|
Re: were there robot related injuries on your team?
So far in 1293's history, one idiot has managed to claim both the first and second place slots on the list of our worst injuries: me.
Luckily, it wasn't so bad. The year was 2004. The night before ship, and two students decided to test out Bob. We didn't have a dongle back then (when I say that we were rookies, I really mean it), so the robot began its long drive to the ball tee in a room full of then-new computers on very rickety tables. I set down my work and run to the robot to try to trip the main breaker, since a tripped main breaker means the robot stops. Only then it started to make its turn, meaning Bob's arm was moving to where my leg was. I tip and fall, hurting my wrist a bit and being thoroughly embarrassed.
The other incident wasn't as bad. It was Palmetto 2005, and we're in the practice area with Ockham. Our driver didn't set the dongle to disable, but tipped back the control board to pick it up. This throws Ockham into a nice little reverse--right where I was standing. Didn't do any damage to speak of, since the frame rode up onto my shoes and I held it off long enough for our driver to get it stopped.
Moral of the stories?
*If you mentor a rookie team, make sure they have a dongle. (It really costs all of $20 to do, less if you don't want fancy switches.)
*Make sure your team wears closed-toe shoes and safety glasses. If it takes you wearing a pink tutu and being the Safety Glasses Fairy, so be it.
*Know what the robot's going to do.
*Disable the robot when you're doing anything with the controls but using them.
__________________
William "Billfred" Leverette - Gamecock/ Jessica Boucher victim/ Marketing & Sales Specialist at AndyMark
2004-2006: FRC 1293 (D5 Robotics) - Student, Mentor, Coach
2007-2009: FRC 1618 (Capital Robotics) - Mentor, Coach
2009-2013: FRC 2815 (Los Pollos Locos) - Mentor, Coach - Palmetto '09, Peachtree '11, Palmetto '11, Palmetto '12
2010: FRC 1398 (Keenan Robo-Raiders) - Mentor - Palmetto '10
2014-2016: FRC 4901 (Garnet Squadron) - Co-Founder and Head Bot Coach - Orlando '14, SCRIW '16
2017-: FRC 5402 (Iron Kings) - Mentor
|