We are currently in our off-season and are working on our demo bot. We are looking for more high school students to recruit, so if you know of anyone who is interested in joining a robotics team, send them our way!!
Check out our article in our local newspaper! It made the front page of the Sunbeam on Monday, July 18th.
If you've never check out our website, check it out today! We are in the process of updating it, so be sure to check back periodically to find out what we're going to do next! Also, if you are interested in joining the team, sponsoring our team, or finding out information, check out our contact page to find out who to contact about all this and much more!
For those of you who are new to FIRST, check out their website. On there you can find information about where local teams are, the different programs available, and upcoming events.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Trenton Regional, Saturday
Hi everyone!
So, everyone who was at the Trenton Regional seemed to have lots of fun. It was great to see LogoMotion in action, plus Bart Kamen (Dean's brother) was there talking about their late father Jack Kamen.
So onto details about today.
1) One team in particular really shined today. Team 2016 was doing wonderful today. In the third match of today (I didn't catch the match number), they were a main contributer to 3 logos that the alliance made, plus they were the first minibot up the tower. Then, in match 75, they hung 3 tubes and were the first minibot again. In match 81, first minibot again, but this time they hung 6 tubes (including oober). Their minibot took approximately 3 seconds to get up the tower. That match had a score of 79-23, with 2016 being on the winning alliance. They are not going to be at Chesapeake or Philly. As of right now, they are not registered for Nationals either. But I would be on the lookout...
2) 303 had a telescope similar to ours, however it was slower than ours and once their trolley started to go up, it looked very twitchy. During one match they also didn't seem to have much of a plan. Team 25 had a very fast telescope that was tall. When they would go to hang on the top rack, their mast was about half a foot above the middle peg and the trolley could easily go up with no problem.
3) We need to be careful about red cards and yellow cards. During the quarter finals, the 2nd seeded alliance got a red card for entering the blue alliance zone and pushed into a robot that was hanging. Because of that, they were disqualified. If they hadn't gotten the red card, they would have won that match. During the same match, the 7th alliance got a yellow card for deploying their minibot outside the tower zone. Alliance 3 got two yellow cards during one match for a) deplying their minibot before the 15 seconds and b) placing an oober tube during teleop. Drive team and back up drive team: make sure you know all the penalties and how to get a red and yellow card so we can avoid making those mistakes.
4) As Christian said yesterday, most alliances were only placing a few tubes, and not many had minibots. The most logos I saw today for an alliance was 4, and I saw that twice. I saw a total of 3 minibots go up about 5 or 6 times. So while the majority of the teams weren't scoring a whole lot, there were some matches that were definitely one sided. That being said, today the National High Score was beaten and then tied today. During the first quarter final match for alliances 3 & 8, the 3rd alliance got 124 points while the 8th alliance got only 22. And then in the first smi final between 1 and 5, the 1st alliance got 124 points while the 5th got 36.
5) During the 2nd match for quarter finals for the 5th alliance, team 816 lost their minibot on the field at one point and it started running around the field. While it was amusing to watch, teams losing minibots during teleop was a common thing. They would also lose them when they were trying to deploy them on the pole. We need to make sure we don't lost our minibot when we are competing.
For those who weren't there, here is a list of the 8 alliances:
1) 1676, 2016, 303
2) 423, 486, 293
3) 1923, 25, 1860
4) 1228, 2590, 75
5) 2180, 816, 1302
6) 1089, 1647, 102
7) 2729, 1218, 192
8) 2191, 181, 2199
Alliances 1 and 7 made it to the Finals. Alliance 1 won. Of those two alliances, 1218 is going to Chesapeake, 2729 is going to Philly, and 303 is going to Nationals. I would not be surprised if 1676 and 2016 make an appearance at Nationals as well though.
Hope everyone had a wonderful day, whether it was spent in Trenton or elsewhere. Only 12 more days until our own regional begins!
-Sam
So, everyone who was at the Trenton Regional seemed to have lots of fun. It was great to see LogoMotion in action, plus Bart Kamen (Dean's brother) was there talking about their late father Jack Kamen.
So onto details about today.
1) One team in particular really shined today. Team 2016 was doing wonderful today. In the third match of today (I didn't catch the match number), they were a main contributer to 3 logos that the alliance made, plus they were the first minibot up the tower. Then, in match 75, they hung 3 tubes and were the first minibot again. In match 81, first minibot again, but this time they hung 6 tubes (including oober). Their minibot took approximately 3 seconds to get up the tower. That match had a score of 79-23, with 2016 being on the winning alliance. They are not going to be at Chesapeake or Philly. As of right now, they are not registered for Nationals either. But I would be on the lookout...
2) 303 had a telescope similar to ours, however it was slower than ours and once their trolley started to go up, it looked very twitchy. During one match they also didn't seem to have much of a plan. Team 25 had a very fast telescope that was tall. When they would go to hang on the top rack, their mast was about half a foot above the middle peg and the trolley could easily go up with no problem.
3) We need to be careful about red cards and yellow cards. During the quarter finals, the 2nd seeded alliance got a red card for entering the blue alliance zone and pushed into a robot that was hanging. Because of that, they were disqualified. If they hadn't gotten the red card, they would have won that match. During the same match, the 7th alliance got a yellow card for deploying their minibot outside the tower zone. Alliance 3 got two yellow cards during one match for a) deplying their minibot before the 15 seconds and b) placing an oober tube during teleop. Drive team and back up drive team: make sure you know all the penalties and how to get a red and yellow card so we can avoid making those mistakes.
4) As Christian said yesterday, most alliances were only placing a few tubes, and not many had minibots. The most logos I saw today for an alliance was 4, and I saw that twice. I saw a total of 3 minibots go up about 5 or 6 times. So while the majority of the teams weren't scoring a whole lot, there were some matches that were definitely one sided. That being said, today the National High Score was beaten and then tied today. During the first quarter final match for alliances 3 & 8, the 3rd alliance got 124 points while the 8th alliance got only 22. And then in the first smi final between 1 and 5, the 1st alliance got 124 points while the 5th got 36.
5) During the 2nd match for quarter finals for the 5th alliance, team 816 lost their minibot on the field at one point and it started running around the field. While it was amusing to watch, teams losing minibots during teleop was a common thing. They would also lose them when they were trying to deploy them on the pole. We need to make sure we don't lost our minibot when we are competing.
For those who weren't there, here is a list of the 8 alliances:
1) 1676, 2016, 303
2) 423, 486, 293
3) 1923, 25, 1860
4) 1228, 2590, 75
5) 2180, 816, 1302
6) 1089, 1647, 102
7) 2729, 1218, 192
8) 2191, 181, 2199
Alliances 1 and 7 made it to the Finals. Alliance 1 won. Of those two alliances, 1218 is going to Chesapeake, 2729 is going to Philly, and 303 is going to Nationals. I would not be surprised if 1676 and 2016 make an appearance at Nationals as well though.
Hope everyone had a wonderful day, whether it was spent in Trenton or elsewhere. Only 12 more days until our own regional begins!
-Sam
Friday, March 4, 2011
Trenton Regional, Friday
Hey all,
Here are just a few thoughts from viewing Trenton today.
1. uber tubes are double points alone, then they act as multipliers seperately, this means that a logo on top with an uber tube is 30 points, in the middle is 20, on bottom is 10, a logo with two uber tubes on top is 42, and a logo with three uber tubes on top is 54 points!
2. Only 5 minibots climbed the pole: only one match had two minibots climb.
3. The average minibot climbed in 10-15 seconds, the fastest was around 4 or 5 seconds.
4. The average number tubes placed by single robots was 1 or 2, The average number of tubes placed by an alliance was 3 or 4, the highest number of tubes placed by one robot was 6, the highest number of tubes placed by an alliacne was 9.
5. The average final score was 10-15, The highest score was 80, the second highest was 74, almost every match was won with a final score of 20 or less.
6. Very few matches did human players throw tubes many at a time, most matches teams went to the feeding station or threw one or two tubes at a time onto the field.
