Robotics
This year's robot:
I am again captain of the team this year and am the lead programmer. Our team has performed well at the State Championship and is heading to the Western Super Regional where we hope to earn a slot to the World Championship in Houston.
To learn more about the challenge watch this: FTC Game Explained
This year's robot uses more 3D-printed parts than ever before. Everything Blue and Yellow was designed and printed by our team on the 3D-printers that we purchased with grant money. We continue to improve our design skills as we incorporate more and more custom parts into robot.
We feature a almost fully 3D-printed intake this year. We use Ninjaflex, a semi-flexible filament to print parts that aren't hard plastic. We have also designed special pieces to attach them to chain so that we have created a belt-like system that carries the foam blocks through our robot. See the picture below for better pictures of our intake. The blue parts are flexible whereas the yellow and black parts are simply hard PLA
FTC World Championship in Houston
Attending the World Championship was an incredible experience. Even more so was the fundraising period before it. Our team informed and reached out to our community and showed the growth of technology. We encouraged prospective team members and informed other students of the technology opportunities that they now have.
My main contribution to the team was through programming. I am the Captain and programmer and hence submitted for the Control Award, which is an award given to the team who has shows the most innovative and practical use of software and sensors in their solution to the game challenge.
Control Award Worlds_Nathan3.pdfPlease take a look at my submission for the Control Award at Worlds. This in conjunction with interviews and reliable performance at the competition allowed us to win the Control Award at the World Championship in 2017
You wouldn't know from the picture, but that's an executive from Microsoft talking to our team about the robot. I'm second from left explaining and am explaining our autonomous mode. He spent a good 30 minutes talking with us while sitting on the floor.
I'm center on the jumbo tron at Minute Maid Park, we're preparing to drive in the finals of the World Championship, right on top of 3rd base. 25,000+ people were watching the screen.
Robotics Class at the School:
Our outreach through the team has allowed us to start a robotics class and team within our school. Our school was remodeled and due to our success we helped push for the creation of a maker-space, which we now use as our robotics room.
This is a picture of the space that we now use for the robotics team and class. This was recently constructed and will always be used for technology education.