FRC Robotics

FIRST Robotics Competition

My journey in robotics started during my freshman year of high school when I joined my school's FRC robotics team. Each year, FIRST released a new set of competition rules and teams were given 6 weeks to design and build a robot to compete in that year's game. Matches consisted of 15 seconds of autonomous mode, followed by 2 minutes and 15 seconds of teleoperation. During my 4 years on the team, I learned many valuable skills, including programming (LabView and C++), 3D printing, and basic mechanical and electrical design. I was able to help the team progress year after year, culminating in the team winning our regional competition during my senior year and advancing to the world competition for the first time in my team's history.

2017 - 2018 Season

For this competition, there were two small see-saws and one central, tall see-saw. In each match, red and blue teams consisting of 3 robots each competed to tilt the see-saw towards their team's side. The see-saws could be tilted by placing more yellow blocks on your side compared to the number of blocks that the opposing team had placed on their side. Additional points were earned by pushing the yellow blocks through a slot in the wall and by lifting up in the air using a bar at the end of the match. Our robot featured a swerve drivetrain (all 4 wheels had independent steering and power), an intake for grabbing the yellow blocks, and a lift to both place yellow blocks on the tall see-saw while also being able to grab the 6 foot tall bar and lift the robot off the ground.

As co-president, I led the team to winning our first ever regional competition and our first entrepreneurship award. I also redesigned the team structure and implemented better training and management, allowing the team to grow from 20 people to 43 and to triple our sponsorship income from approximately $10,000 to $30,000. I led the robot's software development in C++, creating PID controllers to coordinate the steering and power going to the 4 wheels, along with controlling the angle of the robot's intake and lift systems. In addition to teleoperation control, I also developed the robot's autonomous software to use it's gyroscope and encoders to place a block on the low see-saw during the 15 second autonomous period. Additionally, I led the design of the robot's lift mechanism and was heavily involved in the overall system design of the robot.

2016 - 2017 Season

During this competition, points could be scored by three different ways: grabbing balls from the ground or hoppers and shooting them into a high goal, grabbing a large plastic gear and placing it on a hook, and by lifting off the ground using a dangling rope with a loop. Our robot was able to grab balls from the hoppers and launch them into the high goal, grab gears from a hopper and place them onto a human operated hook, and climb the rope at the end of the match. Our robot featured mecanum wheels for omnidirectional movement, a winch to grab and climb the rope, a hopper to catch the plastic gear for placing on the hook, and a shooting mechanism consisting of a hopper for the balls, an intake, and a flywheel shooter.

I was involved with the drivetrain design, along with conceptual design for the ball shooter mechanism. I also led the programming of the robot using C++ and assisted with the robot's electronics. As the team's treasurer, I managed the team's budget and was heavily involved with selecting and purchasing many of the robot's off-the-shelf components.

2015 - 2016 Season

This competition had three ways to score points: traversing across a set of obstacles, picking up large foam balls and shooting them into the high or low goal in a tower, and lifting off the ground using a 6 foot high bar. Our robot was able to score balls into the low goal, traverse most of the obstacles, and pull itself up using the 6 foot high bar. Our robot featured treads, an intake mechanism for grabbing and shooting foam balls, and a telescoping lift mechanism.

I led the programming team in developing the robot's software using C++. I also designed the lift mechanism such that it could both fit under a 16 inch low bar obstacle while also being able to reach the 6 foot high bar to perform a pull up. During matches, I was the robot operator, responsible for the non-driving controls.

2014 - 2015 Season

The goal of this competition was to build a robot that could stack as many tote boxes as possible during the 2 minute and 30 second matches. Stacks were limited to a maximum of 6 boxes each, and bonus points were allotted for placing a recycling bin on top of the stack. Our robot was able to stack up to 5 boxes with a recycling bin at a time. Our robot featured a pneumatic powered lift and latch mechanism to stack boxes, a gripper for grabbing and lifting recycling bins, and an arm to pull boxes into an easier to grab position.

As the team's sole programmer, I learned LabView which I used to program the robot's autonomous and teleoperation behavior. I also worked on the conceptual design of the robot's box lift and latch mechanism, assisted with the electronics, and worked on the pneumatic system. Finally, during matches, I was one of the two drivers operating the robot.