Week Six/Seven - Shipped Robot

Well, the build season is officially over, our robot is on its way to Duluth for Peachtree, and team members are as busy as ever. So much has to be finished before we even run the robot on the field. But before I talk about that there is the robot to discuss. After a little more than six weeks of hard work, my team can be proud in saying that we have a working robot. It drives, climbs over bumps (albeit not very gracefully), and can kick pretty well. The drive train, our gamble of the season, is a thing of beauty. It articulates well and can turn on a dime without much scrub. I was able to see it drive for the first time on the day before ship date and was very impressed.

Here's a video of a driver's test that day:

After boxing it up and shipping it, the team returned to work on Thursday working out the materials that are needed for the tournament and finishing up some fabricated parts. It's been a good build season and can't wait to see other teams at Peachtree!

(Four Days Until Peachtree! I'll see if I can blog on the road. Expect more pictures before then!)

Week Six - A Random Interview

Right now I'm listening to the noise of what is the last day we have our robot with us. People laughing, the beloved pneumatic stapler going off in the background, organized chaos. Since I'll be going out to take a few pictures soon I thought it would be nice to conduct an interview with one of the many (many, many) freshmen on the team this year...

Hello Will!
How is it going?

Hi. Its going pretty good. We finally got the robot to kick. :)

Your sitting across from me right now. Do you know who's computer you're on?

This is true. Yes, I do. Daniel's computer, I believe.

What made you want to join an FRC team?

I thought it was going to be fun, and a good leaning opportunity. And robots are just cool.

So what part do you play on the team?

I am one of the programmers. I am also safety captain.

What have you learned?

I have learned a lot about LabView. And how to safely separate velcro.

Are you excited about Peachtree?

I am, although unfortunately I might not be able to come. :(

Aww too bad. Hopefully things work out!

Watch out! Soon there'll be some new post with the final robot!

Week Five - FLL and Fundraisers

Saturday was a big day for our team. The majority of the team was at an FLL regional selling lunches for a fundraiser, mentoring, or participating in FLL teams. Sold at wholesale, thanks to Apple Spice Junction, the lunches did well. Much better than the previous regional which we sold them at. Along with sandwiches, my team vended soda, water, chips, candy, and, a best seller aided by the cold, coffee. As soon as the competition began, people started coming to buy items, some returning throughout the day.

On the other side of the tables were twenty-eight FLL teams and of those two were mentored by us and of those three were members of our team. However, two of our three mentors were not present since they are a part of our mechanical team. Instead the remaining mentor did his best to cover for both teams. The competition was enjoyable to watch, although it definitely was stressful for those on teams. By the end, both of "our" FLL teams made it through to the State Championship Competition taking place this coming Saturday.

Week Five - Final Stretch

Right now I'm sitting in the lunch room of Blue Ridge Tool. Electrical components are scattered across the table, the mill is on full swing, and voices of mentors and team members mingle as they discuss last minute robot design, joking with each other, and handing out tasks. Programming sits next to me first overjoyed that the latest National Instruments Labview update is out and then miffed when they know they cannot test the update out since the electrical board is currently scattered in pieces everywhere. Tomorrow marks the fifth week of build and the team is working hard to ensure we will be done on the 23rd. Even though we were able to get our drive train completed earlier in the week, there was a hitch. The gears that directed the chains for the wheels scrubbed the top of our newly carpeted bump leaving oils stains and creating aggravation. Back to the mill and lathe for the quick but time eating fix. On the bright side, our robot design will work and smoothly rolls over obstacles. Right now, mechanical is split into two parts: one reconstructing the drive train and the other formulating the shooting mechanism. The drive train looks great and works! It forms and fits the ridges of the hill nicely.

Week Four - Slowly Closing In

As the leftover snow slowly melted away, our team began the charge into the last three weeks of the build. At this point I can make out the finished product of members efforts. The robot is starting to sprout wheels in a number of which an octopus would be proud. (Come to think of it our robot shares some similarities with an octopus. A Space Octopus. hmm...) Gears are being aligned, spacers manufactured, and metal being sanded. The robot is coming alive. I can't wait to see it drive.

At this point in the year all the robot-centric departments are having to step up communication between each other. Electrical needs to know from mechanical how much space it has for the electrical board, mechanical has to relay design aspects to programming so they'd know what features to add, and programming tells electrical what parts they need wired in order to check how their programs function. It goes on in this circle and will begin to pick up more speed as the days that remain, dwindle.