Hello again, everyone! First off, we’ve finally got our deliveries in, both for the T-shirts and the long-awaited programming computers. But more importantly, we’re back from competition, and there’s a lot to talk about!
First off, the competition itself was a success. We were able to get Mr. Reynolds, our mentor, onto the Woodie Flowers finalist list, and although we had a lot of technical issues with the robot (including an over-aggressive defense bot smashing our bumpers off. Twice.) we were able to fix all of them in extremely short order and managed to compete in some capacity every round. On top of that, based on the Climbing Hook and the Cargo Cannon, we’ve finally come up with a name for our robot: Captain Hook. Now that we’ve made it over the threshold to compete, it’s just a matter of refining our technique, and each of our teams is working hard to make that happen.
Since the competition, the build team has been working hard to make sure the robot is as reliable as possible for the next one. The first priority, though, has been upgrading the Cargo Cannon, which we were able to use last competition on the lower target. Although we had fairly good accuracy, hitting the high target is much more valuable, so we’re aiming to have the ability to at least aim for it going forward. Aside from that, we’ve been adding treads to make aiming the Cargo Cannon easier, as well as installing more durable string to support the hook itself. We have relatively few improvements we need done at the moment, so our main goals on the building side amount to making sure the robot is ready, and doing it quickly enough to get the drive team ready to practice with it.
The programming team has been working to improve the autonomous function of our robot, as well as to set up the new computers on the school system. Our objective for next competition is to have the robot be capable of moving out of the starting zone (for two points), and firing into the Upper Hub (four points). We already can reliably move out of the starting zone, but aiming for the high target is going to be a slightly taller order. Either way, with our practice field elements nearly completed, we’ll have everything we need to make this reliable, and to get our drivers the practice they need to compete in the next competition. Aside from competition, we’ve also been working on preparing for our upcoming STEM outreach days, and to help with our presentations, we’re refurbishing Duck Bot. As our oldest remaining robot – as well as our most successful to date – Duck Bot holds a special place in our team history, and we’re excited to bring it back into the light of day.
With our submitted awards nailed down, the business team has fixed its gaze on the Spirit Award for the next competition. To this end, we’ve has set to work on signs, planning, and a secret weapon to make sure we can shine the brightest of anyone in the competition. Other than that, we’ve been working on nailing down STEM days with our local Middle and Elementary schools. Our community has given us everything we have, and with the STEM days, we’re working to give something back by teaching the younger members of our district what we’ve learned.
The competition wasn’t perfect, but it taught us what we’ll need to be ready for next time. So at our next competition – March 31st-April 2nd, by the way – we’ll be playing for keeps. Anyway, that’s all for these last few days. As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned!
