Difference between revisions of "DEWBOT XII"

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[[Image:first-stronghold.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]]
 
[[Image:first-stronghold.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]]
[[Image:Standard5.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]][[Image:Team_photo_2016.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]]DEWBOT XII is team 1640's answer to FIRST Robotics Competition's 2016 game, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST_Stronghold FIRST Stronghold].  Let's hope it's a good answer.
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[[Image:Standard5.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]][[Image:Team_photo_2016.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]][[Image:DB12 DD 161022-61.jpg|right|frameless|upright=1.1]]DEWBOT XII is team 1640's answer to FIRST Robotics Competition's 2016 game, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST_Stronghold FIRST Stronghold].  Let's hope it's a good answer.
  
 
The robot turns out to be 1640's first non-swerve drive robot in seven years, and our first tracked robot ever.  Times change.  We must too.
 
The robot turns out to be 1640's first non-swerve drive robot in seven years, and our first tracked robot ever.  Times change.  We must too.
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;<big>[[DEWBOT XII Standard | Standard Design]]</big><br>
 
;<big>[[DEWBOT XII Standard | Standard Design]]</big><br>
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'''3D Printer'''
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During off Season, the CAD Team and several mentors designed and built a functional 3D printer.
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Project Completed with the final edits to the 3D assembly file in December, 2016.
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(Additional information coming soon)
  
 
== People ==
 
== People ==

Latest revision as of 01:35, 6 May 2017

First-stronghold.jpg
Standard5.jpg
Team photo 2016.jpg
DB12 DD 161022-61.jpg
DEWBOT XII is team 1640's answer to FIRST Robotics Competition's 2016 game, FIRST Stronghold. Let's hope it's a good answer.

The robot turns out to be 1640's first non-swerve drive robot in seven years, and our first tracked robot ever. Times change. We must too.

Some notable 2016 achievements are:

DEWBOT XII Build

Oh my lordy, a really interesting game which I don't need to convince anyone to like! Oh my lordy, swerve is not a viable drive-train for this game. Guess we'll just need to do something different.

But different is what we do. It's what we are. At least we think so. Time to put that to the test!

Stronghold Notebook

Design Details

Drive-Train

The team's first tracked drive and a break from six years of swerve. A robust and reliable drive train allowing easy and controlled crossing of b & d obstacles. Careful track design and material selection provided good speed and easy maneuverability.

Boulder Intake

Catapult

Portcullis Lift

Intended to both open the Portcullis and lower the Cheval de Frise. Both of these crossings were ultimately autonomous capable. This device also served as mount for the robot's three cameras and an extension when shooting from the outer-works to keep defenders from getting close enough to block shots.

Vision System

Team 1640's use of vision processing gave the team a conspicuous competitive advantage during the 2016 season. This system was operating starting with the Westtown event. Due to popular demand, Laura, the key developer of this vision processing system, led a robotics vision processing workshop for local FRC teams.

Tower Scaler

A tower scaler became available at FRC Championship, but it was too slow and scored no points here. A faster version was installed for IRI, where it proved very effective. It remained effective throughout the balance of the off-season events. Addition of the scaler did not put the robot over the weight limit.
DB12 bumper.jpg
Bumpers
Who gets excited about bumpers? I do! I've lived through some bad ones (DEWBOT IV's being the bellwether) and some good (DEWBOT X's). These are by far our best bumpers to-date, hands down. Why?
  • One-piece all-around bumpers
  • Secured by (4) thumb-screws
  • Low-friction ballistic nylon covers
  • Embroidered Team Numbers
  • Easy & fast to change
  • Strong
  • Very sharp looking

Note that the slippery nylon is less durable than the normal and required repairs (darning) between competitions.

