College/Areial Robotics Info

[sssbox]

Originally Posted by Nica F.

The FIRST for Life Conference last year in Atlanta was a conference intended to inform high school students and current college mentors/faculty members on how to start a FIRST College program aimed at mentoring local high school FRC,FTC,FLL teams, hosting regionals, and/or having a credited FIRST college course. This conference also gave structural examples of colleges that currently have them (ex. Purdue, WPI, and Clarkson). Dean Kamen was not a guest speaker at this conference session and this conference didn't have any direct correlation to a college level FIRST competition.

Though I was too busy volunteering to attend any conferences or meetings last year, I believe that the "meeting" that has been mentioned was separate from (or at least a special part of) the FIRST for Life Conference. All I heard about it ahead of time was on the day of there was a word-of-mouth announcement for all current college students who were volunteering to attend some special meeting at a certain time and a certain place (I was told that I "had to be there".

I got the short version afterward, and it apparently had people from FIRST, several universities and a few companies who were in the aerial robotics field to discuss some possibilities for the future. After that, the college students took some ideas and ran with it, separate from FIRST and then later worked to get integrated into the event last weekend.

[Nica F.]

Originally Posted by sssbox

Though I was too busy volunteering to attend any conferences or meetings last year, I believe that the "meeting" that has been mentioned was separate from (or at least a special part of) the FIRST for Life Conference

Being one of the organizers of the "FIRST for Life" conference last year, I just wanted to clarify (as asked) that it wasn't at our conference as it is mentioned in Renee's earlier post.

[Osamah]

Hi All,

Here is the Oakland University Video (CARD Team #2):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzjgPE7M2tU

Hope to see you all next year

[Matt2081]

I saw a bit of the CARD competition and here's my suggestions as far as a collegiate FIRST competition goes:

First, I thought the aerial robots were pretty darn cool! But I worry at the potential to create a FIRST-like game entirely out of flying robots. The complications I see are that it is hard to get a flying robot to do much else other than fly... It's difficult to put robotic arms, grabbers, etc. on these types of robots because of weight and balance, and I worry that these limitations will take away from the creativeness of designs that you see in FRC. I like the flying idea and think it presents a great challenge, but maybe not focus the competition entirely on flying robots every year. Possibly have ground and flying robots work together? The flying robot could push a switch to unlock game pieces for the ground robot to score, or the flying robot could activate a tower that allows the ground robot to score on it, or something like that. I feel like the flying robots present the Electrical/Computer Engineers and CS majors with a challenge, but not so much of a challenge for some of the other engineers (like mechanical). If the goal is to make a competition that is more challenging than FRC, then instead maybe make the autonomous period a bigger deal (with more actual automation rather than just pre-programmed steps like in FRC), or incorporate more video recognition and automation into the game. Although flying robots do have some practical applications, I see more development of controls and automation on ground robots in practical robotics applications, and getting practice and experience with these would benefit participants. Automation, sensors, and video recognition are still tough challenges for the Electrical and CS guys, but the challenge to design and build an effective drive train and manipulator that quickly, efficiently, and smoothly implements a game challenge is great for mechanical guys. Maybe I'm the only one with this viewpoint, but I wanted to throw it out there just as a suggestion.

All in all, I think it is great that a FIRST collegiate program is being pursued, and I fully intend to start a team. I already have a group of guys who are excited to get started.

Do we know if FIRST is going to officially take on this new level as part of the program? And if FIRST doesn't, will the competition still happen next year? I don't want to send my Electrical/Software guys off with the task of building a quad-copter this summer if there's no competition (but I very much hope there is)...

[popnbrown]

First off thanks for checking it out! It means a lot that there are people interested and thank you very much for your feedback!

I personally feel the same way, that ground vehicles should be included as well. Or at least that the competition shouldn't revolve around aerial vehicles COMPLETELY. I had a lot of fun designing ground vehicles in FRC and I wouldn't want that to go away.