7. Most robots had slow arm, most robots had slow claw/tube manipulators, most manipulators dropped their tubes very easily.
8. The field was having some slight trouble connecting to robots, but it mostly just delayed matches it never interfered with gameplay.
9. Most teams fropped their minibots early or missed during deployment and were assessed penalties.
10. Penalites were common for minibots and lane infringement, but penalties did not decide matches.
11. Most tubes were scored on the top or middle row, no tubes were scored on the bottom.
12. Only two defense robots all day.
13. The minibots are given a 10 second grace period to come to rest/score after time reaches 0.
14. Here is a list of standout teams with reasons:
2016 had the highest solo score with a minibot and 6 tubes on top in logo form and an uber tube (my personal favorite to win NJ regional)
25 has a lightning fast telescope but has a slow inside tube manipulator which slows them down to only 3-4 tubes per match
486 scored several tubes and scored one of the few minibots of the day (This team will be at Philly)
1302 scored a minibot
1676 scored a minibot
1860 did good, solid autonomous follows line, placed 3-4 tubes, and has a minibot (second favorite to win NJ regional)
1647 did good logo on top with uber tube (will be at philly)
1218 did good logo plus one on top with uber tube (will be at chesapeake)
816 did ok with 3 tubes on top in logo form (will be at philly)
102 did ok with 3 tubes on top in logo form (will be at philly)
I also have a video that is a trailer of some of the better teams and matches (i did not get the 80 point match, but i got the 74 point match)
-Christian
Here are just a few thoughts from viewing Trenton today.
1. uber tubes are double points alone, then they act as multipliers seperately, this means that a logo on top with an uber tube is 30 points, in the middle is 20, on bottom is 10, a logo with two uber tubes on top is 42, and a logo with three uber tubes on top is 54 points!
2. Only 5 minibots climbed the pole: only one match had two minibots climb.
3. The average minibot climbed in 10-15 seconds, the fastest was around 4 or 5 seconds.
4. The average number tubes placed by single robots was 1 or 2, The average number of tubes placed by an alliance was 3 or 4, the highest number of tubes placed by one robot was 6, the highest number of tubes placed by an alliacne was 9.
5. The average final score was 10-15, The highest score was 80, the second highest was 74, almost every match was won with a final score of 20 or less.
6. Very few matches did human players throw tubes many at a time, most matches teams went to the feeding station or threw one or two tubes at a time onto the field.
7. Most robots had slow arm, most robots had slow claw/tube manipulators, most manipulators dropped their tubes very easily.
8. The field was having some slight trouble connecting to robots, but it mostly just delayed matches it never interfered with gameplay.
9. Most teams fropped their minibots early or missed during deployment and were assessed penalties.
10. Penalites were common for minibots and lane infringement, but penalties did not decide matches.
11. Most tubes were scored on the top or middle row, no tubes were scored on the bottom.
12. Only two defense robots all day.
13. The minibots are given a 10 second grace period to come to rest/score after time reaches 0.
14. Here is a list of standout teams with reasons:
2016 had the highest solo score with a minibot and 6 tubes on top in logo form and an uber tube (my personal favorite to win NJ regional)
25 has a lightning fast telescope but has a slow inside tube manipulator which slows them down to only 3-4 tubes per match
486 scored several tubes and scored one of the few minibots of the day (This team will be at Philly)
1302 scored a minibot
1676 scored a minibot
1860 did good, solid autonomous follows line, placed 3-4 tubes, and has a minibot (second favorite to win NJ regional)
1647 did good logo on top with uber tube (will be at philly)
1218 did good logo plus one on top with uber tube (will be at chesapeake)
816 did ok with 3 tubes on top in logo form (will be at philly)
102 did ok with 3 tubes on top in logo form (will be at philly)
I also have a video that is a trailer of some of the better teams and matches (i did not get the 80 point match, but i got the 74 point match)
-Christian
Monday, February 21, 2011
Goodbye Robot!
Our robot, Sam Shark, has officially left our hands! We got a lot of practicing done during our last day of Crunch Weekend, but sadly Sam Shark had to leave us at 4:30 to be crated up and shipped away, just waiting to meet us at the Baltimore Convention Center for the Chesapeake Regional.
So we can all rest, our next meetings aren't until March. We will have a meeting on March 1 and March 3 from 5:30 until 8. We will go to the New Jersey Regional on Saturday from 7am until 7pm to observe and get a feel for what this year's game is played. It will also give the veteran students a chance to introduce our rookie members to the pits and to the competitions before we actually are in the middle of our own.
The students have some homework between now and Tuesday:
- The pre-scouting information must be completed and emailed to Sam.
- The robot book must have the different sections completed.
* Jaw - Rachel and Dana
* Ladder - Ally and Christian
* Drive System - Mat and Jakob
* Electronics/Pneumatics - Sam and Gain
* Programming - Nick
* Minibot & Deployment - Christian and Mike
* Bumpers - Issa
* Safety Features - Rachel
The robot book is useful when a judge comes to talk to the students because if they are unsure of an answer, they are able to grab the book to use as a reference or as a quick reminder. Plus, it'll show the judges that the team is prepared with a helpful guide.
There is Sam Shark on our last day! We are all very excited to be back with Sam Shark soon!
24 days until Chesapeake! 52 days until Philadelphia! 64 days until Championships!
-Sam
So we can all rest, our next meetings aren't until March. We will have a meeting on March 1 and March 3 from 5:30 until 8. We will go to the New Jersey Regional on Saturday from 7am until 7pm to observe and get a feel for what this year's game is played. It will also give the veteran students a chance to introduce our rookie members to the pits and to the competitions before we actually are in the middle of our own.
The students have some homework between now and Tuesday:
- The pre-scouting information must be completed and emailed to Sam.
- The robot book must have the different sections completed.
* Jaw - Rachel and Dana
* Ladder - Ally and Christian
* Drive System - Mat and Jakob
* Electronics/Pneumatics - Sam and Gain
* Programming - Nick
* Minibot & Deployment - Christian and Mike
* Bumpers - Issa
* Safety Features - Rachel
The robot book is useful when a judge comes to talk to the students because if they are unsure of an answer, they are able to grab the book to use as a reference or as a quick reminder. Plus, it'll show the judges that the team is prepared with a helpful guide.
There is Sam Shark on our last day! We are all very excited to be back with Sam Shark soon!
24 days until Chesapeake! 52 days until Philadelphia! 64 days until Championships!
-Sam
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Team Update: February 20, 2011 (Sunday of Crunch Weekend)
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: With all the visitors today, watch your surroundings and make sure you and our visitors are being safe.
We changed from the omni wheels to the slick wheels we used in 2009 for Lunacy to help with traction.
While practicing today, we managed to flip the robot on its side and when we did that, we broke the plexiglass connectors that held the jaw on the robot. We had to take the robot back to the workshop to make a set of replacements.
We practiced all afternoon (minus when we had to fix the robot) and have a record of 6 tubes hung (Rachel driving and Sammy operating). We are close to our goal of 9 tubes in 2 minutes! Tomorrow we are just driving.
At the end of the meeting, the robot weighed in at 110.2 pounds without the bumpers, battery, or minibot things.
Thanks Mrs. Danner for breakfast and lunch today! Our next meeting is tomorrow from 9am til 5pm.
1 day left until we ship!
-Sammy
Safety Contact: With all the visitors today, watch your surroundings and make sure you and our visitors are being safe.
We changed from the omni wheels to the slick wheels we used in 2009 for Lunacy to help with traction.
While practicing today, we managed to flip the robot on its side and when we did that, we broke the plexiglass connectors that held the jaw on the robot. We had to take the robot back to the workshop to make a set of replacements.
We practiced all afternoon (minus when we had to fix the robot) and have a record of 6 tubes hung (Rachel driving and Sammy operating). We are close to our goal of 9 tubes in 2 minutes! Tomorrow we are just driving.
At the end of the meeting, the robot weighed in at 110.2 pounds without the bumpers, battery, or minibot things.
