Progress Report

We're using a direct drive, front wheel system. We have created and arm the can move up and down, and grab the objects with two moving arms. Our only bib problem is the matter of weight. We decided to move the arm sideways on the base. Hopefully that will work.

Build Reflection

The thing I am most proud of about our robot, is that we had the only bot that could successfully put a ball in the basket. One idea that worked well was the double conveyor belt system, which transported the tennis balls. Another good idea was putting treads between the wheels and the motors; connecting both front and back wheels. There isn't much I would have changed about this build, except for maybe that we didn't come up with tread idea till part of the way into the competition. I think our robot did very well, but I did not care for the attitude of other teams.

Relay Build

Working under pressure sucks, but we finished first, so it wasn't too bad. We broke up work by what part we were working on. Some of us geared the arm and conveyor belt, others built the frame. As a team, it's very important to communicate to each other what you are working on. If we tried this again, I think would get a better camera and take more time taking pictures. I liked working with a partner better, quite simply because two heads are better than one.

Porbot vs Tumbler

I think that our tumbler did pretty well. What got us was the track time. We had relatively few mistakes. The COL's are severely getting on my nerves. Only half of them work right. An interesting difference between these two builds was the placement of motors, and the usage of gears in the probot. The cut off switches were another interesting addition.

Inventory

I would have been more particular about organization and I would have asked more questions to make sure we had everything we needed. We only forgot a couple of bolts, I don't think it will hurt us too bad in the ling run. Inventory was kind of a drag overall.

What is a Robot?

As I learned in “The World’s End”, Robot comes from a Slavic word that means slave. This makes me believe that a robot is something that people have created to serve them. Robots are void of anything organic. They are constructed with the most advanced material around, and for a specific purpose. They are then controlled by their creator.

Bios

Jenny McCullen

Jenny is 17 years old and was born in St. Lawrence’s  hospital in Lansing, Michigan. She loves tennis and has played for four years. Her favorite foods are macaroni and cheese and carrots. She suffered from seizures as a toddler, but hasn’t been afflicted for the last seven years. Jenny thinks of herself as a pretty cool cat.

Josh Houchie

Josh is soon to turn 16 and was born in Lansing, Michigan. He enjoys video games, and his favorite is The Legend of Zelda. He does the high jump on the Mason High School track team. His favorite food is a really good steak. He has absolutely no idea about what he wants to do when he grows up. Josh thinks of himself as a pretty cool cat.

Cyrus Pierce

He was born in Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan in 1996. He is 17 and has two younger brothers. He has lived in Lansing, Charlotte, Kalamazoo and Mason. He has participated in the last four Mason High School theater productions. He works for Cormack Tree Service as an arborist assistant. He acts, plays classical guitar and does stand-up comedy. He also writes rap, short stories and poetry. Cyrus thinks of himself as a pretty cool cat.