Robolions at Homecoming

This morning we finally made a float for the Homecoming parade. We would have made it really spectacular if we hadn't procrastinated until about forty minutes before the parade began. And by float, we mean Mr. Wurst's truck with paper wrapped around it and paint splattered on the paper. But it actually turned out pretty well, despite a few gears that looked more like suns and circuitry that looked like a bizarre window. (I'm not artistically inclined, okay? The only thing I did right was put smiley faces in the O's in ROBOTICS.)

The two newest members of our team really enjoyed themselves - they were the only ones really dancing to the music, admittedly. But their enthusiasm made up for the rest of us. One even dressed up in her own lion suit for school spirit!

Many of our members are also in the Latin club, so several of them walked with the Latin float. However, since the Latin float was right behind us, this worked out all right. And in front of us was a BUBBLES-producing bike! BUBBLES! We quite enjoyed the BUBBLES. And yes, the caps are absolutely necessary when talking about the glorious BUBBLES.

Captain Grace will probably post more about Homecoming in the near future, and her posts will most likely have pictures. So stay tuned.

On the not-so-great side, we ran out of candy about halfway through the parade, which did not endear us to many people beyond that point. And my tweed jacket got purple and orange paint on it! But neither of these really matter. The important bit is that we endorsed and advertised the Robolions robotics club, and had fun while doing it.

And don't worry - the paint will wash out.

Hello Everybody

You may have noticed that the previous post, "Butter Shows Off," was written by someone other than Robolions, Captain Grace, or danpolitte. The author of that post was me, Andrew White, and I'm one of the team's newest members. I don't want to drone on and on about myself here, because the blog's about robotics, but suffice it to say that I've joined the team because several of my closest friends have been on the team for a while now, and the more extracurriculur activities I go to, the better. Given that my true passion is for writing, rather than connecting wires, bolting together robots, and (heaven forbid) programming, we decided the best position for me was blogger. I'll be writing up an account of the latest build session every now and again, unless the other authors beat me to it. If you want to know anything additional about me (and I'd be pleasantly surprised if you actually do), you can check out my profile.

Butter Shows Off

Today at our second build session of the school year, we had the chance to take our new robot Butter for a spin and impress a few other denizens of University City High School! Two girls from the school yearbook committee happened upon our hallway, and with Charlie behind the wheel, Butter got a chance to shine - running up and down the hall, nipping at passersby's ankles, and finally ascending a long ramp... sideways!

It's from this sideways motion that Butter takes its name, though only very loosely. And by very loosely I mean REALLY loosely... When it came time to name the robot, the always-hungry boys on the team noticed its crab-like walk and thought nothing more than, "Butter goes well with crabs." This name could most likely have been averted had Captain Grace been there to inject some sanity into the proceedings, but alas she was not.

No matter how bizarre the robot's name, the yearbook girls seemed quite impressed, unless they were just frightened into submission. Several other people were attracted by the incredibly loud ruckus Butter's wheels made, and seemed similarly awed. Regrettably, despite bringing home several awards, the robotics team goes mostly unnoticed by a sports-obsessed student population. Sigh.

Mecanum Drive!

Wednesday was the last of the team's summer build sessions. All the aspects (mechanical, electrical, programming) of our summer goal came together, which was to build (and drive!) a mecanum drive system. It lets the robot go sideways -- without turning. Check out this awesome footage:



This is not Quorra, our competition robot from last season, but a test robot. Its frame is Pele's, re-assembled specially for testing the mecanum drive. Its name is, by consensus of team members at the meeting, "Butter."

And now for a reminder: we have a planning meeting on August 24, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

Summer Session Success

Today was the team's second summer meeting, and plenty of progress was made. In construction, headway was made on the mecanum drive system, and parts for it were ordered.
In the category of programming, I made advances in building a recording function. When it's done, it should allow our team to record our drivers moving the robot, and then play it back autonomously. This system could prove helpful for building a better autonomous mode next season. So far, it partially works. When it really gets going, I'll post a video in this space.

- Daniel

To Our Readers

Hey! If you are a blog reader who is a teacher, interested parent, or the coach of an FLL or FTC team, and you're located in the area, we would love to come and demonstrate our robot for your group! We would show our robot's capabilities, explain the mechanics and engineering behind it, and teach the kids about what it's like to be part of a higher-level robotics team. It's a great, fun way to get kids interested in engineering, science and technology, as well as get them interested in a program that will teach them life-long skills.

If you are interested in a demonstration, please contact us at robolions3397@gmail.com. We can work out dates and times. Thanks!!

Summer Session #1

Today is our first summer build session. We have, as of today, 3 new members- Henry, Benjamin and Matt. It's good news for our team- Benjamin is interested in programming, which means that we have someone to take over Dan's spot when he graduates year after next. And of course, we always need more people to help build the robot.

Right now we are working on reattaching the CRio module. As you guys know, we had some complications with it at the competition, and ended up having to get a new one during the competition. National Instruments fixed our original CRio and now we are just working on putting it back on Quorra. That's our main objective for the day; that and getting our new members acclimated to the awesomeness of robotics!

Some other objectives for the coming weeks are getting the mechanum wheel system up and running so that we can use them for next season. We also want to do some more fundraising, hopefully selling more lightbulbs. We also plan to attend events and showcase our robot, to gain publicity. Now that we've got trophies, we are a regional Champion team, and have had our team written about in the Post-Dispatch, we feel like we should start doing more locally. Showcasing at Science Nights at the local elementary schools, showcasing at Club Fairs, anything we can do. The robotics program is growing in UCity, and we want to do all we can to help it!

So, this was just a quick update to let you know what we're up to. There will be more throughout the summer. Make sure to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Peace, love and robots!