TigerTronics Blog

TigerTronics is making good progress this year, perhaps the best progress the team has ever made by the end of the first week of building.

So far, most of the design and build effort has been put toward developing a shooting device that can shoot soccer balls into goals. Several ideas have been explored, including a device running on a track inside of the robot which rams the ball from behind, a device on a pendulum which winds up and then kicks the ball out of the website, getting its power from springs or elastic materials, and a pneumatic-powered device. A simple prototype of each style of device has been built, to test the merits of each design. Currently, the pneumatic design is being considered the strongest.

To assist with testing prototypes, the team has also build a goal and center field ramps. The goal is to have a robot that can score effectively from the middle of the playing field, but also move between the three parts of the field during the game, allowing it to play both defense and offense.

Looking down part of the practice field, past a ramp and into a goal.

TigerTronics was at the Binghamton Communiversity 2009 event in downtown Binghamton on September 11, 2009, where we spend about 4 and a half hours running the robot we built for the 2009 FIRST competition, Tritos.  Although it was pouring rain when we first got there and set up (under a pop-up tent), the weather cleared up within 30 minutes and we were able to run the robot for almost the entire time we were at the event.

We managed to get an almost ideal spot, on the edge of a blocked-off-from-traffic intersection.  The intersection was a perfect place to run the robot, since not only was it in a somewhat central location (so passerby s could see us), but it was a nice, relatively clear place to drive without having to worry about hitting people or tables, which can be a big problem with our robot demonstrations.  The wet pavement also made a good driving surface, being about as slick as the material Tritos ran on in competition.

A bunch of people also got a chance to drive Tritos themselves, since there was lots of space to drive around in.  One person accidentally knocked Trtios over by driving it full speed into a curb, but fortunately there was no damage, and all that was required was to put the robot back on its wheels.

A student wears a box inviting the audience to drive the robot themselves.

Driving Tritos at Binghamton Communiversity 2009

Driving Tritos during Binghamton Communiversity 2009 (2)

(Click any of the images for the full size (1024×768) picture)

Since it was a rainy day, there was a big puddle in the middle of where Tritos was driving around. We had students walk around where ever the robot was driving to keep it out of the water and also to keep it from hitting anyone or anything. As Tritos collected balls (part of what it was designed to do), we also had problems with water dripping onto Tritos, since the balls because soaked as they rolled around the wet pavement. At first we handled this by drying Tritos off every few minutes with paper towels, but eventually we stopped collecting the balls to keep the robot dry. Fortunately, Tritos’ electronics are protected by a Lexan box, and didn’t get wet.

Overall I’d have to say the event was a great success (and also a lot of fun).  Hopefully we’ll be there next year, too.

The 2009-2010 school year is beginning, and TigerTronics encourages all students with an interest in math, technology, engineering, science, programming, photography, logistics, or anyone who wants a unique, intense and fun challenge, to consider joining TigerTronics, Union-Endicott High School’s FIRST Robotics team.

Go to www.team2053.org/team/joining.html for the most important about what being a TigerTronics member means, and for information on how to join.  Or, keep reading for information about joining for the 2009-2010 school year.

About TigerTronics:

TigerTronics competes each year in the FIRST Robotics Competition.  We are busiest during the six week “build period,” which begins in early January, when we design, build, and test a robot from scratch.  After the build season we also go to one or more competitions (in March), which take about three days each.  Before and after the build season and competitions, we also work on fundraising, developing and testing new ideas (such as improved drive trains and experimenting with new programming ideas), appear at various public demonstrations, and meet to do basic planning.  TigerTronics is expanding its year-round activites, and each year since our first we have done more outside of the build season and competitions than previous years.

More about FIRST:
usfirst.org
usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/default.aspx?id=966

More about TigerTronics:
www.team2053.org
www.team2053.org/About.htm
www.team2053.org/WhatWeDo.htm

Who can join TigerTronics?

To be eligible to join TigerTronics, you must be a student at Union-Endicott High School and must be eligible to join a school club/activity.  To remain in TigerTronics and be eligible to go to competitions, you must remain in good standing with TigerTronics and the high school and maintain a minimum overal average in your classes.  Specifics on the expectations of members of TigerTronics can be found by seeing Mrs. Daugherty in room 425 at the high school.  They will also be posted on TigerTronics’ website.

What can I expect as a member of TigerTronics?

