Robotics

Students take the game challenges and break them into individual tasks and movements that the robot must complete to accomplish goals such as shooting balls, picking up blocks, and placing game pieces. These become the robot subsystems and mechanisms are then created in mechanical design CAD tools to prepare them for manufacturing.

Students build prototypes and test out different approaches to solve the game challenges. The results of this work are fed back to the mechanical design team to refine the designed parts. Finished designs are machined using a combination of CNC machine tools and hand tools before being assembled on the robot.

Students use industry standard software development tools to implement real-time control of the robot mechanisms. Driving the robot, either autonomously or by a student, is handled by commanding the drive motors to move the wheels. Game pieces are acquired, manipulated and scored by programming motors and reading sensors. During the autonomous phase of a match, the robot must perform tasks automatically without intervention from a human operator. This requires the software team to work with computer vision detection and autonomous path driving algorithms. The software team “brings the robot to life.”

The robotics team is run by a group of student leaders selected based on their experience and commitment to the team. These students manage the team schedule and plan daily activities for each robotics meeting. This involves weekly communication with the entire team and coordinating efforts as new robots move from concept through design and assembly. The student leadership is the heart and soul of the robotics team and its success.

This is where things get exciting. The FIRST Robotics Competition is a Sport for the Mind, where the rigors of science and technology come together with the excitement of a sporting event. Each FRC competition is a meeting of 40–50 teams over two days in an alliance-based format. Each alliance of three teams works together in a match play format to solve the challenges of picking up/placing/or shooting game pieces. Matches only last a few minutes and are high intensity due to the limited time for scoring points.