Thanks Mrs. Danner for breakfast and lunch today! Our next meeting is tomorrow from 9am til 5pm.
1 day left until we ship!
-Sammy
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Team Update: February 19, 2011 (Sat. of Crunch Weekend)
Hi everyone!
We solved one of our problems today by adding an additional motor to each gearbox on the robot, making it much more drivable.
-We practiced driving in Davidow
-Electrical Team: cleaned up wires, worked on mounting new motors, labeled the PD board
-Minibot Team: finished the minibot with a solid frame; it now climbs in under 4 seconds, but will be sped up; the deployment mechanism is almost complete
-Programming Team: changed code to use four motors, worked on fixing bugs, tested autonomous
-Shark tooth handouts were made, and the paint job on the robot was touched up
Thanks to Issa for breakfast and Sam for dinner. We will be meeting again tomorrow from 10 AM to 5 PM.
2 more days till we ship!
-Nick
We solved one of our problems today by adding an additional motor to each gearbox on the robot, making it much more drivable.
-We practiced driving in Davidow
-Electrical Team: cleaned up wires, worked on mounting new motors, labeled the PD board
-Minibot Team: finished the minibot with a solid frame; it now climbs in under 4 seconds, but will be sped up; the deployment mechanism is almost complete
-Programming Team: changed code to use four motors, worked on fixing bugs, tested autonomous
-Shark tooth handouts were made, and the paint job on the robot was touched up
Thanks to Issa for breakfast and Sam for dinner. We will be meeting again tomorrow from 10 AM to 5 PM.
2 more days till we ship!
-Nick
Friday, February 18, 2011
2011 Build Season Teasers
Here are some teaser pics for some people out there...
Holding the square tube...
Scott and Jakob working on the 2010 robot so we could see whether the 2011 robot could be toppled easily
It looks different now...
There is our driver's station during practice one day
The jaw!
Blue with yellow polka dots??
The Minibot looks different now too.
More pics to follow in a couple days! And maybe even a video or two...Stop by Saturday, Sunday, or Monday to see the robot before it ships if you are in the area of Salem Community College!
A LOT different.
More pics to follow in a couple days! And maybe even a video or two...Stop by Saturday, Sunday, or Monday to see the robot before it ships if you are in the area of Salem Community College!
Team Update: February 18, 2011 (Friday of Crunch Weekend)
Hi everyone!
Today was a long day for those who were in the workshop all day. The rest of crunch weekend will be the same way due to the amount of time we are in the workshop each day and the increased amount of stress with the due date looming closer. Which leads us to our Safety Contact for today.
Safety Contact: If at any point during the weekend you feel tired or overworked, take a break and drink some water, sit and relax for a few minutes, or do something to get back up to the level you need to be at to work safely. We don't want anything to happen to anyone due to being tired or not feeling right.
Programming team: added a "travel" mode that is used to set up for a match and for playing defense and cleaned up and commented code.
Minibot team: worked on the gearing system and is attempting to make the minibot faster.
Electrical team: cleaned up wires and wired up new sensors.
We did get some time to practice driving tonight. There were some few problems with a delay from the driver's station to the robot near the end.
The plan is to go to BCIT tomorrow to practice with a few other teams. Students must have a permission slip in order to go. We are wearing our black practice shirts (plain black shirts for anyone who does not have a practice shirt). If any of the veteran students have an extra black practice shirt, please bring it tomorrow for a new student to wear.
Tomorrow we meet from 9am - 9pm with a planned trip to BCIT from 11am - 3pm.
4 days til Build Season is over!
-Sam
Today was a long day for those who were in the workshop all day. The rest of crunch weekend will be the same way due to the amount of time we are in the workshop each day and the increased amount of stress with the due date looming closer. Which leads us to our Safety Contact for today.
Safety Contact: If at any point during the weekend you feel tired or overworked, take a break and drink some water, sit and relax for a few minutes, or do something to get back up to the level you need to be at to work safely. We don't want anything to happen to anyone due to being tired or not feeling right.
Programming team: added a "travel" mode that is used to set up for a match and for playing defense and cleaned up and commented code.
Minibot team: worked on the gearing system and is attempting to make the minibot faster.
Electrical team: cleaned up wires and wired up new sensors.
We did get some time to practice driving tonight. There were some few problems with a delay from the driver's station to the robot near the end.
The plan is to go to BCIT tomorrow to practice with a few other teams. Students must have a permission slip in order to go. We are wearing our black practice shirts (plain black shirts for anyone who does not have a practice shirt). If any of the veteran students have an extra black practice shirt, please bring it tomorrow for a new student to wear.
Tomorrow we meet from 9am - 9pm with a planned trip to BCIT from 11am - 3pm.
4 days til Build Season is over!
-Sam
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Team Update: February 17, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: When moving field equipment, take your time and be careful about your actions and surroundings.
Issa: made shark and template for bumpers.
Electrical: cleaned up wires and will continue to tomorrow.
Minibot: the minibot was modified with two motors. Appropriate fittings were made to run the minibot by itself. The minibot ran up the pole in 3.7 seconds today. There was a plan to make a gearing system to have it run in 1.8 seconds. The deployment system is ready to use with a pole release system. The total time will be around 2 seconds total.
Programming: software updates, reimaged the cRio, tested autonomous, and finalized the mounting of sensors and camera.
The robot has been painted! Our robot is named Sam Shark this year, so we designed our robot to look like a shark. We modeled Sam Shark off of the Whale Shark, however we modified it to fit our ideas. The robot is all blue. Here is a preview of what we have done:
The claw has teeth! The red is to accent the white teeth and make sure it is seen from the stands.
The Whale Shark has dots on it...so we accented our robot with yellow dots to match our shirt.
Our next meeting is tomorrow from 9am til 9pm. Thanks Mrs. Cardona for dinner tonight. Tomorrow Mrs. Rodriguez is providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Crunch weekend has officially begun! 5 more days until ship!
-Sam
Safety Contact: When moving field equipment, take your time and be careful about your actions and surroundings.
Issa: made shark and template for bumpers.
Electrical: cleaned up wires and will continue to tomorrow.
Minibot: the minibot was modified with two motors. Appropriate fittings were made to run the minibot by itself. The minibot ran up the pole in 3.7 seconds today. There was a plan to make a gearing system to have it run in 1.8 seconds. The deployment system is ready to use with a pole release system. The total time will be around 2 seconds total.
Programming: software updates, reimaged the cRio, tested autonomous, and finalized the mounting of sensors and camera.
The robot has been painted! Our robot is named Sam Shark this year, so we designed our robot to look like a shark. We modeled Sam Shark off of the Whale Shark, however we modified it to fit our ideas. The robot is all blue. Here is a preview of what we have done:
Our next meeting is tomorrow from 9am til 9pm. Thanks Mrs. Cardona for dinner tonight. Tomorrow Mrs. Rodriguez is providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Crunch weekend has officially begun! 5 more days until ship!
-Sam
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Team Update: February 15, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: If you need to stand on a chair to reach something, do not stand on a wheely chair and always make sure someone is spotting you.
Programming team: tested line following sensors and tested the autonomous code.
Mike and Christian worked on the minibot deployment and came up with a scissor extenders as a possibility.
Dana and Rachel worked on another idea for the minibot deployment.
Ally made selenoid braces.
Bumber team: have finished 2 bumpers.
The website has been updated to include more accurate student information and the link for the blog has been included. Please look at the website to make sure everything is accurate. If something needs to be changed, please email Michelle or Sammy with the corrections.
Thanks to Mrs. Cardona for dinner tonight! The next meeting for everyone is Thursday. The girls will be in the workshop tomorrow night around 5:30 to paint the robot.
7 more days until ship!!
-Sam
Safety Contact: If you need to stand on a chair to reach something, do not stand on a wheely chair and always make sure someone is spotting you.
Programming team: tested line following sensors and tested the autonomous code.
Mike and Christian worked on the minibot deployment and came up with a scissor extenders as a possibility.
Dana and Rachel worked on another idea for the minibot deployment.
