pic: 1678 Offseason Robot Progress

[Michael Corsetto]

Originally Posted by jwfoss

Inquiring minds would love to see more details on this. Maybe its just me but the complexity of this machine seems like a change from the typical 1678 design mentality. Just pushing the boundaries for the "offseason"?

Justin,

I think the kids are working to tidy up the CAD and get it out so people can take a better look at what went into the design.

First, there definitely was a desire to push the boundaries and see what the current group of students was capable of. The packaging was really intense, and took a lot of whiteboard sessions to figure most of it out.

We also got to try out 5-6 different mechanisms the team hasn't designed before, which was valuable experience. This has paid off for us in past years, so we thought we'd continue trying new mechanisms in the offseason, but built in the "1678 style".

Lastly, this process highlighted some of the general areas we can improve on in the next 1.5 months. With new students every year, there will invariably be strengths and weaknesses in their design, assembly, programming and project management skills (to name a few!). Going through something like this allows mentors like me to better focus my energies on growing students in the ways they need to develop, in order to work as a cohesive unit come January.

We'll find out soon enough if the efforts paid off!

-Mike