New Year, New Season, Welcome to Reefscape! It’s good to get back into the flow of a new season.
Team 930 started the year by hosting our annual kickoff event. We facilitated 10 workshops followed by all teams watching the game animation together. After the livestream ended, we ate lunch and then broke out into groups to strategize movement possibilities and robot archetypes. We are grateful that Team 8701 - GRAFFITI, Team 6574 - Ferradermis, Team 6643 - Walnuts & Bolts, and Team 5148 - New Berlin Blitz were able to join us at our kickoff event. We are excited to see what teams will do with the coral and algae!
During week one, Electromechanical ordered more material, prototyped a manipulator and intake. Then, they constructed parts of our practice field. They also developed a schedule for the CAD, Fabrication & Assembly, and Electrical teams. Focus shifted to assembly during week two: building prototypes of end-effectors (claw grabber), the coral intake and drivetrain.
CAD designed possible robot concepts in KrayonCAD during the first week. After a group meeting, the team decided on which concept to move forward with. We decided on a double joint arm on a single stage elevator and a ground intake with a climber. Then, in week two, the CAD team completed the first version of the elevator, shoulder, drivetrain, wrist, and the elbow subsystems. CAD models of the other subsystems (the end-effector (claw grabber), the intake, and the climber) are more than 75 percent complete. All models had a full design review to discuss next steps.
The Fabrication team focused on the Kitbot for the first week of practices. The Kitbot is a basic robot that FIRST provides to every team to get a jumpstart on this year’s game. Our rookies build and complete Kitbot each year so they have some practice when it comes to an actual competition bot. The Fabrication team assembled and modified KitBot parts and handmade polycarbonate plates and tubing. Additionally, they worked on assembling parts, mounting legs on outside to fit the drivebase, and bolting everything else together. In week two, Fabrication prototyped the end effector (claw grabber) and intake plates. They cut driverails, multiple elevator parts, carbon fiber tubes, and dead axles to length. Finally, they fixed the band saw blade to the true correct blade.
The Electrical team collected components and labeled them during week one. They also made an identification for the swerve drive, then ordered batteries for the competition bot. During week two, they labeled batteries, wired the robot, and ordered bonded wire, CAN wire, battery wire, and other assorted battery pieces. For our Pit, Electrical put on a battery charger and cut the butcher block.
Programming divided to create subteams under subleads in week one. They developed a schedule detailing member availability to ensure everyone is supported and goals are met. Branch standards were developed and they completed pull requests. The coral roller subsystem was completed and controls added. The programming team developed a new radio setup and Kitbot drivebase configuration. Simple autonomous routines were prepared for KitBot as well. In week two, Programming’s arm subsystem is nearing full completion! Subsystem outlines for the elevator, the intake, and the wrist were created. The LED subsystem is also done.
A major goal for the Programming team is for a more accurate simulation than last year. Students tested robot distance paths which are improving. Gains were adjusted both off SYS ID and manually; repeated testing of SYS ID and distance paths were tested for consistency. The Limelights were updated with the new Limelight and field map. The focus for next week is working on updating vision code and starting on Limelight testing.
Business started work on the sponsor banner by collecting all of our sponsors logos and arranging them on the banner image in week one. Theworkshop videos from our kickoff event were uploaded to the Team 930 YouTube channel. Finance updated the reimbursement tracker and Quickbooks. Business received some new sponsors in week two! We organized meeting time with our long time sponsor, Banker Wire. The business plan was updated and we invited our sponsors to regionals.
FIRST Impact planned tasks through the end of March! Outreach statistics were finalized for our presentation. The team finished the first draft of our FIRST Impact Essay. Executive Summaries and the FIRST Impact essay were sent to editors for feedback and changes were made. Some students also took our misprinted shirts from previous years and found new ways to turn them into dog and cat toys! Our plan is to donate them to The Humane Animal Welfare Society. Updating the FIRST Impact updated statistics and reviewing edits to FIRST Impact essay were their priority on week two.
Finally, The Strategy team researched other teams’ scouting systems and decided to use 2024 Match Scouting Metrics for data collection. They also planned out and had our Needs/Wants/Nice To Haves Discussion. There, we decided what functions and goals we wanted our robot to have. During week two, Strategy updated Google Sheets with match metrics and a list of potential partner teams was created.
Stay tuned to the Team 930 Youtube channel to watch our monthly recap video. Also watch out for our next newsletter coming in two weeks!