Ally made selenoid braces.
Bumber team: have finished 2 bumpers.
The website has been updated to include more accurate student information and the link for the blog has been included. Please look at the website to make sure everything is accurate. If something needs to be changed, please email Michelle or Sammy with the corrections.
Thanks to Mrs. Cardona for dinner tonight! The next meeting for everyone is Thursday. The girls will be in the workshop tomorrow night around 5:30 to paint the robot.
7 more days until ship!!
-Sam
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Team Update: February 12, 2011
Hi everyone,
Safety Contact:
1) When working with machinery, make sure long hair is pulled back.
2) Safety glasses are required when operating or working near the robot.
3) Be careful not to stretch bungees too tight as they could snap back and injure you.
-Minibot Team: finally got the minibot to climb the tower with the battery attached, but it was slow
-Claw Team: fixed the issue with the claw that caused the bottom part to twist
-Programming/Sensor Team: created a mount for the line tracking sensors, tested using limit switches to pick up tubes
-Electrical Team:worked on and tested 2010 robot, worked with programming team on wiring sensors
-The bumpers are almost finished
Thank you Dana for breakfast and Issa for lunch. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, February 12.
10 days till ship,
-Nick
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Team Update: February 10, 2011
Hi everyone,
We were able to practice driving/operating the robot tonight in Davidow.
-Electrical team: worked on wiring 2010 robot
-Programming Team: tuned arm heights; testing; debugging; removed one semi-major bug that caused the claw to not respond on the first try
-Minibot Team: tested the Minibot; it was able to climb the tower in 3 seconds
-Claw/Arm Team: worked on mounting stops and is fixing the bottom part of the claw that keeps twisting
-The material for the bumpers was cut
Thanks to Mat for dinner. Our next meeting is on Saturday at 8:30.
12 more days left of build season,
-Nick
We were able to practice driving/operating the robot tonight in Davidow.
-Electrical team: worked on wiring 2010 robot
-Programming Team: tuned arm heights; testing; debugging; removed one semi-major bug that caused the claw to not respond on the first try
-Minibot Team: tested the Minibot; it was able to climb the tower in 3 seconds
-Claw/Arm Team: worked on mounting stops and is fixing the bottom part of the claw that keeps twisting
-The material for the bumpers was cut
Thanks to Mat for dinner. Our next meeting is on Saturday at 8:30.
12 more days left of build season,
-Nick
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Team Update: February 9, 2011
Hi everyone!
Tonight we took the robot to Davidow and practiced. We even got the FIRST Logo on the top pegs!
The programming team worked out some bugs and continued to test things.
The electrical team worked on finishing the driver's station for the 2010 robot. They also worked on wiring the limit switch for the telescope.
The minibot team was working on the deployment mechanism.
Our next meeting is tomorrow at 4:30.
13 more days til ship!
-Sam
Tonight we took the robot to Davidow and practiced. We even got the FIRST Logo on the top pegs!
The programming team worked out some bugs and continued to test things.
The electrical team worked on finishing the driver's station for the 2010 robot. They also worked on wiring the limit switch for the telescope.
The minibot team was working on the deployment mechanism.
Our next meeting is tomorrow at 4:30.
13 more days til ship!
-Sam
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Team Update: February 8, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: With the strong winds tonight, be careful driving and be sure to pay attention to the wind that might be pushing your car. and remember that with a taller car, it easier for the wind to push your car because there is more surface area for the wind.
The electrical team wired up last year's robot with the 2008 control system. They still have to finish with the operator's system and work with the programming team to make sure the right code is in the robot, but once that is all done, they will be ready for tomorrow's challenge.
The programming team reimaged the cRio and tested the entire 2011 robot.
The minibot team has been working on the deployment system for the minibot.
The bumper team worked on gluing the pool noodles onto the plywood to finish the bumpers.
The rest of the students not on one of these three teams were migrating and helping the three major teams with progress.
Tomorrow is going to be the Battle of the Bots. The plan is to take the 2010 robot (with 2008 controls) and put it up against the 2011 robot. The 2010 robot is going to be used to test the center of gravity of the 2011 robot to see if it can be toppled easily.
Thanks Mat for bringing dinner tonight! Our next meeting is tomorrow, Feb. 9, at 4:30.
Hope everyone has a good night!
14 days left of Build Season...
-Sam
Safety Contact: With the strong winds tonight, be careful driving and be sure to pay attention to the wind that might be pushing your car. and remember that with a taller car, it easier for the wind to push your car because there is more surface area for the wind.
The electrical team wired up last year's robot with the 2008 control system. They still have to finish with the operator's system and work with the programming team to make sure the right code is in the robot, but once that is all done, they will be ready for tomorrow's challenge.
The programming team reimaged the cRio and tested the entire 2011 robot.
The minibot team has been working on the deployment system for the minibot.
The bumper team worked on gluing the pool noodles onto the plywood to finish the bumpers.
The rest of the students not on one of these three teams were migrating and helping the three major teams with progress.
Tomorrow is going to be the Battle of the Bots. The plan is to take the 2010 robot (with 2008 controls) and put it up against the 2011 robot. The 2010 robot is going to be used to test the center of gravity of the 2011 robot to see if it can be toppled easily.
Thanks Mat for bringing dinner tonight! Our next meeting is tomorrow, Feb. 9, at 4:30.
Hope everyone has a good night!
14 days left of Build Season...
-Sam
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Team Update: February 6, 2011
Hi everyone!
Everything that is currently on the robot right now is wired up and running. The soleniods have to be mounted and wired soon. As soon as those are on the robot, more progress with the pneumatics can be made.
Major progress has been made on the minibot.
Issa was taking apart the bumpers to then redo them so we are following the rule that we cannot use things on the robot that were fabricated for a previous year.
We received 2 more new batteries for this year, so now we have a total of 7 batteries that are operating properly.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday at 4:30.
See everyone on Tuesday!
-Sam
Everything that is currently on the robot right now is wired up and running. The soleniods have to be mounted and wired soon. As soon as those are on the robot, more progress with the pneumatics can be made.
Major progress has been made on the minibot.
Issa was taking apart the bumpers to then redo them so we are following the rule that we cannot use things on the robot that were fabricated for a previous year.
We received 2 more new batteries for this year, so now we have a total of 7 batteries that are operating properly.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday at 4:30.
See everyone on Tuesday!
-Sam
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Team Update: February 3, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: Be careful when driving at night of deer, other animals, and people walking around on the roads, especially when on a road with no street lights or very little lighting.
Programming Team: continued revision of Teleop program, tested Minibot code, examined potential autonomous problem.
Claw Team: worked on putting double hinge on. They are now working on mounting the claw onto the trolley.
Electrical Team: put the main breaker on the robot, mounted the power distribution board, and worked on hooking up the battery plug wires to the breaker and the power distribution board.
Drive Train Team: the spacers are almost ready, one motor is attached, started to mount the wheels.
Christian: added the motor to the Minibot and talked to the programming team about the Minibot program.
Jakob: helped Mr. Weick cut and drill and file metal pieces for the new motor mounts and helped Mat with the axle mounts.
Ally: helped the electrical team mount the necessary pieces and helped other team members with tasks.
Michael: helped other team members with tasks.
As a reminder to everybody: if you see something that is against the rules or might be a problem, speak up so we don't lose time making something that is not legal for the robot. Also, if you think you might know an easier way to solve a problem we are having, offer it to the rest of the team or to whoever is working on the project. No suggestions are wrong and your idea could save time, weight, and space.
Thank you Gain for dinner tonight! Our next meeting is Saturday morning at 8:30. Our goal is to be driving by Sunday, so make sure that when you are at the workshop you are working hard so we can accomplish this goal.
19 more days left in Build Season!
-Samantha
Safety Contact: Be careful when driving at night of deer, other animals, and people walking around on the roads, especially when on a road with no street lights or very little lighting.
Programming Team: continued revision of Teleop program, tested Minibot code, examined potential autonomous problem.
Claw Team: worked on putting double hinge on. They are now working on mounting the claw onto the trolley.
