at the Lorries markings, realising it’s a generic hire lorry even if it is an older model before saying “If this is the work of the Rip Off Club they aren’t going to get off lightly for this one, but would even they pull such a stunt?”

Jean looks at her with a serious look before saying “I don’t know if it’s true but supposedly they’re a secret group created by a major foreign robotics company for the purpose of competition research and talent scouting.”

Lisa and Alison listen in disbelief before Lisa says “Are you sure about the details of this story and where did you hear about it?”

“Actually, it was my older brother who told me about it, it’s apparently a not so ‘secret’ secret in the Business world.” Jean replies with a look of dismay at the fact her older brother knows such things when only people in the know about seriously secret and dangerous things to know should know about.

Realising the undeniable reality of her club's nature Lisa just sighs and says “Guess there’s never been any denying it, our club is the one that attracts the most fun and interesting weird types in the school.”

While the girls are talking they suddenly hear police sirens closing in and gather near the back of the Minibus to look out the back windows and see three police cars arrive on the scene and surround the Suspect Lorry.

As soon as the police surround the Lorry and start demanding the occupants exit the vehicle with their hands in plain view, as if it were on que, the cab is filled with a thick cloud quickly followed by the doors flying open on their own allowing the occupants to escape while hacking and coughing from breathing the contents of the cab.

After the police detain the suspects and open up the back of the Lorry one of them approaches the Minibus and says “Would one of you please come with me and identify the Robot you claim was stolen from you.”

As the leader Lisa volunteers to go and exits the Minibus before following the Officer to the Lorry and on the way to the back of the Lorry hears one of the suspects say “It was like the Lorry had a mind of its own! It just suddenly slowed down and parked here then locked us in before using exhaust fumes to force us out!”

While hiding her suspicions behind her poker face Lisa thinks “Geez, if this was Ashiro’s doing then she’s pretty scary.”

As soon as they reach the back of the Lorry Lisa puts on gloves as instructed and climbs aboard and sees her club’s Robot and Modules along with the other robots from the room she and the other winners were directed to as well as those from the teams that lost before pointing to her clubs Robot and says “That one and the parts on the pallet next to it are ours, three of the others belong to Stow, Nautical Colleges and Glasgow University.”

The Police officer nods in reaction before asking “Where was the theft carried out?”

Lisa tells the officer where the contest was and says “The other teams should still be there, they can identify their individual robots.”

“Understood, do you happen to have proof the robot you identified as yours is yours?” The officer asks pointedly seeking proof of ownership.

Lisa pulls out her phone and texts Alison and asks for a copy of the design for the robot and after receiving a reply with the design shows it to the officer and asks “Would this perhaps work?”

The officer looks over the design and compares it to the Robot and says “This is good, we’ll try to get your Robot returned to you as soon as we can, until then we may need to hold it as Evidence.”

Lisa nods affirmatively before saying “I understand, whoever masterminded this can’t get away with this industrial espionage.”

After finishing with the officer Lisa returns to the Minibus and fills everyone in on what happened before saying “I think in this case Ashiro saved us, whoever is behind this would have probably gotten away with it if we hadn’t taken preventative measures.”

Alison stands there clenching her fists clearly fuming with unbridled rage and fighting the urge to make effigies of the unknown object of her anger as she says “Whoever did this, I want their hands pickled in a jar…”

Everyone on the Minibus look at her in shock realising just how angry the person behind this incident has made her by going after one of her masterpieces.

Lisa sighs calmly and says “I know how you feel but please reign in the brutal retribution fantasies as we all want a crack at this scum bag but we’re from a civilised society, if we did anything we’d be no better than them.”

Alison unclenches her fists before saying “I know that, I just can’t let someone off with trying to steal one of our babies, but I’ll leave the punishment to the Police.”

After calming down everyone returns to their seats and following police instructions return to the School to await further updates.

To Be Continued