Setting the Wheels in Motion

We have set the wheels in motion to create a succesful robot. At the kickoff meeting at Northrop Grumman, on January 3rd, the team was eager to learn about the setup of the game and rules and restrictions for the robot. The buzz of excitement was palpable as we headed back to ESHS to discuss what we heard at the meeting and highlight the important aspects.

The next day, 1/4/09 we picked the materials for the trailer from Home Depot, worked on the trailer, strategized, threw around ideas while keeping in mind four necessary robot functions:
-4 wheel drive
-low center of gravity
-ability to score multible balls at once
-ability to move in all directions

Based on different strategies, we came up with two designs.
Possible Design 1: Chute
Objective: The chute will release balls two at time, based on the strategy to have mulitple opportunites to shoot balls into the opposing team's trailer.

Possible Design 2: Dump
Objective: The dump is a simpler design than the chute, and is based on the strategy to have one opportunity to dump all of the balls at once, seizing one open opportunity to score a lot of points.


On 1/6/09, we separated into two groups: one for the trailer, and one for the design. The trailer group worked on the plates of the trailer and the design group worked on the feasibilty of our designs while finalizing the dimensions of the drawings.

1/7/09: We decided no matter what, we would pick a design today, so we can start builiding on Saturday. As a group, we weighed the pros and the cons of each design and by the end of the meeting, chose a design.

and the winner is.....

THE CHUTE!

1/10/09 Commencing the Construction

Now that we have decided on a design, we worked on the chassis, and continued working on the trailer.
For the trailer,
We took the wood outside and began drilling at the specified markings to make holes in the trailer. We also used a saw to create a hole in the center. The circle did not come out as round as we had hoped but, like eagles, we soar above our problems and find ways to rectify them. As a result, to smooth out the edges, we used a metal file then put masking tape over the inner circle. The black pipe still did not fit as snugly as we had hoped, but it was definitely an improvement and the spaces were so small that we could simply wedge pieces of foam or a similar material to fill them.