Electrical Team: put the main breaker on the robot, mounted the power distribution board, and worked on hooking up the battery plug wires to the breaker and the power distribution board.
Drive Train Team: the spacers are almost ready, one motor is attached, started to mount the wheels.
Christian: added the motor to the Minibot and talked to the programming team about the Minibot program.
Jakob: helped Mr. Weick cut and drill and file metal pieces for the new motor mounts and helped Mat with the axle mounts.
Ally: helped the electrical team mount the necessary pieces and helped other team members with tasks.
Michael: helped other team members with tasks.
As a reminder to everybody: if you see something that is against the rules or might be a problem, speak up so we don't lose time making something that is not legal for the robot. Also, if you think you might know an easier way to solve a problem we are having, offer it to the rest of the team or to whoever is working on the project. No suggestions are wrong and your idea could save time, weight, and space.
Thank you Gain for dinner tonight! Our next meeting is Saturday morning at 8:30. Our goal is to be driving by Sunday, so make sure that when you are at the workshop you are working hard so we can accomplish this goal.
19 more days left in Build Season!
-Samantha
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Team Update: February 2, 2011
Hi everyone!
Hope everyone's Groundhog's Day was great!
Safety Contact: Make sure to unplug machinery when doing any repairs.
The frame was in the workshop tonight, so things were moving like crazy in the workshop.
The programming team rewrote the program for the teleop and autonmous to account for the robot being unstable when the telescope is forward. They also reimaged the Classmate.
The drive system team created a new set of wheels and spacers, made spare spacers and everything else to mount.
The claw team made a new hinge for the claw.
We had some people working individually on different projects as well.
Michael: precisely milled, drilled, and bolted the trolley to the telescope.
Jakob: helped Mr. Weick with the mounting of the telescope motor.
Ally: worked on mounting things and cutting metal for later mountings.
Christian: worked on the minibot.
Samantha: worked with Mr. Fordham in starting electrical work.
Thanks to Rachel's grandmother for bringing dinner tonight! Our next meeting is tomorrow at 4:30.
Also, please keep Rev. Strickland (Samantha's grandfather) in your thoughts for the next couple weeks. Yesterday morning he slipped on the ice and fractured his ankle. He is currently at Cooper University Hospital and is under the care of some of the top doctors on the East Coast. But please keep him in your thoughts as he recovers from this injury.
See everyone tomorrow!
-Sam
Hope everyone's Groundhog's Day was great!
Safety Contact: Make sure to unplug machinery when doing any repairs.
The frame was in the workshop tonight, so things were moving like crazy in the workshop.
The programming team rewrote the program for the teleop and autonmous to account for the robot being unstable when the telescope is forward. They also reimaged the Classmate.
The drive system team created a new set of wheels and spacers, made spare spacers and everything else to mount.
The claw team made a new hinge for the claw.
We had some people working individually on different projects as well.
Michael: precisely milled, drilled, and bolted the trolley to the telescope.
Jakob: helped Mr. Weick with the mounting of the telescope motor.
Ally: worked on mounting things and cutting metal for later mountings.
Christian: worked on the minibot.
Samantha: worked with Mr. Fordham in starting electrical work.
Thanks to Rachel's grandmother for bringing dinner tonight! Our next meeting is tomorrow at 4:30.
Also, please keep Rev. Strickland (Samantha's grandfather) in your thoughts for the next couple weeks. Yesterday morning he slipped on the ice and fractured his ankle. He is currently at Cooper University Hospital and is under the care of some of the top doctors on the East Coast. But please keep him in your thoughts as he recovers from this injury.
See everyone tomorrow!
-Sam
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: be aware of surroundings and pay attention to where your arms/fingers/legs are in relation to machinery.
The programming team is 99.9% done with the basic robot program.
The drive train team has finished two sets of wheels (not including the omni wheels that are already done) and they have all the necessary parts to put the drive system on the robot.
The claw team has new permanant parts and is stronger and better than before.
The telescoping is 3 times faster than it was on Saturday and the motor does not tack anymore.
Ally and Christian were at Mr. Weick's tonight working on the frame. They have the whole frame tacked together and it's almost done. They just have a few more beads to complete.
Thanks Mrs. George for dinner tonight! Our next meeting is scheduled for tomorrow night at 4:30. That being said, be on the look out for a text or email from Mrs. George tomorrow if we are unable to have our meeting due to the ice and/or snow. And as always, even if we have a meeting, if you do not feel that you can safely arrive at the workshop, please do not risk coming. Your safety is more important than the robot being built.
22 more days until ship date!
-Sam
Safety Contact: be aware of surroundings and pay attention to where your arms/fingers/legs are in relation to machinery.
The programming team is 99.9% done with the basic robot program.
The drive train team has finished two sets of wheels (not including the omni wheels that are already done) and they have all the necessary parts to put the drive system on the robot.
The claw team has new permanant parts and is stronger and better than before.
The telescoping is 3 times faster than it was on Saturday and the motor does not tack anymore.
Ally and Christian were at Mr. Weick's tonight working on the frame. They have the whole frame tacked together and it's almost done. They just have a few more beads to complete.
Thanks Mrs. George for dinner tonight! Our next meeting is scheduled for tomorrow night at 4:30. That being said, be on the look out for a text or email from Mrs. George tomorrow if we are unable to have our meeting due to the ice and/or snow. And as always, even if we have a meeting, if you do not feel that you can safely arrive at the workshop, please do not risk coming. Your safety is more important than the robot being built.
22 more days until ship date!
-Sam
We're working hard!
Here at the workshop, we are working very hard to get this robot done! Take a look at what we've been doing:
Ally is working hard to dremmel something from Sam and Mat.
Dana is dremmeling while Rachel is...doing nothing? haha she claims she was supervising. And she really was helping Dana out.
Issa is hard at work drilling holes to get our robot on wheels when the frame is done.
And so is Jakob!
Can't argue when you have a senior helping a freshman on a project!!
We only have 22 more days left of Build Season!! We are hoping to get no more snow...but of course, not sure we're going to luck out on that...We can always hope though!
We only have 22 more days left of Build Season!! We are hoping to get no more snow...but of course, not sure we're going to luck out on that...We can always hope though!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Team Update: January 29, 2011
Hi everyone,
We decided today to change our drivetrain from mecanum to 2-motor drive with castors so we can use a CIM motor for the telescope and lose some weight.
Minibot team: worked on the minibot assembly; just have to put on wheels and a motor.
Drivetrain team: wheels are nearly constructed, a motor mount was built and spacers were made for the other mounts.
Programming team: Changed the code from using a 4-motor to a 2-motor drive system, fine-tuned the telescope/arm controls, began work on vision code, and wrote code for the minibot.
Claw team: finished attaching the hinges to the trolley device and then mounted a cylinder to it; in addition, support struts were made for it.
Also, work was started on the frame and the castors.
Thanks to Sammy for breakfast and Mikey for lunch. Our next meeting is on Monday, Jan 30 at 4:30 p.m.
24 days left of build season
-Nick
We decided today to change our drivetrain from mecanum to 2-motor drive with castors so we can use a CIM motor for the telescope and lose some weight.
Minibot team: worked on the minibot assembly; just have to put on wheels and a motor.
Drivetrain team: wheels are nearly constructed, a motor mount was built and spacers were made for the other mounts.
Programming team: Changed the code from using a 4-motor to a 2-motor drive system, fine-tuned the telescope/arm controls, began work on vision code, and wrote code for the minibot.
Claw team: finished attaching the hinges to the trolley device and then mounted a cylinder to it; in addition, support struts were made for it.
Also, work was started on the frame and the castors.
Thanks to Sammy for breakfast and Mikey for lunch. Our next meeting is on Monday, Jan 30 at 4:30 p.m.
24 days left of build season
-Nick
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Let's earn some money!
Hi everyone!
