These kids rock! I’m really proud of how these kids and mentors come together and build such awesome robots. 4 of the 5 events we entered were wins. Good times.
Very excellent videos! Both content and quality.
I’m curious what kind of video camera you use? We shoot video primarily on DSLR’s which can provide beautiful results but sometimes you need something that can autofocus well and give good clean results like this.
Great season Spartans! We had lots of fun seeing you guys at all of the competitions (except for World Champs). We look forward to seeing you guys at Sac in 2013!
roystur44, I was recently browsing FRC 971’s photo gallery from one of last year’s regionals. I came across this picture of Andy Baker looking at your awesome quick tread wheels (https://picasaweb.google.com/117769834305511597729/2012SiliconValleyRegional#5725946210607928786) and then I recently saw AndyMark’s updated performance wheel with the quick tread: http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0393.htm
Its pretty cool how your design came to market. Could you shed some light on the design behind those wheels.
Also I want to commend your awesome videos and robot as a whole. Your design has been influential to some of my team’s offseason work and I feel that 971 is really one of the lesser known powerhouses. Maybe that’s jut because I am in the midwest.
Love the videos! Thanks for sharing. You guys had a heck of a bot this year.
-John
In previous years, we’ve used rivets and bolts and have been unhappy with the results in terms of efficiency of taking tread on and off, since in a competition setting, it is sometimes necessary to change multiple treads in between matches. Over the off-season last year, we came up with the ziptie idea to make it easier to swap out treads and provide a stronger and also provide a more lasting attachment method.
The tie wrap method was almost ideal. It provided a simple and strong way to attach the thread and delivery the power to the floor. We also designed in a drop out wheel where we detension the wheel, align the axle pin in the side panel and push out the pin. The wheel drops out. We have a extra set of wheels with the thread already mounted. Takes us a few minutes to swap out a new wheel with a fresh set of thread. We noticed that with two inch wide wheels the thread didn’t wear as much as one inch wide wheels. I think we are still on the original threads on the comp bot.
Our media group uses a variety of cameras. Flip Cam, GoPro, HD video on tripods and mono pods and different SLR cameras. We usually have 2 or 3 people filming events and we try to document the build season and provide a weekly status for the sponsors, parents and school. We pool the media at the end of the year and come up with a season ending video. It’s a great tool for people to see what our team is about.
Agreed. During the build season last year, we produced weekly “update” videos that were included in the school TV show/broadcast. I like the idea of using videos like this to update sponsors as well.
Do you happen to know what camera was used for some of the competition footage? (the view from the stands)
The video footage from Steve’s video camera is a Cannon. The video from Craig’s video is from a Cannon DSLR. Jerry shoots Nikon DSLR. Mine is a Cannon Vixa HD. We all shoot HD from the stands. We use tripods.