[Allison K]

My team has fun doing practice designs. I used the animations from the past two years, or I made up a game of my own and presented it to the team. Then they break up into groups and design a robot. We cocme back together as a team and go over design principals (Low CG, KISS, etc.) or specific subsystems (electrical, drive, manipulation). Then they reform the small groups and change their designs to reflect what they just learned. Usually one game/design will span multiple meetings.

I used the white papers from CD, the power point presentations from the 2004 championship, and some presentations that I made to present different ideas.


For everything else we're doing we found it helpful to decide on subgroups and have each group work on something applicable
- The digital group is working on the website and learning how to use CAD, Inventor, and 3D Studio Max
- Drive/chassis is learning the different types of drives and what they're used for
- Drive and Manipulation are both learning about the different motors provided in the kit, and about pnuematics
- Electrical/Programming is working on learning how to program and learning about the electrical components in the kit
- Robotics Support is designing the cart and crate, inventorying (is that a word) and organizing all the tools, and stocking up on materials we know we're going to need.
- PR is working on relations with other teams, deciding on a team shirt/uniform, and on our chairman's award.

And we're always fundraising and trying to find more sponsors, mentors, and students.

~Allison