As some as you may know, last year we registered with the website GoodSearch.com in order to help raise money. GoodSearch is pretty simple to use: You use it as you would Google, except before you start looking things up, you have to first make sure you have selected South Jersey Robotics as your charity/group you are GoodSearching for. For each search you do, we will receive $0.01 via the advertisements on the webpages. In order to maximize our earnings, I just recently found another website that we can use to earn money. The new website is iGive.com. As with GoodSearch, the only thing necessary to make sure we receive the money is that you put that you are searching for South Jersey Robotics. Again, each search will earn us $0.01. As with GoodSearch, searching for images or videos will not earn us any money, nor will searching for well-known websites.
Please use GoodSearch or iGive instead of Google to help support us! both GoodSearch and iGive are just as reliable as Google is and will earn us money. Ask your friends and family members to use them as well. Get the word out that we are trying to raise money and they can help without even spending a penny themselves.
-Sammy
As some as you may know, last year we registered with the website GoodSearch.com in order to help raise money. GoodSearch is pretty simple to use: You use it as you would Google, except before you start looking things up, you have to first make sure you have selected South Jersey Robotics as your charity/group you are GoodSearching for. For each search you do, we will receive $0.01 via the advertisements on the webpages. In order to maximize our earnings, I just recently found another website that we can use to earn money. The new website is iGive.com. As with GoodSearch, the only thing necessary to make sure we receive the money is that you put that you are searching for South Jersey Robotics. Again, each search will earn us $0.01. As with GoodSearch, searching for images or videos will not earn us any money, nor will searching for well-known websites.
Please use GoodSearch or iGive instead of Google to help support us! both GoodSearch and iGive are just as reliable as Google is and will earn us money. Ask your friends and family members to use them as well. Get the word out that we are trying to raise money and they can help without even spending a penny themselves.
-Sammy
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Team Update: January 25, 2011
Safety Contact: Be careful to avoid splinters when handling wood.
Drive train team: finished putting together the last gearbox and is working on finding gears and sprockets for the Weick Wheels.
Programming team: finished writing basic control systems code, tested winch and encoder, and tested pneumatic systems.
Telescoping team: tweaked the telescope and threaded it with the cable. They powered it with the CIM motor and tested it. It works, although it needs more tweaking.
Claw team: finished prototype
Our next meeting is tomorrow night. As of right now, we are planning on meeting at 5:30. Check your email/text messages tomorrow to see if Mrs. George has sent out something about a change in time or a cancellation due to weather.
Thank you, Sammy, for bringing dinner tonight. Tomorrow night Dana is bringing dinner.
Good luck to everyone who is taking finals or midterms this week!
-Sammy
Drive train team: finished putting together the last gearbox and is working on finding gears and sprockets for the Weick Wheels.
Programming team: finished writing basic control systems code, tested winch and encoder, and tested pneumatic systems.
Telescoping team: tweaked the telescope and threaded it with the cable. They powered it with the CIM motor and tested it. It works, although it needs more tweaking.
Claw team: finished prototype
Our next meeting is tomorrow night. As of right now, we are planning on meeting at 5:30. Check your email/text messages tomorrow to see if Mrs. George has sent out something about a change in time or a cancellation due to weather.
Thank you, Sammy, for bringing dinner tonight. Tomorrow night Dana is bringing dinner.
Good luck to everyone who is taking finals or midterms this week!
-Sammy
Friday, January 21, 2011
Team Update: January 20, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: 1) When filing and de-burring, wear gloves for protection. 2) With the expected weather for this weekend, be very careful driving and walking with the snow and ice on the ground.
We had a very productive night tonight. We took the 2010 robot and the demo bot that was built in the beginning of Build Season to test the different sets of wheels. By majority vote, the team decided on mecanum wheels for the robot.
The drive system team cut metal to be used for the frame and started to file the metal to be welded.
The telescoping team finished with the mast and have tested it to make sure that it works.
The claw team finished their prototype that is able to pick up the tubes.
The sensor team tested using encoders and tested the code to run the telescoping arm.
For next week, we are meeting on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during the week and Saturday. We want to be ahead of schedule rather than behind schedule and rushing. So, let's make use of the two extra days this upcoming week.
Weather permitting, the seniors have requested to be able to get into the workshop tomorrow to cut more metal and file the metal with Mr. Don. As long as the workshop is open and the roads are safe to drive on, the plan is to meet at the college at 9 to work. If anyone has off from school tomorrow and would like to get things moving, please come to the workshop at 9 tomorrow morning. If a ride is necessary, contact one of the seniors to work out transportation. Definite details will go out tomorrow morning to all the students and parents as they are determined.
As a reminder to all students, if you are unable to make a meeting, make sure to tell Mrs. George you won't be there and also contact the rest of your subteam and make sure they know what you were going to do so there will be progress even though you won't be there. Also, ask your subteam what they did and what is the plan for the next meeting and if you were assigned anything so you are not standing around lost and confused when you do come back.
Below is the probable shirt for this season. If any of the students or mentors do not like the shirt, please offer another suggestion by Saturday to Mrs. Danner. In order for the shirt to be used, Mrs. Danner must be able to spot us in the stands if she is on the floor. As Mrs. Danner has stressed, we are daring to be exceptional. We do not want to blend in with the rest of the stands, so we are going to be as noticable as MOE is. Obviously not the same color though. :-)
Safety Contact: 1) When filing and de-burring, wear gloves for protection. 2) With the expected weather for this weekend, be very careful driving and walking with the snow and ice on the ground.
We had a very productive night tonight. We took the 2010 robot and the demo bot that was built in the beginning of Build Season to test the different sets of wheels. By majority vote, the team decided on mecanum wheels for the robot.
The drive system team cut metal to be used for the frame and started to file the metal to be welded.
The telescoping team finished with the mast and have tested it to make sure that it works.
The claw team finished their prototype that is able to pick up the tubes.
The sensor team tested using encoders and tested the code to run the telescoping arm.
For next week, we are meeting on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during the week and Saturday. We want to be ahead of schedule rather than behind schedule and rushing. So, let's make use of the two extra days this upcoming week.
Weather permitting, the seniors have requested to be able to get into the workshop tomorrow to cut more metal and file the metal with Mr. Don. As long as the workshop is open and the roads are safe to drive on, the plan is to meet at the college at 9 to work. If anyone has off from school tomorrow and would like to get things moving, please come to the workshop at 9 tomorrow morning. If a ride is necessary, contact one of the seniors to work out transportation. Definite details will go out tomorrow morning to all the students and parents as they are determined.
As a reminder to all students, if you are unable to make a meeting, make sure to tell Mrs. George you won't be there and also contact the rest of your subteam and make sure they know what you were going to do so there will be progress even though you won't be there. Also, ask your subteam what they did and what is the plan for the next meeting and if you were assigned anything so you are not standing around lost and confused when you do come back.
Below is the probable shirt for this season. If any of the students or mentors do not like the shirt, please offer another suggestion by Saturday to Mrs. Danner. In order for the shirt to be used, Mrs. Danner must be able to spot us in the stands if she is on the floor. As Mrs. Danner has stressed, we are daring to be exceptional. We do not want to blend in with the rest of the stands, so we are going to be as noticable as MOE is. Obviously not the same color though. :-)
Our next meeting is on Saturday at 8:30 am. Please note the time so everyone is there on time.
Hope everyone has had a wonderful week!
-Sam
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Team Update: January 18, 2011
Hi everyone!
Hope everyone's weekend was great!
The claw team worked on a final prototype and are almost finished it.
The programming/sensor team set up a 4 motor arcade drive system with an adjustable sensitivity, finished setting up the 2011 control system, and started working on code to run an arm.
The telescoping team built a new, less friction telescope. They are almost finished the new sliders.
The drive train team finished the new drive train and tested it. The new design they tested was having omni wheels in the front and back and traction wheels in the middle that were powered.
Thank you Mrs. Marandola for dinner tonight! The next meeting will be on Thursday from 4:30 until 9.
Good luck to all the seniors going to Rowan!
-Sam
Hope everyone's weekend was great!
The claw team worked on a final prototype and are almost finished it.
