We have been keeping busy these last couple days. All the drive train parts have been sent out to our sponsor CK Tool. Parts for our shooter and Frisbee pickup system have been sent off to our sheet metal sponsor,  Advanced Component Technology, Inc.

In the shop we have been working on our climbing mechanism and the robot frame. Most of the parts we need to assemble the robot are on order and should be arriving in the next week.

Programmers have been working on two main tasks. Our experienced programmers are working on implementing consistent velocity and rotation control on the robot. This will allow us to have both more consistent, controlled, and faster tele-operated driving along with a more consistent and effective autonomous period. The less experienced programmers have been learning  how to use the sensors we will be putting on the robot.

Hook strength test.

Our SVN hit a very important revision number.

Our programmers have been working hard on autonomous code using a chassis from last year outfitted with an array of sensors. They are currently using data from a gyro and encoders on both sides of the drive train. With this they are working on being able to program a path for the robot to take and have it follow and adjust to that path on its own.

Today we made some good progress on our machining. We finished the drive train rails and some other parts.

The software team has been getting set up with their computers. We have a lot of new members on the software team this who need to install the IDE and get their computers able to upload code to the robot.  In addition we have also been working on improving the new drive code.

We have also finished our modified “pyramid”. All the pipe is at the proper positions to allow us to test our robot though it doesn’t taper like the real pyramid. It also folds down to allow us to bring it inside to the room with carpet most similar to the field where we do our robot testing.  We are planning to mark off the proper widths of each level so we know if we are within the limits of the real pyramid when testing our climbing ability. We have also built the goal for the top of the pyramid so we can practice with that.

Our designers also continued to design the robot and its various parts. They will definitely be working tomorrow!

There are just 37 days left until the end of Build Season!

We have finished most of the field elements. The our practice pyramid is still under construction. We are building a single side of the pyramid that we will be able to fold and move around easily. We will post pictures once it is completed.

We have made a decision on our game strategy for Ultimate Ascent. With this strategy decided and basic mechanisms sketched out we have moved into the CAD of the robot. We design the robot in CAD to help figure out how it all goes together, solve problems before they make it to the robot, and design custom and precision parts.

Our programming team has been hard at work using a test bed chassis from last years practice robot. They are working on integrating sensors such as encoders and a gyroscope to develop more user friendly drive code for the robot.

If you have yet to see our prototype Frisbee launcher, then click here!

There are just 42 days left until February 19th, which is “Stop Build Day,” in which all of the robots must be bagged and tagged.

We also built a prototype pickup and conveyor system designed to automatically flip discs over if they enter upside down. The conveyor did not work as well as hoped and needs some continued tweaking.

Tomorrow we will do more prototyping and begin building field elements like the goals, feeder stations, and pyramid. Much of the time will also be spent working on details of the robot and making decisions based on what we have learned from the prototypes.

This year’s game animation is below:

We wish every team the best of luck with this year’s season and will be uploading various resources to our site, so be sure to visit our website and social media sites often. Good luck!

As promised, we will be posting  to our blog daily throughout the build season!

We want to wish every FIRST Robotics team the best of luck in this year’s competition and we hope to see many of you at the local kickoff at San Jose State University tomorrow morning!