Official Events

Kick-off - 9-January-2016
At Hatboro-Horsham High School.
Hatboro-Horsham - 4-6 March-2016
DEWBOT XII's first qualifier. Not our finest hour. We seeded 27th in a field of 37 with 16 ranking points and a (4-8-0) record. That said, we were the 6th Alliance Captain's (4454 - Artisan Rockets) 1st pick and we made it to the Semifinals. 1640 also received the Innovation in Control Award and 36 MAR Qualifying points.
Dean's List nominee Meghana advances to the MAR Championship!
Seneca - 18-20 March-2016
Big improvement over Hatboro. Finished qualifications as 3rd seed and went on to captain the 2nd Alliance comprising ourselves, 4573 (Rambotics) and 6203 (Titanium Knights). Finished as Finalists, losing the rubber match. Picked up the Industrial Design Award and 60 MAR qualifying points.
Westtown - 1-3 April-2016
Team 1640 seeded 3rd in a field of 37 teams with 33 ranking points and a (10-2-0) record during qualification matches. We gratefully accepted 225’s (TechFire) invitation to join them in the 1st alliance, which was completed by 1391 (Metal Moose). Together, we went on to become Westtown CHAMPIONS, defeating the 6th alliance in the 2nd final match through a tie-breaker.
1640 received the Quality Award.
The Westtown event was co-hosted by teams 1391 (based at the Westtown School) and 1640 and was a huge success. This was the first time the two teams had worked together to host a robotics tournament. According to Clem McKown, the Volunteer Coordinator for the event: “The Westtown School provides a wonderful venue for a robotics competition, while neighboring team 1640 has a much larger volunteer base of students, mentors and parents as well as experience in hosting FLL competitions. It was natural for us to team up to host a tournament. Together, we put on a great event.”
MAR Championship - 13-16 April-2016
Suffered some serious loss of mojo since Westtown. The major issue was with the rebuilt boulder intake; the original fell apart (very nearly) to dust at Westtown. At first we would rebuild to old specs. But we were able to make it better, faster, stronger. We had the Technology! But, alas, the new, improved intake just didn't work. We spent the qualification matches making it work.
Thanks to 5895 selecting us in the 1st draft, we qualified for FRC Championship! St. Louis, here we come!
FRC Championship - 27-30 April-2016
Our performance on the very competitive Newton field was good. We finished qualifications (10 matches) ranked 17th in a field of 75 with 27 ranking points and a 6-4-0 record.
Teams 5150 (Hornets, Flint MI) and 125 (Nutrons) invited 1640 to join the 5th alliance, with team 48 (Delphi E.L.I.T.E.) as the 3rd draft. We won the 2nd quarterfinal match, but lost the 3rd.

Unofficial Events

Midknight Mayhem - 25-June-2016
Indiana Robotics Invitational - 15-16 July 2016
Havoc - 24-September-2016
Duel on the Delaware - 22-October-2016
Ramp Riot - 5-November-2016

Other Events

DAR FLL Scrimmage - 14-November-2015
Downingtown Area Robotics-TCHS-Penn FLL Qualifying Event 2015 - 5-December-2015
MAR Team Day at Dorney Park - 9-July-2016
Team Picnic - 10-August-2016
MAR Vision Day - 12-November-2016

Outreach

ISPE Vendor Night - Demo - 9-February-2016
Laura & Akhila with PA Senator Dinniman
Team Sab-BOT-age participated in the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering vendor night, discussing FIRST's programs.
Boeing Engineering Week FIRST Robotics Demo - 25-Feb-2016
We demonstrated our robot, attended a aeronautic engineering exhibit, and went on a plant tour of the Chinook assembly line.
Girls Exploring Tomorrow's Technology (GETT) - 12-March-2016
Robotics Demo at Lionville Elementary School - 14-March-2016
Sugartown Elementary School's Lego Expo and Robotics Fair - 22-April-2016
A joint FRC1640-FTC7314 demonstration. The Sab-BOT-age teams were again a big hit with the Sugartown students!
King of Prussia FIRST Expo - 21-May-2016
FIRST Robots at the Court at King of Prussia Mall! How cool is that? Our sincere thanks to FRC 708 (Hatters) for organizing this event. Both Sab-BOT-age teams participated.
STEM Advocacy at the State Capitol - 7-June-2016
Downingtown Area Robotics students Laura and Akhila met with Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman (in photo) and Pennsylvania State Representative Dan Truitt to advocate changes to bill HR833 to allow academic credit for participation in FIRST robotics programs.
Robot demonstration for CCIU Summer Program students - 1-August-2016
FRC 1640 hosted a well-attended robot demonstration for summer program students at the CCIU's Technical College High School. DEWBOTs X and XII got to show their stuff!
Techgirlz Robotics Workshop - 17-Sept-2016
Downingtown Area Robotics hosted its first Robotics Workshop in cooperation with Techgirlz. Thanks to Laura and Akhila for organizing and planning this event, and also to Sai and Katie for instructing. A great success and a lot of fun. I expect we'll do this again.
Society of Women Engineers Demonstration - 27 & 28 October-2016
FRC Teams 1640 (Sab-BOT-age) and 341 (Miss Daisy) highlighted FIRST's role in inspiring young women to pursue education and careers in Science and Technology at the 2016 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Conference.

Media

VISTA Article
IRI Video
2016 Season Wrap-up Video
2016 Season Parody Video
MAR Vision Day Seminar Video.

Projects

Standard Design

3D Printer During off Season, the CAD Team and several mentors designed and built a functional 3D printer. Project Completed with the final edits to the 3D assembly file in December, 2016. (Additional information coming soon)

People

Team Sab-BOT-age is what it is only due to the efforts of the people involved. DEWBOT XII's success will be in the hands of the students, mentors and parents engaged. The team's very existence is possible only through the gracious generosity of our sponsors.

DEWBOT XII Students
DEWBOT XII Mentors
Sponsors 2016

See our other robots in the Robot Archives.