2/10/25-2/15/25
Our Team
In the sixth week of build season, Robot side has been diligently fabricating, programming, and wiring components of the robot, while Logistics side has continued strategizing for competition and marketing our team. Meanwhile, the Impact team has completed and submitted the Impact Essay. As the Hatboro-Horsham Competition approaches, 1403 has worked hard to ensure that all components are prepared.
Design
Design has finished the CAD for the Climber, and they’ve pushed out drawings for the Algae Intake. Additionally, they’ve been revising drawings for the elevator. In the next few meetings, Design will focus on finishing the Technical Binder, Presentation, and Packet—materials highlighting the design of our robot that will be displayed to other teams at competition.
Mechnical
Mechanical has been working on assembling the algae intake mechanism, while simultaneously building the reef, a wooden replica of a component of the field. Furthermore, they have finished manufacturing L gussets which will be used to strengthen corners and right angle joints.They have also attached motors and brackets at a 90 degree angle, which helps prevent shifting or flexing of key robot parts. Mechanical will aim to continue and complete these tasks in the next week.
Electrical
Electrical finished wiring the robot’s elevator, wrist, and CANcoders. Within the next few meetings, they’ll wire the NEOs, a type of motor, to the Talons, a type of motor controller. They will also wire newly received batteries to the robot, and finalize the design of their interactive electrical board that will be used for the Cougar Workshop Outreach Event.
Programming
Programming began revising the code for the robot’s elevator. They also finished programming the robot’s state machine, a system that helps the robot make decisions by organizing its actions into different states (e.g. “moving” or “stopping”). Additionally, the robot’s auto-alignment system was finalized. In the next week, Programming aims to finish tuning the elevator, as well as coding the robot’s swerve drivetrain.
Audio/Visual
A/V has continued to edit and post their weekly reels, and they’ve been finalizing the script for the Impact Video in hopes of completing it soon. Additionally, they’ve assisted the Spirit Committee by helping them find pictures of team members for their headboards, and helped Outreach advertise the Water STEM Challenge by creating flyers. Over the next few meetings, they will edit and post reels for TCA, and continue to collect footage of our team’s efforts.
Business/Communications
This week, B/C has been preparing to cold call potential sponsors, creating a list of key talking points and incentives to support our team. They’ve also begun planning the pir back-drop a tri-fold that will be displayed at our team’s pit during competitions, highlighting the impact we have had on our community. They have and will continue to market the team using the website and social media, and inform parents through newsletters.
Outreach
Outreach prepared to host their Water STEM Challenge Event, briefing volunteers on expectations. They also began advertising their Robot Mini Golf Event. For the next two weeks, they will continue hosting the winter session of the Bridgewater Temple Classes and recruiting new volunteers for their outreach events.
Strategy
Over the week, Strategy presented the Teleop and Driver presentations, reviewing strategies to be successful at competition. They will continue to focus on both qualitative and quantitative scouting, which involves utilizing film and numerical data, respectively, to assess performance, for Week 0. Next week, they’ll hold the first Scouting Training Session to prepare team members for competition.
