With our first competition just around the corner, every second counts. We pushed forward on all fronts during week 5—manufacturing, mechanism assembly, coding, scouting, and more—all while making exciting progress on our robot and beyond.
On Wednesday, we held a critical design review. We discussed minor changes to our mechanism designs to reduce size for better packaging, improve coral lifecycle from intake to outtake, and keep our robot weight below 115 lbs.
Our scouting app team has also made significant progress. They implemented data visualization in the form of charts, which made the analysis process quicker. Additionally, we finished assembling the elevator and tested its voltage to check its efficiency.
Our vision team continued to perfect their integrated vision assist when approaching the reef to score. With the new bumper rule changes, the team has decided to use EVA Foam over traditional solid-core pool noodles. The EVA foam has proved easier to work with, as we were able to order 40 x 80 sheets and cut them down to the required size for baltic birch bumper backings. This year, we are making practice bumpers in addition to our comp bumpers.
On Saturday, the machining team worked throughout the day, making parts for the competition robot. The elevator assembly was a big focus, and the team completed its assembly. Our elevator weighed in at around 24.5 lbs. So far, we have machined half the robot, and assembly is happening in conjunction.
With the elevator assembly done, our software team completed some basic elevator testing with the 2 Krakens limited to 2 volts to ensure the first few tests of rigging were very conservative to ensure everything worked as expected. Both the hardware and software teams are very happy with the initial testing as everything operated as expected. Next, the elevator will be fine-tuned to get closer to competition functional requirements along with the outtake scoring L2 to L3.
Intake assembly is underway, it will be capable of feeding coral through an indexer to our outtake. The intake was also designed to be multipurpose and is capable of collecting Algae off the ground and scoring in the processor. Deep-cage climb design was finalized and is being machined, and the outtake is going through final design iterations.
Meanwhile, our programming team achieved a major milestone by completing the swerve drive code. We are now implementing separate drives for odometry, improving the accuracy of our data. The process of making our final intake started and will continue to be worked on for the rest of the weekend.
On Sunday, our machining team continued to work hard to craft many well-made parts. Later in the day, we were able to complete the elevator and mount the entire elevator assembly onto the drivetrain, letting the robot begin to take shape. We are continuing to manufacture and assemble the bumpers of our robot.
In addition, we now have merchandise! Last week, our team held a vote on apparel designs, and the winner, Vivian (Siwei), has been working to finalize the operation with Claire, our operations director. If you would like to take a look at our wares, go to the apparel page on our website, where you can fill out a form to buy, or contact us if you’re interested in a trade of some type.
With only 16 days left to Pinnacles’ load-in day, we’re pushing to make every last second count, even working tirelessly through the Super Bowl. Beyond apparel and the robot itself, we’ve been making changes to our website left and right, so feel free to check that out. We’ve also been working on outreach at our local elementary and middle schools, occurring every Thursday after school. We’ve also been welcoming different visiting teams to our fields on Sunday afternoons! If you’re interested in using our practice field, contact us at 972contact@lgsuhsd.org.
On a final note, we’ve been organizing our sponsors and donors from this year onto our t-shirt and website!!! Thank you so much to our sponsors! Check out our sponsors here. See you all for next week’s blog!
