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Unread 23-01-2007, 22:29
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Nitroxextreme Nitroxextreme is offline
Relation to Mrs. Steve
AKA: Jon
FRC #1626 (Falcon Robotics ; 190 (Gompei and The Herd))
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Rookie Year: 2005
Location: Bedminster, NJ
Posts: 276
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Re: How many teams are 100% student built

First off I would like to say that many of these mentor/ student built threads are based only on a person's mood at the time. Im sure that at some point people wanted to be 100% student or 100% mentor. I know that I have swayed back and forth on that.

However, the very important fact that everyone seems to forget is that FIRST is about learning. Personally I understand that there is a HUGE amount of information that one person can find and comprehend by themselves. But...the point of the matter is that even though they learn all these new things, there is still so much more that they can never even think of knowing.

Over the past three years our team has developed greatly and has gone from being built by enthusiastic students...to enthusiastic young adults. We began solely on the basis of building a robot, but we now understand that just building a robot is not enough. Personally I have learned an immense amount through my own experiences and research. On the other hand, the knowledge I have gained on my own cannot even come close to the amount of insight I have gained through talking with mentors, engineers and company owners.

This year I have taken a completely different look at how a robot should be designed and built. For the first time, we are making detailed CAD drawings and testing ideas both with prototypes and 3D CAD models. We also have taken the time to use physics and math to optimize weight vs. strength. In my opinion the most important aspect of this "design concept" is talking with engineers, not simply getting their ideas or having them look at yours. We have been able to use the engineers ideas to elevate our own and change things for the better.

It is my opinion that students MUST be involved in the design and build process, but it is EQUALLY important to involve mentors and engineers.

Jonathan Morgan
Team 1626
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