Junkyard Robo’s Newsletter
Junkyard Robo’s Newsletter
Team 2237
A Recap of Last Season
With a late start, and not many members, we made it work. Last year, Academy of Careers and Technology formed a robotics team, involving students, mentors and sponsors. We had 6 weeks to build a robot that could drive, as well as pick up inner tubes and place them on racks. We kept our design simple and it really worked for us. We went to Pittsburgh, Penn. for our first competition ever, and did fairly well. We didn’t make it into the top eight, but we did pretty well for a rookie team. But, we weren’t done there. We felt that we didn’t perform to our full potential, so we decided to attempt it again, and attended the Palmetto, South Carolina regional. At this regional, we earned our spot at nationals. We finished in the top four and won the rookie all star award! That was the most exciting news yet.
With not much time to prepare, we built as many spare parts and packed as many extra tools as possible into our box. Over spring break, we went to Atlanta, Georgia for the international competition. It was help in the Georgia-Dome. There were about 400 teams, from all over. Even from Brazil, and other places not in the U.S., some didn’t even know where West Virginia was! It was a fun experience, even though we didn’t
place. We plan to be a way better team and have a way better robot this year!
On Friday January 4, 2008, the Junkyard Robo’s left for an exciting trip to Columbus, Ohio to receive our kit of parts for the new robot. During the trip to Columbus, we visited Ohio State University where we received our kit of parts and learned about the new game for this year. We also watched a teleconference that was linked with NASA during the kick-off. After watching the teleconference and learning about the new game, we then proceeded to the engineering building on the campus to explore the game field. Finally, it was time to pickup the kit of parts and head home to get started on our new and exciting robot season.
After out trip to Columbus, Ohio to pick up the kit of parts, our robot team is back in gear. Since the return from our trip, our team has been working diligently to complete the robot in the allotted time. The robot has to be completed by February 16, 2008. Wish us luck!
The Junkyard Robo’s team is more than many people would first expect. It is fun and exciting, yet full of hard work and determination. So far, my experiences have been pretty good. I anticipate the near future of our adventure. From stories I’ve heard of last year, we have nothing but an unforgettable experience ahead of us. I know this will be something that will be forever memorable and impressionable to me.
We have started building our robot and a couple of us have started on the process of drawing our plans for it. Though, the drawings and robot were coming along slowly at first, it’s now definitely looking like something to be proud of. At first, like many things, it wasn’t much but now it is really turning into quite something. Drawing on Inventor and AutoCAD is something I am good at and love to do, that is why I joined the robotics team and offered to help with the drawing and animation side. Therefore, I can take more pride in the drawings, more than the physical labor on the actual robot. But, all and all, I’m glad that I joined the robotics team. It’s a good decision that I know I won’t regret, but only be happy about for years.
Programming is a difficult part of the robot, more so if one doesn’t know how to do this. Each year with our kit of parts, we are also given a default code that can be used for the controller. A modified code is useful for autonomous mode, which is worth some bonus points. Overall, the entire matter is a necessary headache for those teams who wish to go the extra mile for a slight edge.
Luckily, we are also given some software to simplify this process. EasyC Pro is a program designed to make this task, well, easier for those of all skill levels. It offers tutorials for beginners as well as block programming where you drag symbols from a library and put them into the program flow, making it easier for those with and without experience in this matter.
Last year was our Rookie year. It took a lot to get our team started and now we strive to keep it going. Many of our neighboring teams helped us out a lot. They mentored us, and gave us guiding advice. We attended Regional competitions in Pittsburg and South Carolina. We also went to nationals in Atlanta, Georgia. We won the Rookie All-Star Award and also the Highest Seed Rookie Award which are top honors.
Our team, the Junkyard Robos, meets every day after school at the career technical center, ACT. We consist of 8 boys, 4 girls, and of course, our many wonderful mentors. We are continuing to strive and keep the team going as strong as ever, and hope to have another successful year.
