Archives: 2009 Build Season

02/11/09

Great strides made last night! The last gun belts were added, and now the gun works automatically, shooting ball after ball without any major flaws. According to Dr. Bibee, just a few minor adjustments and it's ready to go. Chassis was taken apart to lighten it because of weight concerns, but it was reassembled right before closing up shop last night. Controls did an awesome job of transferring all pieces and parts from the prototype board to the competition board. Tonights plan: drive, drive and more driving to test the new motors and controls, possibly transfer the gun to the chassis, etc. Autodesk and website submissions are due in 36 hours, so last minute tweaking on those will also occur tonight. Tryouts for the payload specialist are winding down, so if you want to take a shot at being part of the competition team, be ready to try out tonight. Shipping the robot has been scheduled for 12 pm next Tuesday, so for planning purposes we'll probably be meeting every day between now and then. Tonight it's 6-9 at PSI. See you there.....

02/10/09

I just received word that we have the PSI facility tonight. Build will be from 6-9. Lots to do....front and back wheels are functioning, but motors are running hot; gun assembly nearing completion and then needs to be attached to the chassis; weight concerns need to be addressed; controls still debugging; autodesk and website within 48 hours of submission deadline...you get the picture. Plenty to keep us busy!

02/07/09

Not a bad day of robot building today. We focused mainly on the chassis so that we can ensure that our motors will function as expected. We also held some tryouts for the payload specialist. We still have a bunch of chassis work to do, so we will NOT be at the PSI/QinetiQ building on Sunday, but we will have a build day at the Hoppens' house. They will be in the shop from around 8 am until whenever, so please stop by to assist. We will be accomplishing other tasks that just chassis, so regardless of your team assignments, we could use your help. You should call Kyle if you don't know how to get there. Following tomorrow's build, we will be back to our Monday build at the usual site from 6-9. Only 9 more days until shipping...hang in there.....

02/06/09

Great progress made tonight on the robot. Controls team was able to track the target on top of the trailer using their software. Chassis team made great strides in both the frame for the wheels as well as the frame that holds the gun. The challenge team was about to shoot several balls into the trailer from a distance of 11-12 feet! All in all it was the best progress so far this build season. But we are far from done. Friday there will be a chassis team build at the Hoppens' residence after school. Saturday is a full build day, hopefully putting many of the working pieces described above together into a functional robot. We still have award submissions that need input and review as well as several tasks that need to be completed on the robot. We also need to prep the crate for shipping. Remember, we have only 11 more days until shipping. We need everyone at Saturday's build, which begins at 10 am and goes at least until 4 pm. Congrats to controls, chassis and challenge teams for tonight's successes...keep up the hard work! Greg Eisman

01/29/09

I just wanted to remind students that we are going to take our yearbook picture this Monday, Feb. 2 after school. We will meet in Mrs. Schrock's room, 504, and it shouldn't take but 15 minutes or so. To all old members, please bring your Robotics t-shirt and if you have an extra shirt from last year, please bring it so that new members may borrow it for the picture. The yearbook staff needs our picture, and we obviously do not have shirts yet for this year. In regards to shirts for this year, they are still on sale until Saturday, Jan. 31 as we plan to place the order Monday, Feb. 2. They are $5 for the first shirt for students and mentors and $10 for extras (for parents or siblings). Any questions, just ask! Thanks and keep up the good work! Mrs. Tanguis

01/28/09

Crunch time! That's where we are with the build. We have FIVE build sessions remaining to get to our goal of testing by the 5th of February. We need everyone who can make it to the sessions. Next one is tomorrow (Thursday) from 6-9, where we hope to finish the trailer, assembly the gun/rail system, and continue progress on the chassis. The follow-on session is from 10-4 on Saturday...again we need all who can make it. Plan on getting together at some point (probably in the early afternoon) on Sunday the 1st of February (place to be determined) not to build, but to discuss and make decisions on several administrative topics which are as important as building the robot. These include award submission, four-person team selection (with alternates), strategy discussions, shipping details, etc, etc. This is not just for officers, but all who are on the team. As you can tell, time is short and the tasks are many! Budget your time accordingly. As we approach the February 17th shipping deadline, we will more than likely need to meet outside of the planned build sessions, so be flexible. Greg Eisman

