Summer Project Poll

[Joe_Widen]

I've heard a lot of people talking about summer projects, so I thought I'd make a poll for it.


I'm trying to persuade my team to work on some mecanum wheels and a crab drive. I think I got the mecanum across, but while I was looking at Mecanum, I found that crab drive is so much cooler!! :ahh: We're also going to hopefully attend IRI.

So what are you planning on doing?

[Adam Richards]

So what are you planning on doing?My team doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to get them to help with starting up another local team for the purpose of collaboration.

[Michelle Celio]

I do believe it was last year that our team set up a "summer camp" for middle schoolers. It was based around Lego mindstorms and from what I hear they did some amazing things. I do believe that we are trying to do that again this year, we're just having some administrative difficulties. Also, we plan to be doing allot of fund raising since we're nearly broke.

[Nuttyman54]

There needs to be an "other" option. We're making a crate that can fold-out to be pit shelving, as well as possibly attempting some different shifting transmissions.

[Hiteak]

Hopefull during the summer we will make a cart and try to improve the team overall (website, advertizing, fundraising, ect).

[Bill_Hancoc]

We would really like to work on a mencanum drive but anything that has to do with the chassis to speed up next years design process would be great. We do plan to attend IRI

[Nita]

Our programming team will be messing around with the camera (which they STILL haven't figured out yet), the design team will be messing around with this program we might be getting to replace our old ones, the website team working on the layout, and I forget the rest.

[Koko Ed]

Trying to make a bigger, better Rah Cha Cha Ruckus (oh and update our photoalbum all the way back to '92 and make a new recruitment video and maybe help 1591 and 1930 make theirs).

[Billfred]

1293 is going to be spending a fair amount of summer working on the fundamentals--getting the team organized, beefing up some of our weaker areas, and hopefully learning a few technologies we haven't meddled with. I (personally) also hope to keep working on the cheap kiwi drive project I'm working on here at USC.

[Gabe]

Our team wants change our entire robot construction for next year. No more 1/2" machined aluminum plate for the chassis (our team uses up 1/2" stock really fast!), but instead want a lighter welded frame. We also want to move away from 4-wheel, and try 6-wheel, or maybe treads. We are thinking about 2-speed shifting transmissions instead of the KOP transmissions, but that depends on the other two. Right now I'm looking at DeWalt 3-speed shifters with interest. ;)

[Jay TenBrink]

We have had some interesting off season projects in the past. Many of our projects were dreamed up during Nationals or on our way back home from Nationals.

Summer of 2002: We had seen some cool shipping crates that converted into workshops down at the Epcot center. We designed and built our own and have been very happy with it. Stop by in Atlanta and check it out.

Fall of 2002: Our 2002 drive train was slow and weak. We resolved to never have that happen again. In the airport on our way back from Florida we formulated plans to build our robot dynamometer to test and develop drive trains.

Fall of 2003: We designed and built our robot CVT, (continuously variable transmission).

Fall of 2004: We built a 12 foot wide 4 foot deep floor to ceiling display case to show off our robots, trophies, and projects at our school.

Fall of 2005: On the plane back from Nationals in Atlanta the first sketches for our prosthetic robot hand were made. We built it in the fall and visited our regional medical center’s prosthetics lab as a team. Stop by in Atlanta and check it out.

Fall of 2006: We may continue to develop the prosthetic hand to give it individually powered digits or install pressure sensors on the fingers. We also may give it skin over its bones and muscles to make it look less cyborg and more human.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Building a CARDBOARD BOAT... again. Hehe. Also possibly building a mecanum drive and/or crab drive for purposes of testing and driver practice. Some fundraising. More programming projects with the Robovation robot.

[Mr. Freeman]

I might try to make a (motorised) robot cart over the summer.

Team 1552 is planning on making "stalker bot". The plan is to equip it with the camera that we never got working to track different color T-shirts. It'll be almost completely autonomous (didn't see a software option in the poll) and will be able to avoid collisions with ultrasonic sensors. We might actually decide to actuate some of the ultrasonic sensors to get a better reading of what is in front of the bot at different angles.

[CrazyCarl461]

Sensors :ahh:

Our team seems to build nice mechanisms and then outfit them with crummy sensors. This year our crab drive had to be locked into tank mode for Buckeye due to rotary encoder malfunction (all is well now). This summer we are going to develop some nice robust and lightweight sensor assemblies for all sorts of great sensing - because a good design is no good if the RC can't figure out what the heck is going on.

