Our team finished week 3 of the build season with great progress on our robot! We’ve been working tirelessly through the past few weeks and are continuing to develop a complete competition robot, ready for the upcoming Northern Lights Competition in Duluth, MN on March 3rd.
Electromechanical
One of our targets for Week 1 was to have a drivable robot by the end of the week. After accomplishing this goal with a preliminary drivetrain, members of CAD began to develop the Drivetrain mapping out the electrical control system layout. Being at the heart of our robot’s functionality, getting this part of our robot operational as soon as possible was key. The CAD team was able to assemble and finish the Drivetrain which allowed the Programming subteam to code paths to move. We also held interviews and tryouts for our competition Drive Team which were decided in Week 3.
Cargo Catapult
In addition to the strides we’ve made with our drivetrain, our Electromechanical subteam continued designing and prototyping a launching mechanism. After measurably testing a variety of designs, the entire team ultimately decided to focus on a catapult shooting mechanism over a wheeled shooter.
Endgame Climber
We also held a team vote to decide which design to continue exploring for the endgame climbing mechanism. We decided to focus on a “windmill” design and immediately started developing parts for it. Members of the Electromechanical subteam assembled “legs” that allow other pieces to be attached for our endgame. We then attached the “arms” that grasp each rung of the hangar and will be testing this design throughout Week 4.
Programming
With the general design of the robot completed, Programming has been laying the groundwork for each of the subsystems’ code functions. The catapult team finished an auto-aiming system for use in scoring game elements. Cameras on our robot can identify targets on the Hub and position the robot automatically to accurately shoot Cargo, as well as differentiate between the cargo colors. Additionally, our autonomous subteam has been planning different paths to score the most points during the beginning of each match, and the climber team has been programming an automatic climb sequence to control our windmill design during the endgame.
BEAR Bytes
The programming subteam on Team 930 has recently created a Discord server called BEAR Bytes! BEAR Bytes allows other teams from across the nation to communicate with each other and ask or answer programming-related questions. Questions can be easily answered by team members and mentors on the server. Programming members are holding the first event for BEAR Bytes on February 6th, 2022! If you are interested in joining the server, email team930@gmail.com.
Business
The Business team has made substantial progress over the past 2 weeks, organizing finances, completing multiple team documents, and making significant developments on the Team 930 2022 Business Plan. During the past two weeks, two documents were revised in order for the team to run more efficiently and smoothly. The updates to our Student Handbook allow for students and parents to learn and understand the guidelines and expectations of Team 930 members. The second document we’ve updated for the 2022 season was our Brand Standard Document. This document explains all of the imagery standards on the team for apparel, marketing materials, and team appearances.
With our first competition only a month away, we are looking forward to having a fully-functional robot for our drivers by Week 4!