01/20/09

Exciting news from tonight's build session. First, we had a successful operational test of the gun, propelling balls as it was designed. Second, the controls team did a great job debugging code to the point where we were able to drive the robot successfully on the playing surface. Great progress. All who attended Monday's session and got my "homework" regarding the website receive and "F." According to Annie, not one person responded to her with website feedback regarding content or look. Please take a moment to review and give her some feedback. This is YOUR website...take some ownership! Wednesday will be a chassis build session at the Hoppens' house after school. Get a hold of Kyle if you need directions. Thursday it's back at the PSI/QinetiQ's building from 6-9 as well as Saturday from 10-4. Congrats on tonight's progress. Let's keep the momentum....Greg Eisman

01/16/09

Hello, Team Combustion! I wanted to provide you an update as to where we stand with the build. It's been a productive week of design and prototyping, but now it's time to kick it up a notch and start bending metal for the actual competition robot. To adhere to our schedule, we should be testing our robot in just two and a half weeks, so we need to focus our efforts over the next several sessions. Our next build session is tomorrow (Saturday) from 10 am - 4 pm. Here's just a sample of what we'll be doing during those hours: -finishing the control software and running last year's chassis with the new wheels -prepping the playing field for the chassis demo -assembling the belt drive for the challenge portion of the robot -voting on the t-shirt design -improving the organization of the workspace -eating lunch -decide on build hours for Monday (holiday) -going to Lowe's to request sponsorship -designing/building the box to house the controls As you can see, lots to do. Within a matter of days we should see "Blue Steel" come to life, so please plan on being there and helping out. We welcome a few new team members, mentors Ken Hoppens and Greg Collins, and a temporary member, Mark Hoppens, who was on the 1912 team a few years ago. Thanks for your support. See you tomorrow. Greg Eisman

01/14/09

AIAA Robot Demo at Youngs

01/10/09

Jump Start Build at Fontainebleu

01/08/09

Another good session last night. Tonight's build is from 5-8 at the PSI facility. Trailer completion and a full-court press on design aspects of the chassis, controls and challenge top the list of tonight's objectives. Hope to see you there. Greg

01/07/09

We are on for meeting at the PSI building tonight. Work hours will be from 6-8:30 pm. Tonight's goals will be to finish the move from the portable, finish the trailer, put the finishing touches on the set-up of the PSI space, and continue the design aspect of the chassis, challenge and controls. Lots to do in a short amount of time, so please come focused and prepared. We will enter and exit through the side door of the building as we did last time. I have some more details regarding the alarm that I will share with you tonight. Tomorrow (Thursday) the build time needs to be adjusted to 5-8 pm due to our PSI volunteer's schedule. We can talk about that at tonight's meeting. Saturday is still tentatively planned for 10-4. See you tonight at the PSI building. Greg

01/04/09

Team Safety Briefing

01/03/09

The following is a summary of what was discussed today, adapted from my secretarial notes. This will be the first of periodic status updates sent throughout the season. As far as administrative things: 1. We went over the build season calendar, with us tentatively meeting Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday with Sunday as needed; ship date is February 17, Bayou Regional is March 19-21 at the UNO Lakefront Arena. 2. We will be transitioning to the second story of PSI for some of our building activities. As far as brainstorming for this year's game, Lunacy: *All the possibilities and considerations for as many aspects of the game as we could think of are listed. The overall categories for these are in motion (escape, blocking and pinning, pursuing, and the trailer) autonomous (motion, the camera), defensive tactics, ball storage, picking up and collection of balls, and ball deployment (lifting, herding, dropping, and the empty and super cells). In considering ideas, it is important to remember the virtues of simplicity.* 1. Movement: traction and friction, suspensions, weight and distribution, wheel positioning, drive systems (4-wheel, tank), maneuverability, turning 2. Ball Handling: no pickup capability, pushing, sweeper w/ or w/o continuous motion, arms, tennis ball collector, rotating hooks 3. Ball Placement: arm with double claw and rotating base, basket/dump truck, gun/cannon, none 4. Ball Storage: net, single ball grip, basket, tube, human-loaded versus machine-loaded, none 5. Ball Lifting: rotating rollers, opposing belts/double conveyor, single conveyor, auger, none 6. Defensive Tactics: low center of gravity, wheel placement, traction, heaviness, shape (triangle, circle, etc.) 7. Autonomous: continuous motion, camera usage, setting up the robot for optimal placement, ball deployment, none, no damage 8. Miscellaneous: trailer positioning, robustness, 20 balls per team with up to 7 on the robot at start I hope this email is helpful as we read the manual and consider what we are going to do with our robot, Blue Steel. ~Kyle