WEEK 1 UPDATE

      Our ninth annual build season has kicked off! Team 4909 started off the week together as a team going over the RAPID REACT game and making a “need/want/nice to have” chart. The developed strategy was then used as the groundwork for our robot’s preliminary design. With this structure, members then split off into groups to design this year’s subsystems: intake, shooter, and climber. 

Intake: 
      The intake group’s responsibility is to design a mechanism that can capture cargo (9.5” diameter tennis balls) as efficiently and quickly as possible while holding the maximum number of cargo. Members spent this week developing a prototype for the intake subsystem. The group began by brainstorming ideas and drawing rough sketches of them on the whiteboard. Each idea was assessed and two were chosen to be prototyped and tested for efficiency. Afterwards, the group focused on modeling the first concept. Much time was spent in the CAD phase to ensure that holes would not have to be drilled for adjustment after the design was completed. Members have moved on to the prototyping stage and will continue to work over the course of Week 2. 

Shooter:
​      The shooter group began the week with a brainstorming session to devise ideas for shooter designs. Members focused on formulating a way to launch cargo from the robot to the “Upper Hub”, which is 8’8'' tall. Students came up with a number of ideas, ranging from a catapult to an adjustable hood turret with a flywheel. They weighed these ideas off of the “need/want/nice to have” chart which ranks the importance of the goals that the subsystem needs to accomplish. It was concluded that a flywheel shooter was best for launching cargo from the necessary distances. This is advantageous because the team has a lot of experience building them. Over the next couple of days, the group built a prototype of the chosen design. This allowed them to test where the shooter could be positioned on the robot and whether an adjustable angle for the exit of the cargo was needed. Members are currently modifying the prototype, testing it, and collecting all the data needed to increase accuracy.

Climber: 
​      This week, the climber group analyzed the geometry and efficiency of potential designs, then chose one to work with based on the robot’s requirements. The purpose of this subsystem is to allow the robot to successfully pass through a set of rungs in the hangar (climbing structure). First, members created their own concepts for a climber that would be able to reach the highest rung. The group reviewed all the designs, created a pros and cons list, and ranked them on several criteria. Based on that, the group was able to pick and modify a design and begin developing it with CAD. Afterwards, they discussed hook actuation, or stimuli that help the robot move from rung to rung. Students also looked at various climbers from past FRC robots and learned how they work to help refine their ideas and to maximize functionality of the subsystem. Next week, the group will continue to modify their current design.

Software: 
      The software team is tasked with programming the robot after each of the mechanical subsystems are designed and built. At the start of the week, the group outlined code for the subsystems and discussed all the requirements needed for each to function. This introduced members to the fundamentals of robot programming. The code to test the shooter prototype was then written, which enabled the group to implement closed-loop control and test a range of speeds from various distances. Additionally, members continued work on our swerve robot, further developing its autonomous code. Members also worked on improving our driving code, ensuring that all sensors were calibrated and everything was operating smoothly.

Safety:
​      The team has been sending out weekly safety quizzes that all members must complete during build season to maintain a safe shop environment and ensure that all members are familiar with 4909 safety guidelines. Soon, these quizzes will be available for everyone to access in the safety section of our website.

---