However, aerial vehicles do definitely present quite a bit of a mechanical challenge themselves. In fact, I'm almost positive that no two teams used the same structure or type of material in their quadrocopter this year. As for grippers and such, it is entirely possible to put one on, how do you balance it and such, I feel would be yet another mechanical challenge! Beyond that, it presents a very sophisticated problem for ECE and CS guys, as they have to try to develop a more advanced control system for a more advanced problem. I think all in all aerial vehicles are an interesting problem that do all kinds of majors. It also definitely "spices" things up a little bit as opposed to ground robots.

Originally Posted by Matt2081

Do we know if FIRST is going to officially take on this new level as part of the program?

More importantly, the answer to this question. No we do not know yet, but we are hoping to get that answer as soon as possible. We're collecting feedback (such as yours), surveys from our teams, audience and as much information as we can to show FIRST that this would be a great program.

Originally Posted by Matt2081

And if FIRST doesn't, will the competition still happen next year? I don't want to send my Electrical/Software guys off with the task of building a quad-copter this summer if there's no competition (but I very much hope there is)...

As of now, we can't say for sure. We're going to continue to try and push, perhaps continue it as a demonstration. But regardless, we have a lot of people (that would be on teams) that seem to be interested and perhaps we could do several different scrimmages, and again show FIRST that this would be a great addition to their program. So I would suggest YES! MAKE A QUAD-COPTER! It's great fun...sometimes (like all robots).

I am going to be working with my quad-copter and my team over the summer and I know several others may as well. So feel free to PM me.

Any more questions about the program in general e-mail CollegiateAerialRobotics 'at' gmail.com
so we can keep you updated on what will be happening for next year.

[rickliner]

Hi everybody - I am the faculty mentor for Pace team #3. We had a great time at the competition even though it was really tough. Thanks to all the other teams for their enthusiasm and help, and to all of the awesome volunteers and committee members who pulled off a great event.

Regarding the bots: the planning committee decided to make the ground vehicles optional this year, just because they weren't sure if teams would have the time and money resources to build two robots. But the games were designed for both air and ground to work together, and more than half of the teams did have both kinds. One very cool thing that was done during the elimination rounds was that alliances were expanded -- if your team had only an air vehicle working, you invited another team's ground robot to join you, or vice versa.

The rules on aerial vehicles were purposely very vague. Although everyone at the event had a quadcopter, teams were not forced to use that design. At the original "pitch" meeting with Dean Kamen and Chris Anderson last April, there was a lot of discussion about blimps (and a demo) as well. And there are plenty of other possibilities.

Why were so many teams from the midwest? I think it was almost certainly due to money. Our team spent twice as much on transportation of people and bots as we did on the robot parts themselves. Our team members flew the 1,000 miles to the event, but our team's hero was the friend who agreed to drive a car full of robots, parts, and tools for 15 hours each way. There were several other teams from the northeast who were involved during the season but ended up dropping out.

It would be great if this program could attract sponsorship for free or discounted shipping as FRC teams receive.

Rick

[Cow Bell Solo]

I just want to make this available to everyone out there and that wasn't able to make it to the Championship to sign up for the email but today I received additional information about CARD. The below is a qoute.

"Hello everyone!

You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest the Collegiate Aerial Robotics Demonstration, a proposed college-level FIRST program. Please note, no additional announcements will be sent to this email list. You must follow one of the below procedures to extend your involvement in the program.

We’re happy to say that we have had terrific feedback from our first season and overwhelming interest in moving forward with the program. With that in mind, we have put together the following overview of the upcoming season to help put things in perspective and bring you into the community dialog either as a team or a supporter of the program.

For Supporters/Volunteers:
If you are interested in the administrative or volunteer aspects of the program we welcome your participation! It can be quite time consuming, but the outcome is well worth it. We also welcome in-kind or monetary support and are happy to discuss sponsorship options. To get started, please email collegiateaerialrobotics@gmail.com expressing your intent.