The programming/sensor team set up a 4 motor arcade drive system with an adjustable sensitivity, finished setting up the 2011 control system, and started working on code to run an arm.
The telescoping team built a new, less friction telescope. They are almost finished the new sliders.
The drive train team finished the new drive train and tested it. The new design they tested was having omni wheels in the front and back and traction wheels in the middle that were powered.
Thank you Mrs. Marandola for dinner tonight! The next meeting will be on Thursday from 4:30 until 9.
Good luck to all the seniors going to Rowan!
-Sam
Friday, January 14, 2011
Team Update: January 13, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact: Keep wires above eye level. Make sure you are always wearing your safety glasses.
The claw team completed both of their prototypes. They have two different designs. One design can pick up tubes vertically and the other design can pick up tubes horizontally.
The sensor team configured the new gaming adaptor, finished installing all the current software, reclaimed a 5 GB partition of the Classmates hard drive, and did more testing with the sensors.
The telescoping team worked on their prototype, a drum and motor combination, and also gearboxes.
The drive train team put chains on the wheels and got all of the electrical components on the robot and on the drivers' station wired up. They are trying to figure out how to get the robot to move so they can test the drive train they have on right now. Their homework to do between now and Saturday is to research the 2007 control panel.
Thank you Mrs. Davenport for bringing dinner! Our next meeting is on Saturday from 9 until 2. As a reminder, the Georges are bringing breakfast and the Petersons are bringing lunch.
Hope everyone has a great day!
-Sam
Safety Contact: Keep wires above eye level. Make sure you are always wearing your safety glasses.
The claw team completed both of their prototypes. They have two different designs. One design can pick up tubes vertically and the other design can pick up tubes horizontally.
The sensor team configured the new gaming adaptor, finished installing all the current software, reclaimed a 5 GB partition of the Classmates hard drive, and did more testing with the sensors.
The telescoping team worked on their prototype, a drum and motor combination, and also gearboxes.
The drive train team put chains on the wheels and got all of the electrical components on the robot and on the drivers' station wired up. They are trying to figure out how to get the robot to move so they can test the drive train they have on right now. Their homework to do between now and Saturday is to research the 2007 control panel.
Thank you Mrs. Davenport for bringing dinner! Our next meeting is on Saturday from 9 until 2. As a reminder, the Georges are bringing breakfast and the Petersons are bringing lunch.
Hope everyone has a great day!
-Sam
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Team Update: January 11, 2011
Hi everyone!
Safety Contact for tonight: Be careful of slippery surfaces both when walking and driving.
The drive train team tonight was working on putting the control panel on the robot and hooked up as well as mounting the battery. The wheels have been mounted. They are also working on making sure everything is aligned now.
The sensor team was downloading software, learning the different sensors and discussing uses for them in this years game. Jakob was working on making the targets in which some of the sensors will be used for.
The claw team was working on prototypes tonight.
The telescoping team was testing sliders for the telescope and were making a prototype.
Thank you Mrs. Rodriguez for dinner tonight! The meatballs were delicious. If we do have our meeting tomorrow night, the Georges are providing dinner.
Be on the lookout for a possible text about tomorrow's meeting. Even if a text does not go out, if you do not feel like you can drive to the college safely tomorrow night, please do not come. Your safety is more important than the robot. Email or text Mrs. George if you are not coming due to weather tomorrow night.
Hope everyone had a safe drive home tonight!
42 more days left of Build Season!
-Sam
Safety Contact for tonight: Be careful of slippery surfaces both when walking and driving.
The drive train team tonight was working on putting the control panel on the robot and hooked up as well as mounting the battery. The wheels have been mounted. They are also working on making sure everything is aligned now.
The sensor team was downloading software, learning the different sensors and discussing uses for them in this years game. Jakob was working on making the targets in which some of the sensors will be used for.
The claw team was working on prototypes tonight.
The telescoping team was testing sliders for the telescope and were making a prototype.
Thank you Mrs. Rodriguez for dinner tonight! The meatballs were delicious. If we do have our meeting tomorrow night, the Georges are providing dinner.
Be on the lookout for a possible text about tomorrow's meeting. Even if a text does not go out, if you do not feel like you can drive to the college safely tomorrow night, please do not come. Your safety is more important than the robot. Email or text Mrs. George if you are not coming due to weather tomorrow night.
Hope everyone had a safe drive home tonight!
42 more days left of Build Season!
-Sam
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Team Update: January 10, 2011 (Webchat)
During tonight’s webchat, the entire team discussed all the subteams and thing associated with it.
The claw team decided that they were going to power the claw using pneumatics. In trying to figure out how to keep the pneumatics from hanging down, it was discussed to have the pneumatic tubing secured with zipties (which could cause some tension) or the mesh pneumatic sleeve type thing that is periodically used to either hold the pneumatics or wires.
The drive team discussed the different systems they planned to test: tank, 2 wheel drive, rear wheel drive. They planned on not testing the mechanum wheels because they have been tested using the actual robot from 2010 and 2008 already. When the topic of mechanum wheels came up, Mikey was for them, Sammy, Rachel, and Christian were against them, and Ally was undecided about whether they should be used or not.
The telescoping team has planned to make better prototypes.
The claw team decided that they were going to power the claw using pneumatics. In trying to figure out how to keep the pneumatics from hanging down, it was discussed to have the pneumatic tubing secured with zipties (which could cause some tension) or the mesh pneumatic sleeve type thing that is periodically used to either hold the pneumatics or wires.
The drive team discussed the different systems they planned to test: tank, 2 wheel drive, rear wheel drive. They planned on not testing the mechanum wheels because they have been tested using the actual robot from 2010 and 2008 already. When the topic of mechanum wheels came up, Mikey was for them, Sammy, Rachel, and Christian were against them, and Ally was undecided about whether they should be used or not.
The telescoping team has planned to make better prototypes.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Team Update: Kick Off Weekend 2011
Hi everyone!!
I hope everyone had fun this Kick Off weekend! The best is yet to come now :) I think this year is the year we will make it to Einstein and win it!
First off, I would like to thank Michelle for the entire team for providing each student with a notebook this year. These notebooks are great ways to make sure we have everything written down for the night and will help each student get just a little more organized.
Unfortunately, no one got the right answer for the holiday challenge that Mr. Hinde and Mr. Weick gave out. The students are still able to give answers and are encouraged to. We were given three hints to help us along.
1) there is a definite number answer.
2) Mr. Weick gave the exact encoder used in this challenge
3) it may have come in the 2010 Kit of Parts in a quad
Students, keep submitting your answers! These three hints should help you find the right answer.
Our safety contact for today was that there is black ice on the roads right now. Remember that you are unable to see the black ice and can slide, no matter how careful you try to be. Also, be aware of your surroundings, especially when texting. If you are not paying attention to what is going on around you, things could take a terrible turn.
As a reminder, this year the game is LogoMotion. For those who haven't yet seen the video, below is the link to it on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSc8FWfJQlU
Today we went over our homework, which was to make a prototype of the robot for this year. We had some great designs. Some ideas for picking up and holding the tubes included a magnet design, wrist motion, and a claw. We had ideas like a rotating/pivoting arm, telescoping arm, and a bendable arm. There were many, many more ideas. All these ideas are wonderful. As stated today, please do not be discouraged if an idea is not used on the robot exactly. The robot always ends up being a mixture of many different ideas.
Certain students have been given very specific tasks this year. All of these tasks or jobs are very important to the team and how well we function.
Safety Captain: Rachel Peterson
Manual/Team Updates: Issa Cardona
Post Questions to FIRST: Christian Clour
Moniter Chief Delphi: Michael Marandola
Cell Phone/Email List: Samantha Kirk
Everyone on the team is to make sure the following list is worked on:
- every student is to have a Chief Delphi account and is to be looking on there every night for interesting things, such as solutions to a problem we are having or other problems other teams are having and the solution to their problems
- all students are to make sure they have registered on STIMS. If you haven't already registered, go to usfirst.org and click on FRC. On the left side there will be a tab called "Registration" and when scrolled over, it will have another menu availabe. Click on STIMS. New students: Click on the button for new students and follow the directions from there. Veteran students: put in your login information to update your registration.
