Build Season Updates
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Howdy Team 4 members and parents! We are having a very productive build season! We are getting ready for our upcoming Regional competitions in Long Beach and Las Vegas. The team members are putting in huge amounts of effort to make sure that our team is successful at building a beautiful, winning robot.
The departments are all doing their part to make sure that our robot is completed on time. At this point, Rozie, head of design, says that design is finishing up some of their computer designs, and Andreas is designing the lazy susan for the robot for aiming the ball. He is also working on fine tuning the lazy susan, but they are still having trouble getting the dimensions right.
Jesus, head of electronics, reports that they just recently finished prototyping the shooter and they are getting the electronics for the turret completed. Electronics is also building a new electronics box for the robot and wedges to get the robot on the bridge.
According to Justin, programming is very busy at the moment. They are programming the wedge and the camera, formalizing how fast they want the basketballs to shoot, and making sure everything is automated. They have also made some accomplishments such as developing a code for the bridge manipulator, drivetrain, ball control, the gyro, the turret, the camera, and FPGA (field programmer gate array). Justin plans to work on the PDI (proportion intergral derivative controller) which allows them to control the RPM of the robot's wheels.
Spencer told us that machining is working in the shop; they are in the process of creating new pieces for the robot to function the way we designed it. They have assembled the ball collector mechanism and have begun manufacturing the shooter mechanism.
This build season we have a lot of smart kids working very hard in the shop. I think it will be a very good year for Team 4.
— Nick Bottomley (head of machining)
They still need to accomplish the hybrid mode. Josh is website scouting—looking at other competitors to see what they are doing with their robot.
Nothing has been tested; therefore, nothing has been broken yet.
— Programming
Currently, the finance department is planning a restaurant night at Las Fuentes restaurant, so stay tuned for information on that.
Dates to Remember
March 15-17 — Long Beach Regional
April 4-7 — Las Vegas Regional