Spring Activities
June 26, 2010
After competing at Manchester, Boston and Atlanta, the Walpole High School Robotics Team was busy with other activities. At the Walpole High School Graduation Blair Lichtenstein was awarded the
Walpole High School robotics scholarship.
We had a BBQ to celebrate our accomplishments this year.
We are not simply a robotics team, building winning robots for
competitions; we are also a relay for life team, raising money for
cancer research to save lives. We participated in the Relay for Life
for the second consecutive year. This year we raised about $4500.
The relay for life was an exciting event. Each team member was assigned
to walk around the Walpole High School track for at least an hour.
During the course of the night there were various events which included
an Opening Ceremony, a Survivor Lap, and a Luminaria ceremony.
An important event for our team was the creation of Roger Culp’s Mohawk.
Roger promised that if he raised $1153 (our robotics' team number) he
would get a Mohawk for the evening. Creating the Mohawk was a laborious
task. We went through various gels and glues. The trouble was, one of
the gels was oil based, so the subsequent glue had trouble sticking
because it was water based.
Additionally, We fund raised for our team by hosting a can drive which
raised $700 by recycling cans at $.04 a can.
Chains, Shooter, Elevator and More
February 13, 2010
It is now the middle of February, and we only have a week and a half left to finish our robot! We have started working on the chasis for our final robot! It is made out of quick frame because we are concerned about our weight. On the prototype robot the 1010 chasis and the electronics weigh 80 lbs. We have a shooter that is powered with pneumatics which can shoot balls all the way across the field! Also our elevator system is being developed. It is made of PVC tubing. The programmers have created their basic code. Our crab steer prototype robot can drive on the floor; although, we need to tune the steering! And the wheels have too much traction!
Crab Steer
January 23, 2010
The activity in the shop continued this week! We are two weeks into the robot build season! At this point, our prototype chasis is almost ready! Yesterday, we finished mounting the chains.The prototype chasis has the kit bot wheels. Today, we should be able to finish building and mounting our 4 crab steer modules! Next week we want to finish the drive and steering systems! Also, our programmers are starting to program our soon-to-be amazing robot.
“Mocking” the Field
January 16, 2010
Hello all! It’s been a hive of activity in and about the workshop ever since the kickoff last week. We have nearly completed our mock-up of the field and are planning to run some prototype tests later tonight. We have been working on our game strategy and currently, we’re thinking that playing from the far zone is our best option, as we have successfully kicked a ball in the air well beyond the distance of two bumps (25+ feet in the air!). The current belief is also that we will use crab steer as opposed to 6-wheel or 4-wheel skid steering, but there still is a slight chance for these designs to be revived as our ideas progress. We also have decided to not go over the bumps, as we would rather not like to spend the game on our backs, as our Roomba has demonstrated to us in its many failed attempts at climbing them. Finally, we’re taking another look at the website, as we have won the best design award in past years and would like to maintain our dynasty on that particular achievement.
Let the Games (and the Mountain Dew drinking) Begin!
January 9, 2010
Well, its kickoff day here at Walpole Robo-Rebels home base, and the brain smoke is so thick it’s becoming hard to see one another. Today is truly a day of questions, however, as the game has left quite a lot to the imagination. Would it be better to go over the bump or through the tunnel? Play on offense or defense? Is there any benefit to positioning ourselves in the center area? Was “Avatar” really worth seeing eight times? Many theories have also been surfacing on drive train and steering; there appear to be two factions who want either six-wheel skid steer or crab steer. A third faction is slowly being formed, however, that wants to create a robotic version of David Beckham
