FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

ok so basically we've been working nonstop for the last 2 weeks on our robot and we have to say we are proud. it stands strong and strudy. very very amazing. we are so surprised to have finished the robot running and working efficiently. we're able to complete the task and score up to 80 points in the time givin, and thats excluding hybrid mode. so yea just to keep you guys updated...how's everyone else doing?

Fresh

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Well you'll have to scrap whatever you did in the first 4 days and start over. You are not allowed to build your robot before kickoff.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

2039 is half-way done with our prototype bot with [vague-ness] an arm, drive train, and electronics [/vague-ness] in other words by next week we should be 2/3 done with our robot.

How would everyone like to come to our house to play?;)

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Your bot's done, eh?

Lets see it, then.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

We were in the same situation as you, then I woke up.....

:)

now we're back to real life, with pretty much nothing made, but some preliminary designs that might actually work. It's almost time to order parts!

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

-Design & create your pit
-Build your robot crate, and if you're feeling adventurous design it so that it is part of your pit
-Train some students on how to speak to judges professionally
-Create some code to make your bot do something whacky/fun in hybrid mode for one round
-Prepare BoM, business plan, website, scouting materials (you'll need them if you can solo 80 points), etc
-Fundraise for additional competitions
-Powder Coat the bot with your team's color and work on tshirts, themed giveaways, etc, all to help show of your team's image.

You are by no means done ;)

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Heh.

675's got one chassis built (out of two) and we're getting more parts for drivetrain/wheels/etc. Manipulatiors are being built (yes, plural, we have two designs being built simultaneously), machinists are being trained, stuff's getting done. EGADS. PRODUCTIVITY.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Ha! We're a day ahead of you! It IS time to order parts :yikes:

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Ha! We're a few days ahead of you! It's PAST time to order parts... we even have a non-kitbot chassis! :D

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

I actually had that dream last night too.....

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

We've been moving a bit slowly, since we have a couple working chassis now that we can use to prototype manipulators on. But we need to get some parts on the way in the next day or two for sure!

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Wow, you guys are insane. We got most of the designs made in Autodesk and our chassis is built. Programming has the gyro working on our old proto chassis . May seem slow but this is so much better than the past 3 years. :)

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

We had a prototype chassis last week. It's complete with PVC chain tensioners, wrong-sized omni wheels, and a broken weld! We're at least 10 days ahead of where we were last year in this regard.

Was really nice to see it fly down the hallway last night.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

WOW! Great job guys! Congrats on finishing so fast, it's really impressive. I hope you take all of the suggestions you've seen throughout the thread and implement them. Also, you could think about talking to some nearby teams regarding a pre-ship practice. Also, I would recommend doing a lot of practice/troubleshooting time in the next few weeks. Don't wear the robot out but make sure that any parts that might break do (so you can fix them before competition). Remember that a key part of the engineering process is to design AND OPTIMIZE.

Once again, though, congrats on finishing so early. I'm sure your enthusiastic couple weeks of work will inspire at least a few others out there. Way to go!

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

The students were driving around the track at ludicrous speed yesterday, seeing how many laps could be done in two minutes. The Software group* has some code ideas for making the turns a little more coordinated. But since we want to be more than a rabbot(tm) this year, we've got quite a bit more work to do.


* Yes, there's a TechnoKats Software group this year. Multiple students have actually had their fingers on the keyboard and mouse, creating code for 1) the tabletop programming testbed, 2) a pneumatics demonstration setup, 3) our Mecanum drivebase, and 4) last year's practice 'bot/T-shirt cannon. Our previous student programmer graduated last year, but he's been visiting the shop regularly during his extended semester break, and he did some tweaking to our 2007 competition 'bot code as well.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Someone once said, "I know what finished is, and I know what a robot is, but what is this finished robot you speak of?"

Or, as someone else (from 222, I think) said in 2005(?), "Finish... what an interesting concept. I'm still trying to do that with our 2003 bot."

The point is, you ARE NOT done at this point. You won't be done until the robot goes into its crate after your last event of the year. Even then, you still aren't done until you finish your last offseason. I have seen a team modify their robot post-season...and do better than they did in the regular season.

Oh, and I'm going to have to call you on that 80 points. That's 8 hurdles in two minutes, which means an average of one every 15 seconds. (Or, what's harder, 20 herds or 40 laps without a trackball.) You might be able to do that with a clear field, but there are five other robots out there. I want to see a picture of the robot, if you think you can do it without compromising secrets. (And if it's a freshman in aluminum foil...:D)

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Yeah you guys got a working robot but no digital camera to show it off,

huh..

