Our Team
It has been a very productive week for Team 1403! The robot side of the team officially finished the prototyping for the robot and is now developing the final robot that we will be using in competitions. Meanwhile, the logistics side has also been making strides in development with essays, videos, and events being organized and completed at a smooth pace. As competition season draws closer, the anticipation over the robot’s performance continues to grow. 

Mechanical
This week, the Mechanical subteam began organizing their inventory in preparation for creating the robot, figuring out what items they would have to buy based on what they already have. Mechanical has finished making the drivetrain, tweaking its structure to ensure that it is as strong as possible. Along with the drivetrain, the team also worked on the upright and the shooter for the robot.

Design
The Design subteam has been working on producing drawings for different parts of the robot. These drawings will be given to other subteams on the robot side, who will use them to make the required parts. With prototypes finally finished, Design is starting to work on CADing all the parts of the robot as other subteams finish their respective jobs.  

Electrical
The Electrical subteam started to work on creating the electrical board for the robot. They have also been utilizing and installing 775 Motors onto the robot, which will be used for various robotic functions. Without functioning motors, the robot is rendered useless, so the electrical subteam has a particularly important role in the creation of the robot.

Programming
The Programming subteam has been working on programming the shooter of the robot. They also continued to work hand-in-hand with the Strategy subteam for the Scouting app. The team is working on programming the robot for autonomous driving on the field. Autonomous driving is the programming that allows the robot to drive on its own without any input. During the first 15 seconds during the competition, the drive team cannot control the robot, so programming for the autonomous period is especially important. 

A/V
The Audio/Visual subteam continued to gather photos and clips for the Chairman’s video, and they have also received some help from Design’s Animation team to put everything together. In addition, the subteam continued to take daily videos and photos for the team’s Instagram page and to record the team’s progress on the robot.

Business and Communications
With the help of the team advisors, the Business subteam finally finished and submitted the Woodie Flowers and Donald Bowers essays. Additionally, the subteam continued to plan posts for Cougar Robotics’ Instagram page, update the team’s website, and catalog events for the Chairman’s Binder. The team also worked on preparing the script for the Chairman’s video, which the A/V subteam has been working on.

Strategy
Strategy has been collaborating with the Programming subteam to make the Scouting app. They also backed the app up in case there are any mishaps. The team also started a scouting schedule. This will help the team decide who is going to scout the other robots and their performance during the competition. 

Outreach
Throughout the week, Outreach donated over 10,000 can tabs to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which is a non-profit organization. Additionally, they worked on finishing the planning for the Women In Stem event. By the end of the week, Outreach found ten women who are interested in attending the event, which will be crucial for inspiring young women to follow their interests in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.