Kansas City, FTC and other updates

Next weekend, the Robolions will be competing in the Cow Town Throw Down, an offseason event in Kansas City! So these past few weeks we have been working diligently to get Thor up and running. So far, we've reworked the shooter, which we're still not sure will work as well as we would like it to. Our old motors weren't giving us the torque we needed, so we had to reconfigure the programming to comply with the new motors. Right now, we're just getting everything set finally. Good thing this is just a fun event, because Thor will most likely not be in top condition!

The FTC team has been making progress on their robot. They have finally gotten a chassis put together, as well as begun to configure the wiring. They're learning how the electronics of a robot work, and a few have begun to work with Dan on programming using LabView. Hopefully they'll be able to get everything working by December 8th, the date of their first competition.

In other news, the Robolions are running the concessions stand at the local FLL Qualifier next weekend, the 10th and 11th. The event is free to the public, so everyone is invited to Brittany Woods Middle School to watch the tournament!

Peace out,

RoboLions
Team 3397

Pictures from the Homecoming Parade a few weeks ago! Enjoy!

The float

Getting ready to throw candy

Ms. Lauterborn and a parent get in on the fun too!

The parade route. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for showing off the robot outside! There were lots of cheering, adoring fans along the streets- we're so popular :)

   Hi! My name is Derek B. Mills, and I will be the blog writer for the 2012 FTC robotics team. And I will be frequently updating you on the progress of the robotics team.

  It's the third week of robotics and we've already established that we are ready to build the robot. So far we have the frame and wheels built which isn't that far but it's a start. And we have decided to just think of the design as we go along. It' going to take us about 3 1/2 months to finish. Its area is about under 18 inches squared, but as i said we are just determining the design and format as we build. Right now we are only planning to use 1 battery pack. We wish all of the other teams the best of luck, but for now that is all we have. We will keep everyone updated as much as possible.


-Derek

Back from Kickoff!

The team just got back from the FTC 2012 Season Kick-off! The students were antsy at the Science center as we waited and waited for them to debut the video. We'll post a link to the video soon, once we get to a location where YouTube is not blocked by the school firewall.

The game this year is called Ring It Up!, and the goal is to hang small plastic rings on a set of pegs. For those of you who are involved in FIRST and have been for a few years, you might recognize it- the game is a LOT like Logomotion from the 2011 FRC season. Here's a link to the site for those of you interested:

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc/game

It's a normal 12x12 playing field divided diagonally with the rack of pegs set up in the middle. There are ring loading stations on all four sides of the field, and there are two corner-scoring racks, on which teams may hang the heavier rings to score a 20% bonus. At the end of the match, robots have the chance to lift up the other robot on their alliance for another bonus.

Right now the team is discussing rules and clarifications, term definitions, how to score points. Later they will start actually thinking about how to best design the robot. I can tell they are all excited to get to that point!!

It's going to be a great season! Soon we'll have another blogger, Derek, to blog for the FTC season. Until then, peace out!

Captain Grace

Boot Camp and Other Happenings

Today marks the end of Day 2 of RoboLions Boot Camp! Students got to explore, discover and learn about robotics and the team specifically. They got a crash course in the brainstorming and design process, a safety orientation, tips on how to successfully manage a team schedule and build timeline, and finally, they got to get their hands dirty by getting into pairs and designing a container that would keep an egg safe and free from cracks after a 25 foot drop. (Videos will be posted on the YouTube channel as soon as I can get them all stitched together.) All of the groups except one succeeded, and we were very impressed with all of the designs. The students asked great questions, outlined and brainstormed, some even prototyped before putting together the final project. I can tell it's going to be a fantastic season, we've got a lot of really enthusiastic kids raring and ready to go.

Tyree and Jailen discussing their final design (shown on table)

Lewis and Lafayette constructing their container

Crissy and James putting together their design

We also discussed the details for the kickoff on Saturday. There will be a parent's meeting at the lab 10, we will have lunch and then proceed to the Science Center at 12. Afterwards will be, as per usual, the first brainstorm session. The brainstorm session will be facilitated by the older kids and the captains, but we're going to try to let the newbies start establishing their own pecking order and see who steps up and takes charge. Haha, well, something along those lines. The FTC season is going to be all theirs- they'll get the experience they need to continue to lead the team well after us three seniors graduate! 

Everyone's excited about the kickoff- hints posted online have led us to believe that it has something to do with 'rings'. The clues have been the Eye of Sauron (=LOTR=RINGS), telephone wires (telephones RING...), and the Olympic Logo (made of RINGS). And a bus. But who knows what that has to do with anything. Anyways, we'll keep you posted!

-Captain Grace

Open House Pictures

Just wanted to share some pictures from the Open House today. We had a great turnout, and everyone seemed very interested. All said that they were definitely joining the team. It's going to be a great season!

                     Becoming familiar with the FTC parts

The newbies get a talk from Mrs. Adewale about engineering as a career

All in all, it was a successful meeting. Students got to learn about FIRST, they got to play with the kit of parts and get familiar with the pieces that they will be using, a few got to check out programming software, and of course, everyone got snacks.

Great meeting, guys! Can't wait to see everyone next week at Robotics Boot Camp! :)

Open House

The school year has begun, and with it the regular meetings of Team 3397. This year we'll be surmounting the obstacle of having nothing to do in the fall season: we've signed up for FTC, which will compete in early December. Of course, our primary focus is still on the FRC 2013 competition; don't place your bets on next year's game yet, though, we still have to wait for hints.

We've turned up a satisfyingly large amount of new members at our open house meeting today -- by my count, there are 9 here, in addition to 8 of our returning members. Hopefully they all know what they're signing on for and will contribute graciously and professionally to our progress through the FRC season. Captain Grace is giving an inspirational speech as I write this to keep our new members intrigued. The FTC season is our method of testing them on team dynamics and capabilities.

I'm also pleased to report that our snack supplies are well-stocked (for now). I fear I might miss break, though, as I'll be leaving early; I and several other members of the team will be experiencing the usual schedule conflicts with sports, musical, and other school activities that take away time. (I recall Walter joking today that one freshman was exempted from robotics because "field hockey consumes your soul", to which three friends said as one, "YES. IT DOES.", proving my point and also that there might be some demonic dealings going on with the field hockey team.)

Here's to a brilliant new year for 3397 RoboLions, and to valuable additions to the team! :)