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Are you serious, or just pulling our leg?

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Teams would finish a whole lot faster if we didnt have to wait for parts to come in to try what we designed.
Not like our LEGO team who searches a LEGO bin finding what they need in a matter of several seconds or so........:p :p

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

I am still waiting for the Kick-Off and announcement about the game.
Isn't that this weekend?

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

are you joking?? it was like 3 weeks ago.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Takes a little longer for Hoosiers, don'tch know? :p

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

10 days ago actually. Isn't it funny how so much has happened since then though?

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Thats a pretty small LEGO bin... i remember doing my autonomous robotics course (aka Lego Lab) and sometimes spending upwards of half an hour searching for a part!

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

We are sooooooo behind we lost two days to snow days (if school gets cancelled so do we) and now we lose a week to midterms (cant meet then either, school rule), and because of the snow yesterday we lose MLK day (one of our only full work days) because midterms extend to tuesday and we can't meet before the day a midterm either.




so yea...

were behind but not dead yet...we at least have the start to a drivetrain and a prototype arm.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Done already? You obviously haven't over-engineered enough ;)

We're pretty much where we are every year except now I am swamped by Junior Year and it will be a challenge doing as much as i have done in past years. :(

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

We've got one old bot...mostly up and running. It drives. So our drivers are totally practicing with that. Our software group's working on cleaning up some code on another robot so we have two to drive around (they have similar drive trains to what we're planning on this year). We've got parts ordered, we're furthering our research on what we plan to use for our "arm", and that's just about where we are.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Anyone who thinks there done should read my sig.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Team 1529 (Cyber Cards RULE) is finishing prototyping and CADing. We've basically got 65% of our CADs done. Then we'll send them to the fabricator. I don't know much mroe than that, I'm a rookie after all, and my groupleader likes to work on the manipulator by himself, so I don't know a whole lot.:confused:

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Well, if your 'bot was never done, you'd never go to contests, right?

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

What they mean by that is that, no matter what, you will be changing things, realizing something doesn't work and scrambling trying to figure out how to make it work. As Bobby said, a key part of the engineering process is to design and optimize. When you test, you'll more than likely see that you need to change some parts in some way. So technically, you're never really done.

Also congrats to those who have finished their robot so early.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Wrong-o. Competition is not the end of a 'bot's life (usually). We're using our '07 bot as a presentation 'bot (and when we finish '08 we'll use both of them, '07 is a ramp bot so we can demonstrate some of the stuff that FIRST has us do).

We're DOne for sure!
 

:] ok so we just finished putting together the final touches on our robot. Like i mentioned before we're done. we took it apart today to make final measurements and final adjustments. The reason we were able to finish our robot so quickly was because we've been working on rolling chasis for almost a year now getting the right design together to optomize the torque output for the 6 wheel drive. We built a test track within 2 days of the kick off and made numerous efforts to make sure our robot would be able to go around this w/ ease. we then tested it in a full field of robots and even so we're able to make about 80 points with a tolerence of about (+-)10 points and we're planning on racking in about 15-20 points in the hybrid mode.

Our design is so simple yet it works so effeciently and so well that there's no doubt in my mind that it'll work to its full potential, but ill save that for the comp in april.

anyway to all those teams who said we wern't done well i mean no offense but when we say we're done we're done. we've got everything from fundraising to giveaways, to students very well informed of the rules and everything else.

finally ill have a picture of the robot posted within the week...most likly thursday. anyway good look to all the teams...give us some feed back, tell us how ur doing!!!

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Wow! Sounds like you guys have the perfect robot after only a week and a couple days! Pretty amazing.


... in fact sounds like you have perfect everyything! Did you guys have help? This is a pretty good feat for a rookie team, because as a ninth year team we've never had a robot even close to done til week 4.5.


Care to elaborate on your manipulator, if you have one? Or do you plan to just drive around? I suppose it's feasible to just have a driving robot by now, but you guys don't plan on going beyond? Come on! You guys have 4.5 weeks left. Enough time to build a whole other robot! And you made sure that you rebuilt everything once the six weeks started right? Because you aren't supposed to build things before hand . . .

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

ummm just a question.. you said you worked on this design for a year, did you pre build it?? cause it is against the rules to do that, and it seems really hard for me to believe that your bot was finished in a week and a half we what sounds like a trackball manipulator designed and built.

