Quote:
Originally Posted by lilstogi11
Beautifully designed machine. The fabricated arms look really sweet as well. Autonomous was un-matched. Play nice with the Hawaiian teams and Cali teams guys  I hope they all put on an awesome show. 
Ohh, I missed the thing about a custom IR board. Sounds cool. Self made or did you guys get it from somewhere? I'd sure like to see what's so different and effective about it after seeing that amazing autonomous. |
The IR system was the result of student research and finding a new sponsor. When the game was announced the team spent Sunday looking into what IR systems were all about and discovered that there were various ranges of IR senders/receivers. On Monday the committee went to Radio Shack and asked all about IR only to be told "huh". So they asked them where they would go for IR information.
To make a long story short- the kids tracked down a small company, IR Solutions, that builds IR Systems and went to them with a proposition to become our sponsor. Liking the initiative of the kids, the company owners (a couple of young guys who work largely over the net) decided they would like to go head to head with the Motorolas and other big names on the team list and they worked with us to develop a seemingly unstoppable IR system. The hardware was made by them, the programming done in Shaun's kitchen by Kristian and Alexa and overall Bharat ran the systems all over the Northeast and made sure we installed it right.
I am VERY proud of how the team took on the problem and did all the legwork to develop the IR system. In my opinion to develop a team of students that can independently research, develop and implement a solution to a problem is one of the most satisfying accomplishments of FIRST. And knowing when and where to go for help is a sign of wisdom.
The NJ Regional was a challenge for us. Things went wrong. As our shirts confessed we are "clearly mortal" and success was no way guaranteed. Frankly, our friendship with 103 played a big role in our success solving our issues and I am very thankful they allied with us. Their robot was clearly the top machine out there this weekend.
Our robot was designed to play with helper bots and I am still assuming we will have numerous limited robots in Hawaii that we can favorably interact with. NJ was the home town where we wanted to do our best and get the bugs out. The rest of the season will just be pure fun and improvement.
Not to ramble even further let me say that I do this for fun. I've tried to build pride in our team and its accomplishments and I know that sometimes they get a little cocky. I'll kick them a bit if we get too offensive- let me know via PM. I hope everyone had fun this past weekend and the rest of the season is as fulfilling and thrill packed as ours has been so far.
Good Luck
WC
