2/3/25 – 2/8/25
Our Team
Team 1403 has made significant progress in the robot’s construction, and it will soon be match-ready. Logistics side has been looking into new ways to market our team, while revising the robot’s strategy for competition. Moreover, our Impact writers continue to work hard to finish the essay within the coming days.
Design
Design has made significant progress this week, completing and finalizing the Climber, Algae Intake, and Winch (the component that allows the climber to function) designs. They gave key drawing parts such as Algae and Climber to CNC for further evaluation. Design also placed the Limelight on the robot. Additionally, a group of students from this subteam have been working on the Animation field, a Virtual Reality simulator of the game field that simulates the robot from the driver and operator’s perspective. This allows the drive team and Strategy to plan and practice the robot’s routes during the match in a simple manner.
Mechanical
Mechanical tested the intake, completed the 3-stage elevator assembly, and finished motor assemblies for the wrist and elevator. Additionally, they worked on the Coral human player station, giving the team an apparatus to test the robot with, and completed the production of elevator subsystem parts via CNC. In the next few meetings, they plan to finish the Climber and Algae Intake subsystem parts and to attach the elevator to the robot, connect the motor gearbox assemblies to the subsystems, and complete the assembly of the reef in the next week.
Electrical
This week, Electrical mapped out wiring for each subsystem on the robot and bellypan. They also wired the CANcoders which will allow Programming to track the rotation and turning ability of the robot’s wheels, ensuring that the robot moves and steers correctly. Additionally, they created a list for any possible failures and troubleshooting with their wiring, and collaborated with Programming to test the NEOS. Overall, they created a smooth plan of their wiring for when they receive the robot.
Programming
Programming worked on training the Limelight with a Google Coral for object detection and wrote autonomous routes using PathPlanner, a tool that simplifies creating autonomous code. Additionally, they tested for the CANrange and the intake for the Coral while also finalizing and testing the elevator code on the 2022 robot. Currently, they are working on auto-align for the 2024 robot using the Limelight. Through future meetings, Programming will actively work on documentation to record their processes and develop the base code for the algae wrist.
Audio/Visual
A/V has continued to edit and post their weekly reels and finalized the storyboard of the Impact video. Over the next few meetings, they will edit and post a reel for TCA and continue to collect footage of our team’s progress throughout the coming weeks.
Business/Communications
B/C is in the process of finalizing the sponsor packet. Additionally, they’ve been brainstorming ways to boost the team’s presence on social media by researching trends and hashtags. Finally, they’ve been applying for grants from various companies, and working on the Week #5 Newsletter.
Outreach
On Saturday, Outreach held their Valentine’s Day event at the Montgomery Library, targeted to kids in K-4. Members hosted arts and crafts activities, later introducing them to sensors through LEGO SPIKE robots. Additionally, they’ve continued to create write-ups for past outreach events, highlighting our team’s impact by getting anecdotes from volunteers. Finally, they’ve finalized details and continued advertising their Water STEM Challenge, which will be held next week. This week and the upcoming weeks, they’ll continue the Bridgewater Temple Classes on Sundays.
Strategy
Strategy focused on utilizing qualitative data to improve scouting accuracy. They also formulated pit scouting questions, which will be asked to other teams during competition to improve our robot’s strategy and design. On Saturday, the subteam shared the Teleop and Driver presentations, which they were working on throughout the week. Over the next few meetings, Strategy will use updates on the robot’s construction from other subteams, and adjust their autonomous routes in accordance.
Written by The Business & Communications Subteam
Instagram: @team1403
Website: http://www.cougarrobotics.com
Email: cougar1403@gmail.com