As a member of TigerTronics, expect to work hard and put in a lot of time, especially during the build period.  Also, expect to have a lot of fun and learn a lot.  TigerTronics is unique in that you will be solving real, complex problems and building a real, working robot.  You will be using real tools to work directly with metal, Lexan, motors, computers, and other parts.  You will have to deal with tight deadlines, and budget and supply constraints.  Real, professional engineers and other mentors will also help; however, our robot is completely student designed and built.  And, throughout the build season and during competitions, you’ll have a great time.  We work hard, but we fan fun too, and competitions are exciting and full of energy.

During the build period, members are expected to work several hours each week.  TigerTronics’ most active members put in 20 or more hours each week during the build period.  During this time, we work every day after school, as well as on weekends.  You will be expected to put in a minimum amount of time if you want to go to competitions, however, when you choose to work is largely up to you: if you can’t come to meetings of Tuesdays, that’s okay, just make up the time some other day.  Likewise, if you can only come for an hour or two on weekdays, that’s okay, just put in more time on weekends.  Many of our members participate in activities other than TigerTroncis, even during the build period.  However, remember that TigerTronics does require a significant amount of time, so it is possible that you may not be able to put in the minimum amount of time if you are heavily involved in other activities (especially winter sports).

Also keep in mind, the time you put in with TigerTronics should be productive.  Don’t come during the build season just long enough to get your required number of hours and do very little or nothing during that time.  It helps to have a somewhat flexable schedual to avoid this, since often you may find other people must be present for you to work on a specific task.  Also, it greatly helps to work for several hours at a time: an hour here and an hour there usually isn’t nearly as productive as several hours all at once.  You should also try to be present at the end of meetings at least a couple times a week to help with cleaning up.  This may mean staying at school very late (especially toward the end of the build period).

How do I join TigerTronics?

Ready to join TigerTronics?  Great!  You should see TigerTronics’ advisor, Mrs. Daugherty in room 425 in the high school.  You could also talk to any current TigerTronics members.  However, Mrs. Daugherty will have the most up-to-date information on when and where TigerTronics will have its first meetings.

TigerTronics communicates via word-of-mouth, school announcements, email, and phone calls/texts.  You should be ready to give your email address and phone number to Mrs. Daugherty when you see her about joining.  You should also be sure to check your email regularly once a member of TigerTronics, since important information may be sent there.  You should also respond to these emails when requested or when you feel their is a need to.

Questions you may have about (or before) joining can be directed to any current TigerTronics member, Mrs. Daugherty, or webmaster AT team2053 DOT org

You should also check out www.team2053.org/team/joining.html for more information about joining.

There was a meeting on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 to continue working on our new testbed.  We had an interesting mix of TigerTronics  mix of some current members, a few mentors, and a few 8th graders who will be joining Tigertronics next year present.  Unfortunately, what was discovered is that part of the transmission assembly we will be using never got ordered.  Fortunately, we have the money to order them and will be doing so, so hopefully it will not be too long long until we can begin building the transmissions.

We will be using slightly modified “Nothing but DeWalts” transmissions, which are themselves modified DeWalt XRP drill transmissions.  “Nothing but DeWalts,”an excellent step-by-step guide to making the transmissions, was written Josehp Pavliga of team 647 and Joseph Johnson of team 47.  TigerTronics has used these transmissions before (on Apollo) was was very pleased with them, despite finding it somewhat difficult to interface them with the wheels we used on that robot (once that problem was solved, however, we found the transmissions to be spectacular: tough, light weight, and versatile).  For our testbed, however, we have decided to modify a part of the “Nothing but DeWalts” transmission to allow for easier mounting of the transmission on robots and avoid needing to modify the motor that drives the transmission.  Details of the modification will be posted once the modified part has been made and tested.

On a completely different note, TigerTronics website has also undergone some recent improvements, mostly related to the blog.  The most noticeable difference?  Well, you may have noticed in the past that parts of the blog, such where it displayed number of comments on articles or instructions to post comments, was not in English.  This was because the blog’s look was originally based on the theme “Simpla Siyah TR 1.01B” by Emre Guler, which was not in English, although an excellent theme nonetheless.  Although the theme has been heavily modified by TigerTronics’ webmaster to fit in with the rest of TigerTroncis’ website (and doesn’t resemble “Simpla Siyah” too much anymore), it still retained many of the non-English words of the original theme until now.  As of today, almost all the non-English in the blog has been replaced by English.  Some additional explanations about commenting were also added, to avoid any confusion as to why comments might not show up.  You’ll see them if you decide to post a comment to any blog article.  Updating the theme of TigerTronics’ blog (or more, using “Simpla Siyah” as a base to create a new theme) has been a great learning experience, but since it was a learning experience their may still be some lingering problems.  If you find any (such as the blog not working, non-English in parts of it, or something else), please be sure to alert TigerTronics webmaster.