[Donut]

We will be doing some robot improvements/testing, including designing a new drive system (heavily looking at a half-track), and doing lots of sensor testing (if we get all the sensors working and developed I want to we could be looking at using 13-20 sensors next year).

Our biggest project is team support and organization though. We are going to have to plan out next year's schedule and start fundraising immensely in the summer, and we are also going to have to convince teachers willing to do things in the summer to stay interested and stay involved as major teacher sponsors (we have an unfortunate trend of being able to keep a "head" teacher who helps run much of the club for no more than 2 years, and this year is no exception as our current teacher sponsor will be leaving our school at the end of this year).

[Sharkbyte]

I want to try and make something like the wheels team #1 had on their robot. (the ones that can rotate nearly 360 horizantally)

Also I want to update the look of the web site

[Josh Murphy]

we don't really do much prototyping over the summer, we just go to the IRI, and have a big team picnic, but once we are back from summer break we start getting things ready to go and start sorting and getting things early ahead of time so during the season we aren't waiting for it. We take a break for the summer!! :)

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I want to try and make something like the wheels team #1 had on their robot. (the ones that can rotate nearly 360 horizantally)

Also I want to update the look of the web site

I don't remember those wheels. One's that can rotate 360 degrees horizontally? Team 1 had a 6 wheel tank drive, not a crab drive if that's what you're thinking of. You guys were at MWR right next to us in the pits, maybe you were thinking of 71 or maybe you meant to put that down.

[kawelch]

We've plans to start/mentor 2 Lego leauge teams, host a rookie workshop for local teams, host a "how to avoid the sophmore slump" workshop, and of course FUNDRAISE!!!!

[Katie Reynolds]

We're doing our "rookie" training in the summer and making mock-FIRST robots with VEX and lego league kits.

[James1902]

1902 is planing of starting a new Lego league team at a middle school. we have previous Lego leaguers on our team and the middle school it's at is talking about fully funding it. I would also like to start thinking about mechanum or crab drive trains. otherwise just take a vacation. :D

[Greg Needel]

131: we are going to be rebuilding / starting from scratch a robot to play this game for the off season events. We are going to be using the project to train our freshman since we lost alot of the team this year.


me: work on the Ra Cha Cha, redesign the 2 speed for better manufacturability and robustness, new battle bot (tetracide v2 or a new bot), my Segway mods, the white papers i have been meaning to write, and a bunch of other stuff.

[Sharkbyte]

I don't remember those wheels. One's that can rotate 360 degrees horizontally? Team 1 had a 6 wheel tank drive, not a crab drive if that's what you're thinking of. You guys were at MWR right next to us in the pits, maybe you were thinking of 71 or maybe you meant to put that down.

Let's just say they were uber-manuverable

[Not2B]

Better frame designs that still fit our "Hacksaw and Drill" philosophy.

Writing down more of the "Hacksaw and Drill" Manifesto and philosophy to teach teams how to do more with less.

[Dillon Compton]

Team 1394:
-Further developing the Urban Support: FIRST program (including writing whitepapers, assembling data/statistics, creating an urban team network, among other things. Will be similar to Cybersonic's "Rural Support Network" but tailored to urban teams. Actually includes a lot of doing "more with less"- I'll be in touch with you, Not2B!).

-Our head teacher has convinced the school to offer a summer robotics science course for credit, so that'll be happening; will include the basic intro to FIRST (shop work, programming, electrical, etc...), as well as the applications of previously learned in-class science and math to robotics projects (physics, load calculations, what have you...). Probably will build a FIRST style robot out of our in shop materials and '04 control system, and hopefully work with Vex as well.

-Developing a "standard" drivebase and drivetrain [probably 2, actually- one with high manuverability (omni or mecanum wheels, holonomic system), and one that balances traction/power and manuverablity nicely.]; something that is functional, that we know like the back of our hands, and that we can put together in week 1 while having confidence that it will work well, and provide competitive power and/or manuverability. Also further shop training, teaching a few new programmers, etc...

Me:

-Holonomic/Tank(read tank as "high traction, standard drive configuration") combination drive system with single wheelset- not crab or swerve; if things work as I believe they will, expect a thread mid-july with explanations, diagrams, drawings, video, and photo.

-Further development of personal knowledge in the areas of software development and website programming.

