One Week Down, Five to Go!

In one week of build season, our team has made excellent progress on our robot. We are currently coding the robot, which includes programming the robot during autonomous mode. Autonomous mode is the first fifteen seconds of the competition, in which team members are not allowed to drive the robot. The robot must complete its designated tasks without being controlled or driven, which is done through programming.

RoboGym team captain, Bryce Roth, coding the robot

Team members Bryce Roth and Hally Bello coding the robot. Freshman Noelle Pappous shadows Hally, learning about coding through watching Hally and asking any questions she has. Hally explains each step.

Our intake sub-team has constructed an intake mechanism we call "Alligator Arms". The way this mechanism works is by coming into contact with a cube and opening its two arms to fit around the cube. Then, the rollers on the arms pull the cube into the intake box.

In this photo, the cube is in between the arms of the intake. The green wheels on the inside of each arm are the rollers that pull the cube into the intake box.

Another sub-team, our elevator sub-team, is CADing our elevator mechanism. The elevator mechanism is the way in which our robot will lift the cubes it takes in from the ground to different heights. The tallest height our elevator will lift to 80 inches, or 6.5 feet.

Our elevator sub-team is currently CADing the elevator

The elevator works with our intake mechanism by fitting into the intake box to obtain cubes. Then, the elevator extends to lift the cubes to different heights, depending on what surface our team decides to set the cube down on.

Our fourth sub-team, the drivetrain sub-team, is CADing bumper mounts. The drivetrain is the center of our robot, where our elevator, intake and outtake mechanisms, and climbing mechanism are attached to. It is the component of the robot which picks up the instructions sent by programming. Essentially, it is the part of the robot that moves. Bumper mounts are placed on the drivetrain so that bumpers can slide on to the exterior of the drivetrain. Our robot needs bumpers so that during competitions, it does not become damaged by other robots.

The metal rectangle in the center of the photo is the bumper mount. Bumpers, made of wood surrounded by halved pool noodles and wrapped in fabric given by the FRC, slide into this bumper mount so they stay on the robot during competitions but can slide off if they need repairs.