Thanks to a grant from Career Pathways, we are building a new testbed to experiment with over the summer.  The goals of the testbed are to develop some sort of tracking system using the camera, develop mechanum wheel drive in LabVIEW, and use accelerometers and gyros (and perhaps also encoders and hal-effect sensors) in LabVIEW.

Right now the testbed is a cRIO controller and associated modules, camera, 4 speed controllers, a gyro, an accelerometer, and 2 motors.  It is usable as a development bed, its ready for camera tracking and recognition work.  We’re still waiting on transmission parts, a wireless access point, and some cable for sensors to arrive.  Once all that comes it, we’ll be able to make it move.  Of course, when in the early phases of camera tracking, its better the entire thing doesn’t move, so its just as well no everything is in.

Since its a testbed, things will surely change in the future, but right now its already a great development bed to test and design no.  Thanks once again to Career Pathways for making this possible!

Some pictures of the testbed as it is now:

Top view of the testbed

Looking at the front of the testbed.

Tween TigerTronics, the FIRST Lego League team started by TigerTronics in 2008, has launched their own website, hosted by TigerTronics:

http://lego.team2053.org/

The website is being worked on by Justin, a Lego League member, and Trevor, who is not a member of either TigerTronics or the Lego League team, but hopes to join TigerTronics next year.

Right now, it is small, but the hope is to expand it in the future to illustrate Tween TigerTronics’ accomplishments and activities. Its two webmasters, Justin and Trevor, have never worked on websites before, but are rapidly learning, and this website is their first creation. TigerTronics member Ethan G is working with the two to help launch the site, but it is entirely Trevor and Justin’s creation.

The votes for TigerTronics’ new co-presidents are in.  After a close race, TigerTronics’ new co-presidents are Luke D and Dan C.  Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who ran.

You can find out a little bit more about both Luke and Dan on our students page.

At long last, I’ve gotten all the photos taken at the 2009 Chesapeake Regional competition up. This was TigerTronics’ second regional for 2009. This set of photos has slightly new layout… let the webmaster know if you have any problems with it or any comments.

Chesapeake Regional photos:
http://www.team2053.org/images/2009/ChesapeakeRegional/
All photos from 2009:
http://www.team2053.org/images/2009/

Enjoy!

TigerTronics competed in the 2009 Chesapeake Regional this year (in addition to the Finger Lakes Regional).

Unfortunately, we weren’t as successful here as we were at the Finger Lakes competition, owing mostly to mechanical failures.  Our drivers and other human players were phenomenal, however.  We were just handicapped by constant failure of the transmissions used on our robot (AndyMark Toughboxes).  They failed three times, each time essentially crippling the robot.

On the plus side, our team is now an expert at repairing Toughboxes!  The last repair took under 30 min.  This is total repair time, including diagnosing the problem, fixing it, and testing the fix.  We believe we have fixed the problems for good, but only time will tell.

Despite problems with the transmissions, TigerTronics was still competitive at the regional, and we learned a great deal about our robot and repairing it, as well as planning for repairs and implementing plans under severe time constraints.

Pictures of the regional, and more details, should be up on our website in the coming days.

TigerTronics is now done officially competing with our 2009 robot, Tritos.  We will be attending the off-season PARC event, have several demos planned, and will continue to meet and work throughout the year.

At the Finger Lakes Regional in Rochester, NY, TigerTronics had a good performance.  We got into the quarter-final match, with our alliance partners 3015 and 3003.  Although eliminated during the quarter-finals, we were able to defeat the number 1 seated alliance once, which is a very strong performance.

Outside the finals, we were seated in the top 20 teams at the Finger Lakes Regional, and proved to have an effective defense robot, as well as being very good at delivering Super Cells to human players (allowing us to score more points).  Tate, Kyle, and Nick were excellent throwers, and our drive team of Dan, Amy, and Colby was equally excellent.

Tritos (our robot) performed very well.  It suffered only minor damage, all of which was easily fixed.  The only deficiency in the robot is that it can be somewhat slow to dump balls, but we are designing a simple attachment to help alleviate this problem, which will be ready by the Chesapeake Regional.