-All of the 1394 stuff.

-Finish laying the groundwork and aquiring funders for a new team I recently started.

-More work with camera.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Let's just say they were uber-manuverable

This doesn't help. Can you puhlease give me more detail in what you are talking about. Their wheel sysemt was highly manueverable for a 6-wheel machine b/c not all the wheels were touching at the same time. I believe. They look like just regular wheels. Yeah... pictures tell all, 6 skyways. I still think you might be thinking of a different team.

Anyways... tonight at our meeting we talked about more offseason things. Possibly going to IRI. Maybe hosting our own offseason comp. Having a huge demo at the Mississippi Valley Fair with many of our past robots competing in a "new" game designed to fit all the robots specifications. We have about 4 usuable robots I think. We also talked about new FRC teams and Vex teams.

[supermosquito69]

Why stop at wheels!!!

Hell...let's get some powerful fans with a light-weight well designed structure so that you may be able to even fly!...(not above 4.5 ft..lol) But..helll....It would be ALOT of FUN! :D

[supermosquito69]

I mean...the human can only go as far as his mind takes him! :)

[hayakuneko]

I've heard a lot of people talking about summer projects, so I thought I'd make a poll for it.


I'm trying to persuade my team to work on some mecanum wheels and a crab drive. I think I got the mecanum across, but while I was looking at Mecanum, I found that crab drive is so much cooler!! :ahh: We're also going to hopefully attend IRI.

So what are you planning on doing?

well this is just me, but I'd like to do a vex project over the summer, maybe tackle this year or last year's vex challenge.. or maybe even try an auto-shifting tranny (like what 968) has..

hmm interesting...

[CraigHickman]

114 will be busy.

We're rebuilding our bot cart out of aluminum, instead of the heave steel that it is now.

We're going to teach a drive train seminar for local teams

We're doing demos at local schools

We're doing demos at all of our sponsors

LAN parties

and food.

[EHaskins]

My team is starting 2 lego teams. I got the coach to let me take the robot hoem for the sumer and work on a new program for it. I want to make better camera code, gyor code, accellorometer code, gear tooth sensor code, and mabe ultrasonic code. :ahh: The building team doesn't do anything over the summer.

P.S. You need a programing choice on the poll!

[prettycolors91]

probably more work on CASEY (Our community robot...stands for Community Awareness of Science and Education Year-round)...we're going to attempt to put a speaker on it so we can "read" a story to little kids (Preferably entitled 'the little robot that could' :D ).

Also....more PR as always...and there's always the fourth of july parade. I think we're heading down to IRI.

Dunno what else...but I'm sure theres more

[anna~marie]

Dunno what else...but I'm sure theres more
meg, you forgot another road clean up, the Huron river clean up...

[prettycolors91]

o yeah forgot about those...its shaping up to be a busy summer, ain't it

[Cptn Patches537]

Our team plans on building 2 crab-style drivetrains this summer. One for code/testing and one to play around with in the metal shop.
Also, we are looking into building a SWAT bot for our counties swat team. Has any body else ever done this before, any input would be appreciated.
Last, we will be holding our new member training program as a summer school course at our highschool. Here new members get to learn from veterans the basics of what they will be doing in the coming year as well as participating in an inter-school vex competition.

[Ken Leedle]

Also, we are looking into building a SWAT bot for our counties swat team. Has any body else ever done this before, any input would be appreciated.

That would be an awesome project! The robot would probably have to climb stairs, use a taser/pepperspray, open doors, sneak up on bad guys, and be light and small enough to transport easily. It would also have to be teleoperated from a long distance and have decent photo/recording equipment to get evidence.

My summer project is continuing my ARM. ARM is a fully autonomous 5 axis arm on a mobile base. It is powered by FIRST motors donated by my robotics team. I am designing and building all the electronics and mechanical stuff. It makes you appreciate how much work IFI and FIRST do to prepare the KOP. I have been working on it off and on for almost a year. I have most of the mechanical and electrical stuff done, I just need to add sensors. It is controlled by two PIC18F8720 microcontrollers communicating via SPI. The sensors I have planned are: CMU camera, accelerometers, compass, sonar, sonar and IR triangulation, pressure sensors for the gripper, bumper switches, odometers, PIR, and others. It will have many of the same capabilities that a SWAT bot might have, including opening doors, raiding the refrigerator, climbing up a step (maybe), scarring my cats, etc.