Skystone (2019-2020)

In 2019 due to a shift in RoboCup Junior's team sizes (down to just 4 people) our school was looking to transition the robotics team. I pushed for us to compete in the First Tech Challenge (FTC) and ultimately got that. I setup the team with a few others. I initially became a de facto and then formally a captain. Leading what was to come.

That year's challenge was called Skystone. Most of the challenge's objectives involved the repositioning of large plastic blocks (think elephant-sized Lego bricks).

Once the team was setup and had members we had to settle on a process and a CAD platform. I chose Fusion 360 because it was the one most of the initial members had experience with. Many had never touched parametric CAD software before which meant a lot of teaching on my end. 

As members attended initial sessions we jointly reviewed the regulations and brainstormed ideas. We then evaluated them as a team with myself and the software leads moderating the discussion.  

The team settled on a standard 4x2 rear-wheel drive for this competition (it was all we had in parts). We settled on a 3-axis robotic arm with a gripper to facilitate brick movement. 

We then got to designing, where the robot's theoretical systems were parted out into projects which I assigned to people based on their skill level. I also took on a project myself. As students worked on their designs, initially on paper, I (along with other "senior" team members and the team's mentor) gave feedback and suggested modifications. We then moved to CAD where I frequently checked in to ensure designs met reasonable CAD standards and later in the process provided feedback on the design's function. 

We really only had an initial kit of parts and 3D printing to work with so we did the most with it we could. I worked on optimizing designs for 3D printing and then printed them. Different team members assembled different parts based on their availability. 

Tested took a bit as the software team adjusted. We only had code to test with two weeks before the first competition. What we found was the motor used for the base of our actuator was not powerful enough to actuate it. This led to some last-minute pivoting and other changes. 

In the end, we took 3rd place at our first qualifier. Though that wasn't enough to qualify it did prove the team viable and helped us continue into future years.