FIRST Behind the Design Book 3.0 (plan)

[Vince]

A third book on FIRST robot design is in the planning stages, with the goal of a January 2014 publication. The focus of this book will be to highlight advanced manufacturing techniques that have been implemented on FRC robots in the 2013 season, with potential chapters on design techniques and methods (such as CAD and simulation), modern manufacturing (including CNC machining and 3-D printing), and control methods (including the innovative use of sensors and programming). Each chapter will begin with an overview of the state of the art in that industry, with the rest of the chapter devoted to case studies of these applications on individual teams.

As noted, we are in the planning stages of this project with the details for submitting material for review to be developed over the next few weeks. Stephanie Slezycki and I – who wrote two previous books on FIRST robot design – are again working together on this project and the intended format will be similar to the prior books.

While the opportunity to submit material for possible inclusion in the book will be available to all teams, both Stephanie and I will be at the Championships to talk to industry leaders (for profiling in the chapter introductions) and to visit with teams that have innovative applications that may be worthy of publication.

If you are on a team that has successfully implemented such techniques on your robot, we want to hear from you. If you are at Championship, we would like to meet you and see your work. Using this post, please let us know your team number and division, and how your team has used advanced manufacturing principles in your robot this year. Pictures welcome! This first call is simply meant for us to confirm that enough potential content exists. We will issue a detailed set of instructions at a later time that provides additional information on the project and submission process.

We look forward to meeting as many of you that we can this week, and we look forward to learning about the many innovations that teams have created for their 2013 FIRST robots.

Cheers – Stephanie and Vince