We're DONE!!!!! (P.S. Ignore the date on this post...)

Sorry it's a tad late (our boxing night was the 21st; shipping was the 22nd), but we're FINISHED!!!! OH YEAH! Our robot is DONE!!! We have:

• a fully operational arm. It can grab tubes and place them on pegs; can't pick them up off of the ground or get to the top peg.
• one fully functional minibot and, very soon, a second minobot, also fully functional.
• operating robot, complete with programmed teleoperated mode, lexan coverings, pneumatic minibot deployment, and neon. NEON. REAL NEON!!! Multi colored. very cool.

Oh yeah, we're set this year. See you at competition!


P.S. Don't know when competition is (assuming non-FIRST robotics people actually read this blog; well, also assuming anyone actually reads this blog...)? Here's a link to the FIRST site and one to the specific schedule page. We're at the San Diego Regionals, March 10-12. We'll [hopefully] see you there...

WE HAVE ARM!!!!

Oh yeah!!!! It took two days and a late night stay at the School (seriously, they were here until 3:00; "they" meaning the Arm Team which does not include me), but the ARM IS DONE.

Now for the programming.

P.S. the arm is great news if it functions, but its already cutting back on our driving practice time, due to technical difficulties. Plus we have to learn how to operate the arm AND drive the robot with the arm on. Hope the Arm Team gets it in gear (seriously, they're doing a great job, but we need FUNCTIONING ROBOT!!!!).

I'll keep you posted!

Amusing

This is purely for entertainment, but if anyone's interested, Chief Delphi (for those who don't know, a discussion chat room which was initiated by Team 47, Chief Delphi, where teams ask questions or converse about topics at least remotely related to robots, FIRST robotics, the build, the game, etc.) had this, um, interesting thread about random quotes said by team members during the 2007 build. There are quite a few (I'm thinking about having a daily quote section on our site or blog), so if you're bored and in the mood...

Also, on a...vaguely similar note, here are some threads from Chief Delphi on the minibot...that probably hold no ones interest whatsoever, seeing as the build season is almost over... oh, whatever, here they are anyway!!!!

-Minibot ideas
-How many teams have a working minibot?
-So, How many teams have a working miibot again?
-How fast are other teams' minibots? (ours takes approx. 4 seconds to climb)


Also, here's some minibot videos! Yeah!

-Team Green Machine deployment
-Team 58 The Riot Crew's bot
-Team 166's bot
-FRC team minibot design prototype

Me like the linking option on blogger :)

General Team Activities Update (Creative Title BONUS, Oh Yeah!)

It's Saturday, and we're all hanging arou--I mean, working hard, crashing after a long day of exhausting work. Or may be that's just me... though everyone else seems tired too, even the parents and mentors.

The build team's been working on the arm all day (yes, we have an arm. sort of.) The minibot team's been testing deployment and cutting stuff up. The odd jobs people have been hard at work on their anomalous occupations. all in all, typical day, except now the deadlines speeding towards us like train roaring down the tracks; we're all just trying to untie the last rope and get off the tracks.

the arm is coming together, but I' not sure if it will be finished in time. I think none of us are.

Uhhhhh...tired...
~Rose

P.S.
No pie today.

Real Life Zombies (and the Open House Adventure)

I. Am. Tired. At robotics with less than optimal sleep again. (thus, a zombie)
We've just finished our award submissions today; quite the excursion. things wouldn't load, I had to change my password again, etc, etc. but we have our submission forms all in row.
now to catch up on my journal.

P.S. Open House went quite well. We didn't have many people, but that's okay; we're a rookie team after all. Next year will hopefully be better. Our minibot preformed flawlessly, our robot, though stationary, was very impressive with its lexan scrubbed to a shine and its fancy blinking lights and sparkly stickers on display. Oh yeah, and we had PIE. tons of pie. Like, 6 of them: apple, two chocolates, lemon meringue, pumpkin, boysenberry, (not to mention the coffee cake). It was a good Open House indeed...
~Rose

Greetings!

Hello everyone! I might as well be the first one to post, since I had a little time to do so.

Well, today is our Open House and we're already almost at shipping day, and everything's looking pretty good!

-robot-- done, excluding some tweaking and more testing.
-minibot--complete as well, unless we decide to add a descending mechanism of some sort.
-shipping container--three weeks+ complete.
-P.R.--going well last time I checked. We're going to get our shirts and buttons any day now, along with other assorted merchanidse for competition and hopefully Open House. No motto yet, though.
-website--done, complete with its own animated Intro page and our logo. I'm going to be posting some bios today and some pix will hopefully be taken during Open House.

All in all, a job well done.

~Rose
Minibot Team Captain and "Odd Job" Person