There are plenty of ways to get involved with the team. New members can join at any time during the school year, and the hours you can choose to dedicate to the team are flexible. If you want to know more about the team after reading this, or have any questions at all, please feel free to contact the team captain. Some areas of work for team members include:
Wires are twisted together to make sure the robot is not a mess of wire.
-
All of the wiring to the motors and placing of various sensors are done by the electronics group.
-
Programming the robot with the instructions it needs to play the game effectively are also handled by this group. We have used National Instrument's LabView software to program the robot each season so far. Despite the high learning curve that comes with it, we have proficient programmers on the team that would be glad to help you with any roadblocks you may meet on the road to mastering the software.
Watching the competition is very important in determining potential alliance partners.
-
The scouting team watches all of the other teams at the competitions, taking notes on how they play, and getting information about their robot and strategy from visiting their pit. These notes are used in picking an alliance if we are in the top eight, or assisting a team that may choose us.
-
Throughout the build season, these members also make sure everything about the robot is within the rules of the game, from size to weight to safety.
A team member working on a part for our robot. The sparks sure are flying!
-
The mechanical team builds the structure of the robot. In addition to the parts we buy, this team takes raw material, cut/drill/whatever process is needed to make a part from it, and assembles all of the pieces together to build the robot.
-
You do not need to know how to work every single tool in a machine shop, as we have members and mentors that would be willing to teach you how to use them.
Events such as open houses help the team stay in contact with the community and with sponsors.
-
The business team is tasked with raising enough funds for the entire season to be successful. This team also maintains and makes new contacts with businesses in the community in pursuit of sponsorships.
-
This team is also in charge of the outreach to the community and making events that we hold a success.
The robot is ready to be shipped to the first regional competition in our companion cube crate.
-
The logistics team plans the trips to tournaments. Transportation, meals, and hotels are all planned by this team. In addition to getting the team to tournaments, this team must also make sure the necessary forms are filled out to get the robot there too.
-
They are also in charge of accounting for the team, making sure both the cost of building a robot, and trips to tournaments stay within budget.
Working diligently on updating the team blog.
-
Public relations is responsible for all of the team's media. Among other things, this includes creating and maintaining the team website, and taking photographs and video, and making graphics.
-
At tournaments, this team also helps boost team spirit.
CAD illustrations such as the one above help build the robot, and give an easy visual representation of what the robot is capable of.
-
During the first part of our build season, this team creates a complete visual representation of the robot that we will build, using the Autodesk Inventor software. This is critical to the building process, as it gives us a plan to go by, instead of making everything up as we go along.
-
This team also works on prototyping parts for the robot.
Once again, if you are interested in joining the team, please contact the team captain for more info.
Outside Links