- make sure you are looking at Bill's Blog every night- Check out the Blue Alliance for teams who successfully lifted and hung the tubes in 2007
- watch videos of the 2007 competions either using the Blue Alliance or YouTube
This week we are focusing on prototypes.
Group 1) Drive system. Mr. Fordham and Scott are in charge of this group with Sammy, Mat, and Gain working on it. They are testing different drive systems and control, such as onmi wheels, tank drive, etc. As of right now, 2 omni wheels are successfully built and the frame that came in the Kit of Parts is being built.
Group 2) Telescoping/Lift system. Mr. Weick is the mentor in charge with Christian, Ally, and Issa working on it. So far they have been messing around with the extruded aluminum and linear slides. They are thinking about doing a continuous loop with pullies.
Group 3) Claw/Hand prototype. Wayne is the mentor in charge with Mikey, Rachel, and Dana working on it. Right now they have two designs they are working with.
Group 4) Sensors. Michelle and Mr. Cardona are the mentors in charge of this group with Nick and Jakob working on it as well. The team received 3 line followers in the Kit which are supposed to sense from 20 feet away. However, the sensors cannot "see" from that far away. The group is planning on using the cameras and other sensors to pick up and/or place the tubes. Right now they have wired the line follower and have updated the classmate with the new software. They are planning on using the 2010 robot to test the line follower.
Monday night is Mentor's Night at the shop. However, the students have homework per their group that they can work on Monday night. The students have also set up a Facebook Chat that is scheduled for Monday nights.
Due to the forcasted weather for Tuesday, please be on the look out for a text from Mrs. George as to whether we will have a meeting on Tuesday. If not, the students are going to have another Facebook Chat and will also have to be searching on Chief Delphi for different things to do with their group.
Thanks to the following people for meals this weekend: Rachel (breakfast on Saturday), Sammy (lunch on Saturday), Ally (breakfast on Sunday) and Mat (lunch on Sunday). As a reminder, Nick is charge of dinner on Tuesday if we do have our meeting.
Hope everyone has a wonderful night! See everyone on Tuesday if we have a meeting!
-Sammy
I hope everyone had fun this Kick Off weekend! The best is yet to come now :) I think this year is the year we will make it to Einstein and win it!
First off, I would like to thank Michelle for the entire team for providing each student with a notebook this year. These notebooks are great ways to make sure we have everything written down for the night and will help each student get just a little more organized.
Unfortunately, no one got the right answer for the holiday challenge that Mr. Hinde and Mr. Weick gave out. The students are still able to give answers and are encouraged to. We were given three hints to help us along.
1) there is a definite number answer.
2) Mr. Weick gave the exact encoder used in this challenge
3) it may have come in the 2010 Kit of Parts in a quad
Students, keep submitting your answers! These three hints should help you find the right answer.
Our safety contact for today was that there is black ice on the roads right now. Remember that you are unable to see the black ice and can slide, no matter how careful you try to be. Also, be aware of your surroundings, especially when texting. If you are not paying attention to what is going on around you, things could take a terrible turn.
As a reminder, this year the game is LogoMotion. For those who haven't yet seen the video, below is the link to it on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSc8FWfJQlU
Today we went over our homework, which was to make a prototype of the robot for this year. We had some great designs. Some ideas for picking up and holding the tubes included a magnet design, wrist motion, and a claw. We had ideas like a rotating/pivoting arm, telescoping arm, and a bendable arm. There were many, many more ideas. All these ideas are wonderful. As stated today, please do not be discouraged if an idea is not used on the robot exactly. The robot always ends up being a mixture of many different ideas.
Certain students have been given very specific tasks this year. All of these tasks or jobs are very important to the team and how well we function.
Safety Captain: Rachel Peterson
Manual/Team Updates: Issa Cardona
Post Questions to FIRST: Christian Clour
Moniter Chief Delphi: Michael Marandola
Cell Phone/Email List: Samantha Kirk
Everyone on the team is to make sure the following list is worked on:
- every student is to have a Chief Delphi account and is to be looking on there every night for interesting things, such as solutions to a problem we are having or other problems other teams are having and the solution to their problems
- all students are to make sure they have registered on STIMS. If you haven't already registered, go to usfirst.org and click on FRC. On the left side there will be a tab called "Registration" and when scrolled over, it will have another menu availabe. Click on STIMS. New students: Click on the button for new students and follow the directions from there. Veteran students: put in your login information to update your registration.
- make sure you are looking at Bill's Blog every night- Check out the Blue Alliance for teams who successfully lifted and hung the tubes in 2007
- watch videos of the 2007 competions either using the Blue Alliance or YouTube
This week we are focusing on prototypes.
Group 1) Drive system. Mr. Fordham and Scott are in charge of this group with Sammy, Mat, and Gain working on it. They are testing different drive systems and control, such as onmi wheels, tank drive, etc. As of right now, 2 omni wheels are successfully built and the frame that came in the Kit of Parts is being built.
Group 2) Telescoping/Lift system. Mr. Weick is the mentor in charge with Christian, Ally, and Issa working on it. So far they have been messing around with the extruded aluminum and linear slides. They are thinking about doing a continuous loop with pullies.
Group 3) Claw/Hand prototype. Wayne is the mentor in charge with Mikey, Rachel, and Dana working on it. Right now they have two designs they are working with.
Group 4) Sensors. Michelle and Mr. Cardona are the mentors in charge of this group with Nick and Jakob working on it as well. The team received 3 line followers in the Kit which are supposed to sense from 20 feet away. However, the sensors cannot "see" from that far away. The group is planning on using the cameras and other sensors to pick up and/or place the tubes. Right now they have wired the line follower and have updated the classmate with the new software. They are planning on using the 2010 robot to test the line follower.
Monday night is Mentor's Night at the shop. However, the students have homework per their group that they can work on Monday night. The students have also set up a Facebook Chat that is scheduled for Monday nights.
Due to the forcasted weather for Tuesday, please be on the look out for a text from Mrs. George as to whether we will have a meeting on Tuesday. If not, the students are going to have another Facebook Chat and will also have to be searching on Chief Delphi for different things to do with their group.
Thanks to the following people for meals this weekend: Rachel (breakfast on Saturday), Sammy (lunch on Saturday), Ally (breakfast on Sunday) and Mat (lunch on Sunday). As a reminder, Nick is charge of dinner on Tuesday if we do have our meeting.
Hope everyone has a wonderful night! See everyone on Tuesday if we have a meeting!
-Sammy
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Team Update: Kick Off Homework 2011
Hi everyone!
Here is the homework that was assigned to us for tonight:
1) Make a prototype robot for our strategy - could be paper, drawing, legos, etc. Also, give how many points you think your robot will score consistently.
2) Do a search for the robots with the best arms and pick up mechanisms from the 2007 Rack 'N Roll competition. Bring in a description.
As a reminder, our strategy was: hang an uber in autonomous on the top peg. then, hang as many tubes as possible during teleoperated and deploy a mini bot in the last 10 seconds.
Be as creative as you can be. We will discuss the robot concepts tomorrow morning. Don't be discouraged if your exact robot concept is not chosen tomorrow...We pull from multiple concepts to create the best robot we can.
-Sam
Here is the homework that was assigned to us for tonight:
1) Make a prototype robot for our strategy - could be paper, drawing, legos, etc. Also, give how many points you think your robot will score consistently.
2) Do a search for the robots with the best arms and pick up mechanisms from the 2007 Rack 'N Roll competition. Bring in a description.
As a reminder, our strategy was: hang an uber in autonomous on the top peg. then, hang as many tubes as possible during teleoperated and deploy a mini bot in the last 10 seconds.
Be as creative as you can be. We will discuss the robot concepts tomorrow morning. Don't be discouraged if your exact robot concept is not chosen tomorrow...We pull from multiple concepts to create the best robot we can.
-Sam
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