Day 3, 4

With our first weekend out of the way, we start to get into the nitty gritty of the season. We'll dream up concepts, analyze and understand them, and the best ideas will eventually wind their way through CAD, metal, and end up on a robot.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes to each of us in different ways. Some people can generate ten great ideas by breakfast, others can take an hour to come up with one new thought. Fortunately, with many people, we can generate many ideas. In this day and age, we have so many places from which we can draw inspiration. The real world is full of existing machines. Companies like NASA, Boston Dynamics, automotive manufactures, and more build and use robots on a daily basis, and show off their creations and factories on YouTube and through blogs. Toys and games might seem as overly simplistic plastic gimmicks, but many are simple examples of proven design, scaled down. Animals that jump or fly can be modeled and their movements mimicked by mechanical devices. The world is full of stuff and things. What did you see on your way to school or work this morning? Will it help lift a 150 pounds of robot?

Prototyping

We are great at things. We are awful at things. Prototyping is a thing. We are bad at that thing. Prototyping our ideas is one of the most fun, frustrating, exciting, and heartbreaking exercises we perform in FRC. The first day for us starts with all talk and nothing to show. How inspiring. We use all our creative juices and internet thievery to imagine possible concepts, and then rip each idea apart, until only the best few survive and earn a place on the whiteboard. Then these ideas all play Fortnite (is that what you kids are playing?) in a melee deathmatch until only the best 1 or 2 ideas remain. In reality, this is completely accurate. Every creative option is considered. We have common questions, but then as ideas continue to move forward through the ranks, the questions get more specific.

• Is it within the rules? - This eliminates about 50% of the ideas, usually from size regulations. But these ideas often lead to more thoughts and discussion.
• Does the math work? - Use free body diagrams, CAD sketch mode with dimensions, calculators for motor power, gearing, force reduction on inclined planes, etc.
• Does it meet our robot requirements? - If we set a size/weight/speed requirement, how do we feel this concept meets those requirements? Speed is key. Speed is key.

Once the top ideas are fleshed out, lists of questions (we love lists), lists of answers, and lists of testing criteria are generated, its time to roll up our sleeves, dust off our drills (our lab is always dirty...), and get to work.

Build What You Know

Last year, we found success. Part of that success was building what we knew, spending less time on the foundations, and getting our robot up and running as soon as possible. This year we are trying much of the same, and starting work on our new-old-same chassis. Bent sheet aluminum, same as we've been using since 2015. We can spin a chassis and cut metal in days. Build what you know, and put your effort into the parts you don't know.
Our software team is hard at work too, using what we have, to put effort into those parts we don't yet know. They have been using last years robot to test more stolen (shared) libraries, and incorporate them into our 2019 codebase. Using last years robot will help us get ahead of the game from a software perspective. The students are able to make progress and are able to show the results, without having manufactured any parts yet this season. While we have a wonderful lab space, we do not have our own full-size practice field. We make due with the best we can, and after some cleaning, and software students showing off their muscle, we have enough space for half of a field. Lets see how long that stays clean.

Speaking of staying clean, our mentors were hard at work building and organizing. Shelves. For food. Let's see how long this stays clean.

Commitment

The FRC program is demanding. Six weeks, forty-six days total, to design, manufacture, and build a robot capable of performing complex automated and manual tasks while keeping within stringent regulations and budget. It is not easy. You will see some students who completely engross themselves in the program, diving into every conversation, reaching for every tool and part, voicing their opinion, even if their last idea got shot down. Be that student, as best you can. This program is all about gaining experience. Each student will get out exactly what they put in.
Every year, after our strategy discussion, and before a good nights sleep, we always seem to run through the same textbook statements: This is scary. This is hard. This is going to be a lot of work to do. Once the dust settles from the negativity storm, a strong, courageous voice cuts through the air. This is a good thing. Let's go get it done. In the real world, companies, professional sports, and governments are faced with hard problems on a daily basis. Each teams get out what it puts into this program. Embrace the difficult challenges placed before you, and celebrate the failures and successes.
All that being said, you have to understand the reasonableness of the challenge. Not all teams have the same resources, experience, time, or even team goals.
Build what you know, and challenge yourself.
This year our student leadership team came to a CyberKnights level quality decision that surprised a few of our mentors. In return we asked the students for only one thing: commitment. It will be hard. It will require a lot of work. Regardless if their decision leads to eventual wins or losses, if they commit, it will be a success. The students have shown grit in the past, and if they demonstrate the same grit as years past, we will be successful.

Student quote of the day:

Student 1: Whats a rack and pinion?
Student 2: It's a stick with teeth on it, and a little gear that spins on it!