Well I been hunkered down working with my kid's HS Robotics team and now it's time to go to battle. I've been with the program for 4 years now and each year seems to play out the same way:
Week 1...find out what the game or challenge is....stare at each other like deer in the headlights.
Week 2 ...lot of drawing on the blackboard and thoughtful discussion.
Week 3 ..all out brawl with near fist fights and lots of hard feelings as egos clash and desperation begins to set in
Week 4-6......all pull together for the good of the team and start building.
By now most of the kid's and the other mentors have gotten used to me...they look at me like "hey, that guy is mentally unstable...:mellow: ..but we need him..:shrug:
A lot of the frustration stems from the fact that we're behind the 8-ball from day one. We're a small Catholic school working out of our own pockets. While the public schools use Robotics as part of their curriculum and get state and corporate funding...we run the team as an after school club, literally working out of an abandoned shower room and a broom closet. That means while other schools are building during the day...we have to wait until after school. We're also not allowed to touch the robot during exam week, as all school clubs are shut down during that time. So that means many, many late nights for the team..cold pizza for supper... and then home at 9 or 10 to hit the books before going to bed. It's exhausting for everyone involved especially the kids.
Our "shop" consists of a Harbor Freight band saw, a worn out drill press, some dull files, a hacksaw and a soldering iron...I'm not kidding. We literally have to fight and scrap for every nut, bolt and part on the robot. We build it from scratch..a clean sheet of paper each year and we use raw material off the rack. The FIRST organization makes available spec. gear boxes, electric motors, pneumatic components, etc...and certain parts are allowed by rule to be pulled from automotive recyclers...after that you're pretty much on your own to design and build it.
And I have a rule for them..stay off the robotics forums !! I don't give a damn what other teams are building or what their design is. We're going to lock ourselves in that room and build our own machine..win or lose it will be our design.
I have to say, every year I am astonished at what these kids are able to build. Hopefully someday the school will realize the importance of the program and direct some additional resources to it...instead of pouring all the money into the sports teams...maybe even add it to the curriculum. After all...how many kids out on that field are going to make it to the professional level in sports. You have a much better chance of turning out some engineers.
In the past, walking into an event and seeing entries sponsored by Boeing, Sikorski Helicopter, Motorola, Johnson & Johnson, etc...was quite intimidating. Some of them look as though they were built by NASA. I'd be like like "holy crap what the hell are we doing here" ?
But somehow, someway we always seem to find a way to play Davey to their Goliath..at least for a while. First year we made it all the way to the finals in St Louis. Now teams actually wait for us to show up and come over to see what we’ve built.
And a quick tip of the cap to my son Eric..that kid tows the line. He's at every meeting..often the first one there and last to leave. A lot of nights we come home and then go in our own garage to continue working on a difficult part. He calls the shots on the mechanical side of the build from design to execution..fabricating, machining, welding. Many times he's arguing with me how we should do something, which although it aggravates me in the moment..is actually quite a rewarding feeling.
He's also the driver of the Robot = Hero if you win, scapegoat if you lose. Lot of pressure on that kid.
Other kids or "sub-groups" are assigned to work out the on-board electronics, pneumatic systems, software/wireless interface, game strategy, etc. It's really fun to watch them all interact, work out the problems, sort out the chain of command, etc. The whole dynamics behind the build is, in essence, what it's all about.
Preparing kids for real life.
So here we go...first event begins tonight and runs through the weekend....35 schools :doah: !
I hope for the sake of the kids we do well, god knows they worked hard on this thing. Wish us luck or say a prayer...maybe the power of the OldMiniBikes will prevail..:thumbsup:
Here's a short clip of this years 'bot:
Falcon Robotics Team 1626 2014 - TALON VI - YouTube
and a short animation of the game format for anyone who's interested :
2014 FIRST Game Animation - Aerial Assist - YouTube
.
Week 1...find out what the game or challenge is....stare at each other like deer in the headlights.
Week 2 ...lot of drawing on the blackboard and thoughtful discussion.
Week 3 ..all out brawl with near fist fights and lots of hard feelings as egos clash and desperation begins to set in
Week 4-6......all pull together for the good of the team and start building.
By now most of the kid's and the other mentors have gotten used to me...they look at me like "hey, that guy is mentally unstable...:mellow: ..but we need him..:shrug:
A lot of the frustration stems from the fact that we're behind the 8-ball from day one. We're a small Catholic school working out of our own pockets. While the public schools use Robotics as part of their curriculum and get state and corporate funding...we run the team as an after school club, literally working out of an abandoned shower room and a broom closet. That means while other schools are building during the day...we have to wait until after school. We're also not allowed to touch the robot during exam week, as all school clubs are shut down during that time. So that means many, many late nights for the team..cold pizza for supper... and then home at 9 or 10 to hit the books before going to bed. It's exhausting for everyone involved especially the kids.
Our "shop" consists of a Harbor Freight band saw, a worn out drill press, some dull files, a hacksaw and a soldering iron...I'm not kidding. We literally have to fight and scrap for every nut, bolt and part on the robot. We build it from scratch..a clean sheet of paper each year and we use raw material off the rack. The FIRST organization makes available spec. gear boxes, electric motors, pneumatic components, etc...and certain parts are allowed by rule to be pulled from automotive recyclers...after that you're pretty much on your own to design and build it.
And I have a rule for them..stay off the robotics forums !! I don't give a damn what other teams are building or what their design is. We're going to lock ourselves in that room and build our own machine..win or lose it will be our design.
I have to say, every year I am astonished at what these kids are able to build. Hopefully someday the school will realize the importance of the program and direct some additional resources to it...instead of pouring all the money into the sports teams...maybe even add it to the curriculum. After all...how many kids out on that field are going to make it to the professional level in sports. You have a much better chance of turning out some engineers.
In the past, walking into an event and seeing entries sponsored by Boeing, Sikorski Helicopter, Motorola, Johnson & Johnson, etc...was quite intimidating. Some of them look as though they were built by NASA. I'd be like like "holy crap what the hell are we doing here" ?
But somehow, someway we always seem to find a way to play Davey to their Goliath..at least for a while. First year we made it all the way to the finals in St Louis. Now teams actually wait for us to show up and come over to see what we’ve built.
And a quick tip of the cap to my son Eric..that kid tows the line. He's at every meeting..often the first one there and last to leave. A lot of nights we come home and then go in our own garage to continue working on a difficult part. He calls the shots on the mechanical side of the build from design to execution..fabricating, machining, welding. Many times he's arguing with me how we should do something, which although it aggravates me in the moment..is actually quite a rewarding feeling.
He's also the driver of the Robot = Hero if you win, scapegoat if you lose. Lot of pressure on that kid.
Other kids or "sub-groups" are assigned to work out the on-board electronics, pneumatic systems, software/wireless interface, game strategy, etc. It's really fun to watch them all interact, work out the problems, sort out the chain of command, etc. The whole dynamics behind the build is, in essence, what it's all about.
Preparing kids for real life.
So here we go...first event begins tonight and runs through the weekend....35 schools :doah: !
I hope for the sake of the kids we do well, god knows they worked hard on this thing. Wish us luck or say a prayer...maybe the power of the OldMiniBikes will prevail..:thumbsup:
Here's a short clip of this years 'bot:
Falcon Robotics Team 1626 2014 - TALON VI - YouTube
and a short animation of the game format for anyone who's interested :
2014 FIRST Game Animation - Aerial Assist - YouTube
.
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