1/20/25 – 1/25/25
Our Team
In the third week of build season, 1403 has been hard at work as the Hatboro-Horsham Competition nears. Robot side has been planning, machining, and wiring components of the robot while logistics side has continued to focus on the business, outreach, and strategic components of our team.
Design
Design has completed the End Effector design and pushed out the Wrist Assembly drawings to the Mechanical subteam. In the next week, they hope to push out drawings for the Elevator Assembly and End Effector. They also hope to finalize the designs for the Algae Intake and the Climber. Design will work with Mechanical and Electrical to work out the location and construction of the robot’s components over the coming weeks.
Mechanical
Mechanical has finished machining and assembling the robot’s Drive Train, and they’ve begun fabricating parts of the elevator, wrist, and end effector based on designs/drawings from the Design subteam. They’ve also started machining parts of the elevator, and they aim to complete its production next week and move onto additional subsystem parts, including the algae and coral intake. Next week, they’ll continue to fabricate Design’s drawings.
Electrical
Electrical has used TinkerCAD, a 3D design software, to plan the robot’s electrical board in a simple manner. They’ve also finalized the battery mounting design and mounting holes on the robot’s bellypan. These are needed to mount components on the underside of the robot, such as the Drivetrain. Next week, they’ll wire the graduation board, which is a mock version of the bellypan made of cardboard. The graduation board is used to plan its wiring before finalizing it. After it is finished, they will start wiring the bellypan. Finally, Electrical looks to follow up with their Solar Panel Park proposal and get into contact with more parks.
Programming
This week, Programming has continued testing the Limelight camera’s accuracy, and they have found that it is accurate within 2-3 cm. Next week, they’ll incorporate it onto the 2024 robot in order to evaluate it. They’ve also been simulating the robot’s elevator system using the 2023 robot. Additionally, Programming has been testing the distance sensor that’ll be utilized for this year’s game. Furthermore, they’ve configured the buttons on the controller that will be used to control this year’s robot. Finally, they’ve been working to improve the auto-alignment features on the 2024 robot, as they are needed for effective maneuverability. Next week, they’ll work to further improve these systems.
Audio/Visual
A/V has been continuing their projects from last week, including the Compass Alliance (TCA) Reels and the Impact Video. They’ve also continued to take daily build season footage, showcasing the hard work of all our team members, which will be utilized in the Week #3 Build Season Reel and other team-related media. In the next few weeks, A/V will continue working on the Impact video, the TCA Reels, and taking footage. They aim to consistently post Build Season reels every week.
Business/Communications
B/C has made significant progress on the business plan, and they aim to finalize it soon. Additionally, they’ve been keeping our website updated (cougarrobotics.com), posting to our team’s Instagram page (@team1403), and working on the Week #3 Build Season Newsletter. Throughout the build season, they’ll keep the business-related aspects of our team up-to-date and polished.
Outreach
Outreach has continued to plan and advertise their outreach initiatives, including the Robo Golf challenge, Water STEM challenge, and Cougar Workshops (formally called Cub Classes). They’ve also been working with Ojas, 1403’s Impact Manager, to finish drafting the Executive Summary. In the coming weeks, the subteam will focus on creating write-ups on past events, and they aim to create more long-term outreach events.
Strategy
This week, Strategy has been working on a spreadsheet that will host data of other teams’ performance statistics. This will allow us to effectively analyze teams’ strengths and weaknesses in accordance with ours, helping us make informed decisions for alliance selection. Additionally, they have finished analyzing the simulation of this year’s game, allowing members to plan out the robot’s routes during the autonomous and teleop periods. Over the next few meetings, they’ll be finishing their Teleop, Scouting, and Driver presentations, which will be shared to all team members in order to communicate the robot’s goals. They’ll also work with Programming to optimize the robot’s autonomous routes as we near the Hatboro-Horsham competition in February.