If you managed to do that, then congrats! If not I hope you have plans to rebuild it now lol!

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

70-90 points in a full field of robots? Without hybrid? I'm sorry my friend, but I'm going to have to disbelieve you. I also have to mention that using any parts machined, bought, or created before kickoff is illegal.

But eighty points? I can't see it. Assuming you can place the ball in the end, you'll need 68 more points. That's seven laps when hurdling, seventeen with herding, and 34 when just driving. If you hurdle, we're still talking about making at least seven laps (+ last one to plae the ball). To me, that means that in just over seventeen seconds, you guys can pick up a huge ball that will be bouncing around, nagotiate around five other robots and three other balls, and toss or lift the ball over the overpass. I'm sorry, but I just don't see that happening.

Surprise me. I'd love to see a team put up 80 points in the teleoperated mode. But I just don't see it happening. The most I'd believe a team can put up is 60 points (without Hybrid), and that's with six hurdled laps and placing the ball in the end.

Good luck.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

hmmm....80 points would be 10 laps in 2 minutes with a hurdle on every lap. So, that means 1 lap every 12 seconds. The distance around the track at its shortest dimension is about 70 feet (30 or so for each long side, and 5 or so for each sort side). That means a speed of about 6 feet per second with instant acceleration, perfect turns, and perfect action of the manipulator. Possible, but not likely in just 10 days (even for a team of pros).

Also, it sounds from your post that this light-speed development stems from a one year project. That sounds like minor tweaks to mechanisms or designs that existed before kickoff....hmmmm

-JEE

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

I agree. But two robots working together? Well... that’s another story... Imagine two robots just sitting on either side of the finish line. One robot hurdles, the other robot catches the ball and rolls it back over the finish line (without any part of the robot passing through the finish line of course). The hurdler picks up the ball again and repeats the process... BIG points.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

That has, of course, been thought about by the GDC and has, of course, been made illegal (I'll try to find the rule in a second, something about the ball having to cross the opponents finish line before it crosses your own again)

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Yeahh. when they were doing it in the game animation it was just to roll it back so he could get more points by placing it on top, you wouldn't get points for knocking that ball down again.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Yup. The ball must cross the other finish line before re-crossing its own for more points.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

BUT, (correct me if I'm wrong) after it crosses the opponent's line, you can hand it over the middle to a team's robot. That's unless they changed the rules and I haven't noticed.

Also, there's no freakin' way on God's green earth that I would even think about believing your claims. Like mentioned before, it's plausible that you would have a box just for driving by now.

AND, lastly, I truly hope that you didn't use any chassis/drivetrain you fabricated before kick-off. It'll be very dissappointing to your team.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Correct. I haven't seen anything that disallows this either.


... I'm not sure many people believe him. But it's always fun to go with the notion that someone isn't joking around and is pretty amazing! ;P

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Forum + Anonymity = Rampant Exaggeration, if not outright Blatant Lying. Welcome to the internet, please enjoy your stay.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

....says the newbie with one post.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Well in that case, check out the number of my posts.. and heed my warning:
Play nice kids! :cool:


If all you want is a robot to drive around in a circle and score points by crossing lines, I'm going to have to say I would actually this year (for the first time in my whole FIRST "career" of my 8th year in '08) tend to believe someone that said they have a "complete" robot.

Now, take that robot and practice, practice, practice... Throw in some chairs as obstacles... train alternate drivers..
Do other non-robot things...

You've achieved the mechanical task at hand, now start to build your team as well, and achieve the "I" in FIRST which is the "Inspiration".

Don't stop doing things as a team just because you've gone wild for 2 weeks (yes I would say that to.. it's a force of habit since we are in the 2nd week, and not just an oversight of the date we all started).

But anyways, now that you've built a Robot, go out and build a Team. Build a base for inspiring your community..

You are never really "done" with anything in FIRST.
There are way more tasks every year than building a robot..

Try starting some work on Dean's Homework... That will give you something to do in (at least) the next 4 weeks or so & beyond.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

I, with (admittedly less posts than you) more posts than he (since obviously you seem to be basing experience off of it) and more rep than both of you (which is like saying "I'm helpful-er") will agree with he for what he says is indeed, true.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Define "working on". Some of your work may be illegal.
Just a friendly heads-up.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Dude, you could have just posted this in the other topic about the same thing. No?

