Build Season - Week 4

It is the end of week four and the robot has taken shape. The main frame and components

have been assembled and all parts have been machined. There are still some final parts to be put on

the robot, but they won’t take long. Electrical is in full steam, trying to get the whole robot wired and

ready. Programing is perfecting there code and waiting for mechanical and electrical to finish. We are

expecting the robot to be fully running by Tuesday.

The marketing department has worked on getting this year’s game button finalized; we still

have a few adjustments to make to it before it is complete, but it is almost ready. We have also worked

on getting the Outreach notebooks completed. We have been in contact with a local Chick-Fil-A to

figure out how to have a fundraiser night there.

An important thing that happened in the marketing department was the advancement of the plans to redo the Platypi costume. We are redoing it to make it more user friendly for the person inside. The marketing department has also been working very closely with the Imagery and Spirit award groups to coordinate our image for this year and add some new things to make us stand out.

The award groups have been hard at work as well. The Chairman’s award group is working on

the essay and has divided it up between two underclassmen who are working together with a senior to

complete the essay, hopefully by the end of this coming week. The Engineering Inspiration award group is currently asking students to write information for individual sections in the booklet we will create that shares our mission, the team, and all that we have done and will do in the community. The Woodie Flowers award essay has been written and other adults and students can edit it. The Business Plan is still in the works but is progressing well.

A mentor helping a student with machinery 

Build Season 2013 - Week One

The first week of build season was an exciting and productive week.  Here is what we accomplished:

We watched the Kick-Off simulcast, inventoried the kit of parts, and started brainstorming strategy and design ideas.  We spent time looking over the rules and establishing our priorities for the game. We decided that climbing the pyramid would be our main priority, and scoring the frisbees would be second. We then moved on to concepts of how to approach raising the bot to the top of the pyramid. After looking at different designs and weighing the pros and cons of each of them, a single design was decided on. Next, the team started adding dimensions to drawings of the bot. While the Mechanical and Design departments were hard at work, Programming has completed its training and we are awaiting the design team for specifics of the robot. We have been working on autonomous and testing the new tech.

The Marketing department worked on updating our Outreach notebooks, writing grants, transitioning the newsletter to a new format, working on this year's button design, and coordinating fundraising nights for the team at a local Chick-fil-a restaurant.  We also put out a button competition for the rest of the team to design this year's "Have You Hugged A Platypi" button.  We are interested to see what we get from that contest! 

Awards department was busy this week as well.  For the Chairman's award, they read past years entries and talked about a timeline for when they want the essay completed.  They also worked with the two new underclassmen that will help write this year’s Chairman's essay.  The Woodie Flowers award has been started and will be completed by the end of week three.  The Entrepreneurship Award subgroup met Saturday and went through as much of the Business Plan as they could and talked about things they could add to make us stand out. The group working on Engineering Inspiration award looked through what was put together last year, how it could be improved, and what else we want to include for this year. 

The team worked hard last week designing, training, planning, and preparing for award submittals. We are all incredibly busy but we love what we're doing!

Brainstorming after kick-off

How FIRST has impacted my life!

When I was a boy, my father tried to trade me for a cup. However, the salesman rejected the deal and my dad was devastated. He never forgave me for being rejected. When I was 2 years old, my dad tried to drown me in a golf cart after his devastation and anger for my failure in getting him the cup. This incident traumatized and led to my obsession with blue whales.  The whales became my friends from that incident onward.  Since then, the whales started whispering to me about the dark days to come. It was about the day when the great panda would rise up from Shanghai and throw down all of earth’s protectors.  I tried to warn other people of the impending doom but my words were ignored, after all they thought I was just some crazy kid.  In 2896 CG, the great panda rose up and brought great fire and fluffiness to the world. As the panda emerged from the streets of Shanghai, a portal to another dimension brought me to High Point. There, I found a replacement family and continued to warn the people about the possibility of the great panda arriving. This personal quest led to my joining of Team 2655 to better spread the word about the great panda!  While on the team, I succeeded in rising to the position of supreme overlord male (VP) this opportunity led me to a better understanding of the political systems of the people in this dimension.

- Nick H.

How FIRST has impacted my life!

I learned about Team 2655, The Flying Platypi, from a schoolmate's guardian, and my interests in programming and computers made me want to join this team.  I was on the team for one year.  Team 2655 was a great opportunity for me to meet other people with the same interests as me.  I learned about the programming and mechanical work needed to build a robot.  I worked on programming, Computer Aided Design (CAD), and was the safety captain for the team.  I am currently mentoring the programming team in improving our demonstration robot and in CAD.  Being on this team has furthered my understanding of programming and robotics.  My experiences on the Flying Platypi, have helped me further my education by providing me with a FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, scholarship that has provided funding to further my education in Network System Administration.

- Justin 

How FIRST has impacted my life!

Before I ever knew or heard about FIRST,  I went to a demonstration put on by FRC Team 1533, Triple Strange. I enjoyed it so much, that from then on I was hooked on robotics.  I’ve been apart of FIRST since I was eleven when I joined my first FLL team.    When I started in FLL I did not think I wanted to be an engineer.  However, by the end of my first season I was inspired to learn more about the field of engineering.  This year I will be on three FIRST teams by participating in FLL, FTC and FRC.  I hope to someday enroll at Kettering University in Michigan and get a full scholarship through FIRST.  I would like to double major in Electrical Engineering and some other area of engineering. 

-Nick R.   

The Adventures of Gary - the Traveling Platypi

Hi my name is Gary and I love to travel.  Many people assume that being a platypus would make traveling rather dangerous and scary, but it’s really not that bad and I have my ways of getting about.  I've had some amazing adventures and I really want to share them with all of you.  A picture is supposedly worth a thousand words, so I'm going to assume the best way to tell you about my adventures is through a series of photographs.   I have many pictures to share with you, and after this first picture, just to whet your appetite, if you want to stay updated on my latest travels check out my FRC team's facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/team2655.  There will be a new picture added every Wednesday with my newest adventure.

This first picture is in London, because that's where my adventures began. 

Enjoy the ride!

Gary

How FIRST has impacted my life!

The first time I went to a Flying Platypi FRC meeting, I thought FRC was only about building robots and competing. The next year when I actually joined the team I found out that it’s about more than just a robot. 

The first week of build season started, and there were ideas coming from every part of the room. We met every day for the next few weeks to work on designing the robot and finally we were able to start building.  After spending so much time designing we only left ourselves a few weeks to actually build. I quickly learned the importance of time management and teamwork. 

Finally, it was time to go to my first regional event. There were lots of people working in the pit area getting their robots ready for competition. We needed help that other teams could provide and I saw lots of teams that needed help that our team could provide. At that regional I realized how important it is to help other teams and show gracious professionalism.

FIRST impacted my life by helping me understand what it is that I want to do. Before I joined the Flying Platypi I wanted to major in forestry, but now I really want to be an engineer. FIRST has opened my mind to more options then I had before. FIRST has helped me learn about science and technology, and FIRST continues to help by giving me opportunities to receive scholarships.

- David