In the course of the 2023-2024 FIRST® season, we adopted 4 FIRST® LEGO® League, 4 FIRST® Tech Problem, and 4 FIRST® Robotics Competitors Diary of an Innovator groups about their season expertise and the tradition of innovation their crew has created.
That is the ultimate weblog put up from Group 1466 Webb Robotics for this season! You may learn their first and second put up on the FIRST® Robotics Competitors weblog.
Q: What innovation are you most happy with this season?
A: The robotic innovation we’re most happy with are our passive climbing hooks. Climbing onto and staying on the Stage had been priorities for our robotic design, nevertheless it took us till simply days earlier than our first regional occasion to finish this design precedence. We tried near a dozen climber hook shapes and equipment ratios on our climbing arm, with none offering simply sufficient torque to carry the robotic on stage on the finish of the match. With only a few days left to finish the design, we took inspiration from a easy carabiner and a few climbing types we noticed from robots in 2022. We designed and prototyped a pair of passive hooks, ones that didn’t intervene with our climb, however caught the chain and held the robotic off of the ground on the finish of a match. The passive hooks had been made with out CAD or cautious measurements, simply testing to get the design proper. We reduce out every iteration on a bandsaw. It labored completely on the sphere by means of all of our occasions!
Q: Describe your crew’s occasion expertise this season:
A: We had a busy competitors season. Our first occasion was our dwelling regional, the Smoky Mountains Regional, crammed with groups we all know nicely. We noticed so many distinctive robotic designs revealed. We served as scholar ambassadors and a few of our mentors volunteered. Our robotic was operating nicely and we performed within the playoffs. We had been thrilled to select up the Creativity Award – the primary time we’ve received that award – and one among our mentors was acknowledged as a Woodie Flowers Finalist.
Magnolia Regional was our spring break. We had a small crew which meant extra duty for everybody there. There have been extra challenges, too. Our digital scouting system wasn’t working, so we switched to a paper system created on the spot. Robotic points plagued us, holding our pit crew working continuous. We nonetheless had a lot enjoyable. The crew social gave us a chance to have fun collectively and meet groups in a relaxed atmosphere. We performed within the playoffs, although our robotic points continued and we had been out sooner than we’d hoped. We did, nonetheless, decide up one other Creativity Award, which was enjoyable and sudden.
Our final regional was the Rocket Metropolis Regional. This was our largest occasion, that includes loads of native groups together with ones from different components of the US and different international locations. Our robotic was operating nicely all through and our drive crew had the prospect to essentially coordinate their play nicely with alliance companions. We loved Rocket Metropolis staples like Tiara Friday and a go to to the Saturn V rocket. Saturday was the day of our college’s promenade again dwelling, so a lot of our crew members acquired dressed up for playoffs as an alternative.
Q: What was your favourite half?
A: Our media success this season led to getting a number of recognition regionally and at every of our occasions. Dozens of scholars and mentors approached our crew, recognizing us from our Instagram, YouTube, and Diary of an Innovator. This opened up so many doorways and alternatives for conversations and partnerships that we’d not have in any other case had. We acquired to collaborate with groups from Mexico and Brazil on movies for his or her social media. We labored with or assisted groups from throughout the US and all around the world this season. We had been fairly humbled to obtain the Gracious Professionalism® Award at our final regional, the place the judges counseled us on how we’ve used social media and our native connections to advertise STEM.
Q: Reflecting on the season, what’s the one lesson you’ll carry with you going ahead?
A: One lesson from this yr was sustaining a optimistic outlook on our progress and accomplishments. All through the highs and lows of the construct and competitors seasons, it was straightforward to get wrapped up in our shortcomings and small particulars we wished we had performed in a different way. We debriefed collectively as a crew after every of the occasions this season, remembering and recognizing what went nicely and fixing what went improper. Our checklist of issues that went nicely was all the time a lot longer than our checklist of issues to repair. This actually helped us deal with the positives. It additionally gave us an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and contributions of everybody on the crew. We need to preserve a tradition of progress that may assist us succeed sooner or later.
Q: What suggestions do you may have for brand new groups getting ready for his or her first season?
A: Don’t be afraid to ask for assist. The FIRST neighborhood may be very welcoming and all of us need to see new groups succeed and develop. Attain out to different groups for recommendation. Connections throughout groups are what push innovation ahead for all of us. We had a good time interacting with rookie groups in our space and at our occasions this yr. Additionally, the KitBot is a really helpful useful resource for robotic design for brand new crew members. It is an excellent template for groups and might be altered to suit your objectives. We’re planning to have our crew’s new members construct a KitBot this fall.