For teams:
First, while you have received this email, it does not mean you are an official participant in the program. In part because of the overwhelming response and challenge that comes with participation, we have implemented a tiered registration system for the upcoming season. We also learned from our first year that many teams found they needed more than one year to form a team, organize their program, begin development of robots, and actually be prepared to participate in an event at the college level. With tiered registration, you may participate in the program without committing to a demonstration event.

Officially, our season kicks off September 10th, when we will hold a conference call for all interested teams. More information on that call is forthcoming, but its purpose will be to orient everyone to the season, answer initial questions, and set everyone on a path toward success. We will not be releasing game information on that call, but will provide an overview of what to expect.

Between now and September 10th, all interested teams are required to complete this pre-registration form. We also ask that you provide a letter of support from your institutional sponsor to collegiateaerialrobotics@gmail.com.

Following September 10th, with the academic year in full swing, teams will organize and work toward building a solid foundation. The next major event will be the release of game information at the end of the fall academic year in December. We will conduct registrations for the Championship event at this time. Teams will have between the December game release and the April Championship event to further develop and finalize their robotic platforms and finalize other deliverables.

Now, your most important step is to begin organizing your team! There are numerous examples out there in the FIRST community and we’re here to help, along with the 10 teams who participated in the first season of the program. In addition to completing this registration form, you can sign up for our team Google Group, where you can communicate with the Planning Committee and other teams on anything related to the program.

We also encourage team members to participate in the planning and organization of the program. This open-source mentality allows direct communication and input from teams to best improve our collective chances for success. Interested participants should email collegiateaerialrobotics@gmail.com expressing their intent.
Thank you and we’re looking forward to the upcoming season!

--
Christopher Jones and Karina Powell
Co-Chairpersons, Collegiate Aerial Robotics
CollegiateAerialRobotics@gmail.com"

[xitaqua]

Hello All,

Is there any teams participating on College/Aerial Robotics in St. Louis looking for mentors ?.

We have a group of engineers building a demo quad-copter.....we just got done designing our motor mount....it fits on a 1/2 inch PVC pipe.

Cheers,
Marcos.

FIRST! Y U NO OFFER A COLLEGE LEVEL ROBOTICS COMPETITION???

Seriously! They know the kind of education students get from FIRST, and think about that with college students! The games could be a lot harder, a lot more intense, and a lot more professional. Plus, students would learn even more from FCC (FIRST College Competition)! And you gotta admit, FCC has that nice ring to it!

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by SuperNerd256

FIRST! Y U NO OFFER A COLLEGE LEVEL ROBOTICS COMPETITION???

Seriously! They know the kind of education students get from FIRST, and think about that with college students! The games could be a lot harder, a lot more intense, and a lot more professional. Plus, students would learn even more from FCC (FIRST College Competition)! And you gotta admit, FCC has that nice ring to it!

Do you read threads before you post in them or do you just speak before you think? I'd suggest the former and suspect the latter.

Literally 2 posts above yours is a post that should be of some interest to you.

[Katie_UPS]

I heard that the proposal for CARD to join FIRST was rejected. Are they running as a separate competition now?

[Hallry]

I'm pretty sure that they're still having a competition, but it won't be located in St. Louis with the Championship. My friend and alumni from my FRC team is starting a CARD team at Steven's Technical Institute in Hoboken, NJ, and she said that there is a conference call for all teams this Saturday (supposedly their 'kickoff'?).

[EHaskins]

I'm a member of the MSOE CARD team. There will not be a completion in St. Louis, but othe venues are being looked into. Anyone interested should look at the CARD teams google group. http://groups.google.com/group/Teams...AerialRobotics

[xitaqua]

Does anyone know where and when will be the competition this year ?

I understand the following teams plans to compete this year :
University of Minnesota
MSOE
University of Washington
University of Kentucky
Iowa State University
Chaminade College preparatory
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Prescott, AZ
University of Memphis
Stevens Institute of Technology
Oakland University
University Wisconsin Platteville

[EHaskins]

The competition will be held April 13-14, 2012, at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Kern Center.

If anyone is interested in voluenteering I can forward your info to the people coordinating our voluenteer effort.