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

i don't buy it till i see a video...

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

On second thought guys, let's stop being so negative. I'll try a different approach: you don't have to be done with the robot until ship, which is just under five weeks away. It's impressive that you think you're done now, and all the more impressive to see that from such a young team. But like I said before, you don't have to be done until you actually ship. Presumably you don't want to ship now, and you don't want to just sit around for the next five weeks and wait for ship day.
So go do some testing. Perfect your code, perfect your hybrid mode. If you're just herding the ball, think about how you might want to try some hurdling. If there are any parts of your robot that are 'jank' (not done to a high standard of quality), you have the time to redo them. If you want some machining done, call up some local machine shops and see if they can donate some machine time. Re-read the rules and make sure that you comply with all of them. Work on Dean's homework! Raise some money for next year!
FIRST isn't a race... at least build season isn't! If this is a hoax, congratulations. If this is for real, I'd love to see it. But even the legendary robots often aren't done until the ship date or a few days beyond.

My point is, if you think you're done when nobody else is, reconsider your definition of done. (It's the math test paradigm: if you finish twenty minutes before everyone else, check the back;) ) .
FIRST isn't (all) about building robots, and it certainly isn't about building robots quickly. Go back and see what more there is for you and your team to learn.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

What does done mean? I've never seen a done robot.

Re: We're DOne for sure!
 

Donny Fresh,

I believe you guys are done, and I'll even believe it was mostly, if not all student built. This is because I know it's theoretically possible, and from what I've read about your school... if a school was going to prepare students to do it, you're certainly in the right place.

It must be great going to a Trade and Technical High School in what looks to be a very active, organized, well-supported school district with a lot of great ideas about how to educate prepare their students for life.

Your Team clearly demonstrates what can be accomplished if students are empowered and inspired in the right ways.

Now, instead of bragging about it and (whether intentionally or not) trying your hardest to make people resentful of your good fortune, why don't you and your classmates do something more productive and try to figure out how you can use your unique position to better serve the FIRST community.

Clearly you all must have learned a lot. What enabled you to be in such a unique situation. How might other students strive to attain similar successes? If you got thrown into a "normal" high school like most of the students here, what actions would you take to bring your experience closer to what you have experienced within the Yonkers Public Schools?

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Donny you mentioned:
Does this mean you used this rolling chassis to build your done robot or did you get all the bugs worked out with your prototype and than built a new chassis after the kick-off?

Enquiring minds want to know :D

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

While everyone has the right to voice their skepticism there really is no way to know the level of quality of this machine til it's in actual competition. Then we'll see if Donny put his money where his mouth is. Til them he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Heh, that was sarcasm guys. Sorry if I posted it the wrong way, forgot the [sarcasm] tags. It's just that he posted something about forums and annonymity, and nobody knows him. Not that he's lying or anything, just that it's ironic. I, personally, have a problem with people basing valid statements off of ranks, posts, time registered, etc.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Agreed

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Hehe, the past 2 weeks weve gotten alot of drawings done! Poor trees, but they've gone to good use!
And i can believe you are done with your robot. But i want to point out one thing.
The past "top" teams have worked down to the wire to get everything together.
If beatty could put together a finished project in 2 weeks i would still find it hard to believe

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

my mom freaks about me dumping my lego (now vex) all over the floor, and i had enough to bury myself! i always replied, "it's the only way to find the part im looking for!!!"

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

lol even though i got around 11th place or something, alliance captain and amaze award i took apart my FTC robot the very next day after comp... i was excited to build other things:D

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

I finally saw this quote in the spotlights. The original author was Joshua May, of team 1110, the Binary Bulldogs.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

I will quote every video game forum I've ever read "No SS didn't happen"

I'd like to see a vid or pic of your robot in action some of the best teams don't have designs done until week 2 or even 3. From what I've read I'd say you should reread every rule and make sure you pass every one because there is no way a fully well functional robot can be built in such a short time unless breaking R27 or R28.

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

Wow. Our team is about 3% done. We are about 2-3days behind schedule. But we only get about 2-3 hours of building a day because there are so many interuptions in the beggining of the meet from the people that don't belong there. So we have like an hour of prep time every single day. Hopefully we finish it in time though because as of now, we only do it on school days, and not on weekends. But we will probably start building on weekends.


But yeah, I guess good job on finishing it early!:D

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

prove it

Re: FRC too easy...we're done :)
 

We just got some of ours in yesterday. [: