We're Done!

For the first time in CyberKnight history (and for a few mentors who have an even longer history,) the entire robot CAD is done before cutting a single part.

Also, we still have yet to cut a single part. Or step foot in the lab. Or even put the key in the lab door.

This is fine?

Dead on Arr-eye-val

Our 2020 robot was called Deadeye - actually quite aptly named. In our wiki home page, I was the first to add a 2021 page, and therefore got naming rights. Very cleverly I named the robot "Dead on Arr-eye-val".

So little space for activities!

This is not the official robot name. (Sadly...) Actually, I don't know if the robot has an official name, come to think of it...

Any-who, there are reasons that the name can't be "Dead on Arr-eye-val". For one, the name is far too big, because this thing is tiny. Take a look at it next to Deadeye. Absolutely tiny. Secondly, there is still time. We could get limited access to the lab, and with the CAD done, the BOM set, and CAM starting, we just might be able to sneak in building this thing.

Can confirm: is tiny.
OnShape really didn't like both robots in the same frame...

In 2016 at our annual week 5 unveiling, we brought a 4' by 8' sheet of aluminum onto the stage to present as our robot. A scant few weeks later that eventual robot was a finalist at its first event. We can make a short timeline work.

Dead on Arr-eye-val was designed to best perform all 5 of the at home skills challenges. The small size helps it easily navigate the driving challenges. The indexer and shooter are adaptations from Deadeye - with better LimeLight placement. There's not much weight, and it's all down low. (Ish. Center of Gravity is 2-3" higher than what we ambiguously targeted at the start of the season.) The intake mechanism is as simple as possible - one-time deploy, one motor, no messing around.

We took a lot of liberties knowing that we would never run full speed into another robot with this little bot. I'm pretty sure we need to be careful of a light breeze, or a squirrel picking up and carrying it away.

However, as it stands, it is only a computer drawing at the moment...

Fun Times!

Tuesday evening held another all-team review. This time, for the Game Design Challenge team!

Before preparing for the full submission, the game design team presented to anyone on the team who was interested. We all then got to ask questions, get any clarifications, provide feedback on the game or the presentation, discuss any awkward or confusing descriptions, the works!

Fortunately, I didn't actually have to ask if the game was fun! It certainly sounds fun! After roughly 2 hours, some good feedback, the game seemed in a really solid state. Not having been particularly close to this group throughout the majority of the season, it was really cool to see just how everything wrapped together into a cohesive package, from the foundations I remember way back when. (Like, 2 weeks ago...)

The difficult part now is really thinking about what material would be needed for the submission. Do we need a full CAD field drawing? A rendered video? (And who/what resources could we use to achieve these?) Can/should we try building some of these pieces at home? (Yes, it would have to be at somebodies home, so again, who would be able to do this?) Finally, the usual - how do you choose the important parts and the specific language to get the rules and major items across in the limited response space? We almost always start out over the word count and have to pare down to make it fit. Fortunately, the presentation following the submission will also allow time to explain and clarify. 

Outside of the presentation and submission, I think it would be a really cool training exercise over the summer to run a mock kick-off weekend with this game (and potentially others that teams share)! For all the other teams who have competed in this challenge - keep your notes and documents, and perhaps try the same! Bonus points if you build a robot to compete in your game? Sure, why not!

Just a random picture from the internet...

Oh, what is the game about? I can't share quite yet - otherwise teams might try to parrot our concept, or hack our computers and download a pirated copy. That would be quite al-arrrr-ming.

(Cause, we're obviously the only team that used this theme...)

Random Musing of the Week

I need to muse more...

-B