1/27/25 – 2/1/25
Our Team
As the Hatboro-Horsham competition approaches, 1403 has continued designing, fabricating, and wiring the robot. We’ve also been marketing our team, planning outreach events, and strategizing for competition. In addition, members from both robot and logistics-side subteams have worked to complete the Executive Summary and Woodie Flowers’ Award Submission.
Design
This week, Design updated the drawings for the robot’s elevator, end effector, and wrist. They’ve also finalized the design for the algae intake, and the CAD for the climber. Over the next few meetings, they’ll start printing the climber and algae intake drawings to give to Mechanical so they can begin fabrication.
Mechanical
Mechanical has completed algae prototyping using MDF boards to test different components. Furthermore, they’ve attached the robot’s bellypan to the drivetrain. In the next few meetings, Mechanical hopes to machine additional parts needed for the elevator and intake, complete assembly of elevator, and start assembly of other subsystems, such as the algae intake.
Electrical
For the past week, Electrical has been updating the bellypan’s CAD to optimize its organization and effectiveness. In doing so, they’ve confirmed the placement of various components such as the e-chain, wire protectors, the radio (the component that allows the robot to connect to the internet), and the robot signal light. They also worked on the Makerspace CAD, a model of an electrical device designed for kids to play with and experiment with. It will be used for the Monty Makers’ Outreach Event. Next week, they’ll work on organizing the wires on the bellypan for more efficient work in the future.
Programming
This week, Programming tested the CANRange, a newly acquired distance sensor that will be placed on our robot. They’ve also been feeding images of game pieces like coral and algae to A.I to train the Limelight’s detection features. Additionally, they’ve begun writing the code for the end effector. Next week, they’ll be testing their code for the elevator on the 2022 robot, continue testing Limelight, and write code for the other subsystems.
Audio/Visual
A/V has continued working on last week’s tasks including the The Compass Alliance (TCA) Reels and the Impact Video. They will continue to take daily build season footage, showcasing the hard work of all our team members. This footage will be used in our Week #4 Build Season Reel, which will be edited and posted within the week.
Business/Communications
B/C has completed the business plan which will be finalized soon. Additionally, they’ve been creating a packet for the 2025-2026 season highlighting our team’s structure, accomplishments, and community impact. This will be given to sponsors to strengthen our relationship with them. They’ve also been analyzing current social media trends in order to find effective ways to market our team. As always, they will continue to post to our social media, update the website, and write weekly newsletters.
Outreach
Outreach has continued planning community events, including the Cougar Workshops and Water STEM Challenge. They’ve also been preparing volunteers for the winter session of our Bridgewater Temple Classes, which begins this week. Additionally, they’ve continued to create write-ups for past outreach events, highlighting our team’s impact by getting anecdotes from volunteers. In the coming weeks, they’ll continue these tasks.
Strategy
Strategy has finished creating a presentation to teach members how to Match Scout using the new scouting app, as the Hatboro-Horsham Competition will be at the end of this month. Similarly, they finished creating a presentation detailing our robot’s Teleop gameplan, as well as a presentation that will help our Drive Team dictate the most efficient manner to maneuver the robot.. Over the next few meetings, Strategy will finish and share these presentations. They’ll also analyze other teams’ robots’ designs to find the engineering methods that could be applied to our own robot. This data will be used to perform mock alliance selection.
