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      On the day of the kick-off, our sub-group took inventory along with the Electrical Group. After we took inventory, we worked on the wheels for the robot on the mill and lathe. At the same time we drew parts of proposed ideas on AutoDesk. We brainstormed ideas on ways to pick up inner tubes and the possibility of obtaining bonus points at the end of the game by picking up other robots.
      Mr. Ing taught us the very basic functions on Edgecam to import programs for the newly obtained CNC Mill. After we made the programs for the bearing plate, Mr. Ing also taught us how to work the CNC. After we learned how to use the CNC, we babysat it while it ran the program.

      We put together the basic electrical system for our testbot, including robot controller (RC), relays, breaker panels and speed controllers. The testbot is now up and running. We also downloaded the default code to our robot controller, wired the pneumatic system and tested the suction cup provided in the kit of parts. The suction cup worked. However, after the discussion with mechanical team, we decided not to use the suction cup because it is not effective and unreliable in grabbing tubes.
      Furthermore, we wired the camera to the RC and mounted it to the testbot. After we downloaded the camera default code to the RC, the camera is able to track the green light. We also wrote a function to align the robot to the direction of the green light. And that had also worked successfully.
      Right now we are trying to wire the quadrature optical encoder to the RC and program it to measure travel distance of the robot. This will be useful in determining when to shift gear. In addition, it will be very helpful in the autonomous period. Our current goal is to have the encoder working by the end of the week. We also had to redownload the 2005-2006 code for the demonstration for governor Linda Lingle.

      The PR/Graphics Team worked on Dean Kamen's homework assignment immediately after the kickoff. We finished the letters, mailed them off and posted them to the FIRST forums. We also compiled the addresses of the teams attending  either the Silicon Valley or San Diego Regionals so that we may send out a letter later in the build season. Throughout the week we've been taking pictures and video to post to on the website. We also called a team meeting to vote on our nominee for the Woodie Flowers Award.
      Thanks to Dreamweaver, the website can be updated within minutes and templates allow mass updating of files. Lots of the graphics and layout was done prior to the kickoff so when the build season started, it was only a matter of updating the gallery section. Speaking of the gallery, it is much more user friendly than before. A page is created for each picture so you can browse through all the pictures without hitting the “back button” in your internet browser.
      The flash elements on the pages should work with Firefox 2.0, IE 6 and IE 7 browsers. The “click to active” problem is gone except for the Quicktime videos. Unfortunately Flash video does not work, probably because of the server we host it on and uploading to YouTube is not an option because we don’t want these videos viewed by random people.
      Later in the week, we were invited to a press conference with Governor Linda Lingle where she unveiled her Innovation Initiative as well as a FIRST Hawaii Regional in 2008. Finally, we had a photo-op with our local newspaper to cap the end of our very busy week.

      We learned how to "cycle" (switch) batteries and practiced on the 2005 robot. Once we got more practice we were introduced to the steering wheel and tried that out. It turns out that the steering wheel was more efficient then the joystick because of it's turning capability and overall smoothness.
      Once we realized what the game was, we strategized on what what type of plan was most efficient to collect points. Our decision was to go for tubes instead of stacking other robots. We then put together the transmitters on opposite sides of the frame and then assembled the rest of the chassis to make our prototype robot for this year. We decided to do the 6-wheel drive and chained the middle wheel .
      We also helped the programming team test out the camera to make sure it still functioned correctly. Once the camera was fully operational, we then went ahead and chained the back wheels because our weight of the robot was focused more on the back, thus making the front wheels slightly above ground level.
      By learning more about the game, we went into more in-depth strategy about ring placement. We realized that we needed to place the spider exactly where the rack would be so we could actually practice as if we were playing the real game.
      Currently we are working on building a second light so the programming team can test their code on tracking two lights. Our goal by the end of this week is to finish the light and have the proper placement of the spider.

 

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