Catie Chen

             This week, we made huge improvements to be well prepared for the East Bay Regional (EBR).              Since we finished CADing last week, we were able to start assembly immediately. This week has been packed with testing, improvements, and strategic discussions as we gear up for upcoming competitions. From refining intake mechanisms to optimizing our scouting app, every detail is being fine-tuned to ensure peak performance.              We assembled spare components onto the beta bot for testing purposes, ensuring reliability and durability under competitive conditions. Additionally, minor improvements were made to the scouting app to allow for better usability and efficiency. To address control system stability issues, adjustments were made to the plate under the CANivore. On Wednesday, we focused on improving the practice field to better simulate real competition environments. By Friday, we had fixed the camera mount to ensure better visibility and alignment during matches.             A new intake system with a larger wheel was implemented to address the issue of pushing the coral away during both practices and competitions. We are currently testing different wheel sizes, comparing 5-inch and 3-inch wheels, while evaluating the impact of material flexibility under high-speed rotation. Significant progress was made [...]

             Returning from the SAC regional, the team made notes to get ready for the next competition, the East Bay Regional (EBR).              The team met for a competition debrief in the beginning, which included discussion of competition performance, robot improvements, and logistical improvements for the next competition. We realized that driver practice and tuning auto routines would be the main focus of weeks 4 and 5.              Another meeting on Friday, the team began fixing a few minor flaws in each subsystem. Per the competition debrief, we decided to replace a MaxComposite plate for aluminum on the outtake. Along with the outtake, the team had agreed upon improvements to the intake, gearing the first roller faster to allow the driver to intake coral at higher speeds, and adding a larger wheel to the center roller to better vector the coral in its horizontal orientation.              The team additionally worked on improving the energy chain on the elevator, as it had previously caught on the hard stop, which prevents the outtake from fully stowing. Furthermore, the software team has been working on speeding up all the movements of the elevator and wrist, as well as tuning the vision alignment [...]