2010: Odyssey
by Cedrick C.
In 2010, Odyssey was our robot and the NASA Mars rovers were our inspiration.
The game, Breakaway, required robots to maneuver a soccer ball around the field and score goals. Foot high "bumps" in the middle of the field were a barrier to robots and soccer balls, though tunnels through the bumps allowed smaller robots to go through rather than over. For the end game, there were towers, and a robot could score points by suspending itself from a tower.
We felt that the main challenge was going over the bump, and that going over was more important than going through the tunnel. Mr. Cahoon, one of our mentors, had the breakthrough idea: he noted that the Mars rovers "Spirit" and "Opportunity" had to traverse rugged terrain, and they did it with a special rocker mechanism which allowed wheels to ride high and low and high again as the rover moved across the landscape. This was just what we needed to climb over the bumps. We decided on an articulated rocker with the arms in a parallelogram configuration.
Once we decided, we began the design process. In 2010, we had only a few designers, though we have improved since then. The process was hectic, dirty, and incomplete. We designed about 80%, and decided the rest could be done in mech-fab. We ended up paying for this.
We didn't have our big mill yet, but A&M Precision Measuring Services in Kent helped us with our major milling tasks. We did have a lathe and a small stepper spindle mill. They were our most important tools – we needed a lot of relatively small parts.
Once we got it built, we were constantly making improvements. The main things it had to do, kick the ball and go over the bump, it did well. When it went over the bump, it was almost like it hugged it – like it wrapped itself around the bump. This was beautiful to see! It was exactly what we intended.
Kicking was something we had to work at. Actually, the kicker was easy, but retaining the ball as the robot moved was tricky. We experimented, and finally came up with a good solution. A length of high-end surge tube was stretched, like a rod, and spun. It was able to grab the ball and hold it. Spinning at a fairly high speed, the mechanism acquired the ball – an infrared sensor detected when the ball was acquired, and reduced the spin rate to just fast enough to keep the ball as Odyssey moved backward and forward.
Our first competition was the Portland regional. Thursday, we were still finalizing the robot, fixing things, etc. We never had a chance to do a practice match. On Friday, we were still fixing things, and we actually missed our first match. We bounced around the bottom of the standings through the day – autonomous mode failed, the battery in the computer died, code didn't deploy. Still, the mood at the end of the day was one of resolve – do what was needed to fix the problems.
As Saturday dawned, it all came together. Everything began to work. The robot was handling well, controlling the ball like we intended, and we were even scoring goals in autonomous mode. Victoria was our driver. Friday was a learning experience and by Saturday she had become very good. This showed throughout the day – driving faster, taking corners better, kicking goals. Going over the bump was tricky – she had to shift multiple times. But once she got it, it was smooth.
Even though Friday was a wash out, Saturday we did well and started moving up in the standings. When the time came for the high-standing teams to choose alliance partners for the quarter-finals, we had done well enough that we were noticed and chosen for one of the alliances. We rewarded their faith by performing well – our alliance made it to the semi-finals.
In Seattle, instead of bouncing around the bottom, we were at the top of the standings all the way through. We were able to choose our alliance partners for the quarter-finals, and as in Portland, we made it to the semi-finals. It was in Seattle that we won the GM Industrial Design award for the rocker mechanism which allowed us to go over the bump so smoothly.
2009: Bearenstein
by Chad Hohn
"15 Minutes! That's all it will take to build this Kit-Bot Chassis", proclaimed Brian Andrews at the start of our first year. Every year since then, we all (including Andrews himself) think about how completely wrong that was. It always takes several days to build the chassis, the simplest part of our robot. Even in 2009, when our chassis was built from precision machined parts, it still took a few days of work by several students to finish it.
Our club succeeds each year because of the hard work and determination of students and mentors alike. Typically, we have a group of "die hard students", and a great core of mentors who have been around since first year. We also have some new mentors who came in right at the start of this year.
Every student and mentor played an extremely valuable role in the construction of "Bearenstein", our robot for the 2009 FIRST "Lunacy" competition. Not only did we build one robot in the time allotted for construction, but because of the dedication of all our students and mentors, we were able to build a second identical robot.
Production was long and arduous. The robot was complex to build, and it was even more complex to drive. Though we had a good team of operators, we couldn't do every bit of control without computer/programming assistance. The operator interface had about 20 knobs and switches. The two joysticks for the drive base had buttons on their base for the driver to operate.
The robot being driven by two people took many late nights at the practice field in Seattle. Even though we spent so much time practicing, we still weren't the most competitive team in terms of point scoring. However, we were a great asset in other respects such as blocking and pinning other robots, and in maneuvering and evading balls.
At the competition in Portland, the days were long and stressful when the robot wasn't completely operational, or the programming was slightly off, or we were still trying to construct our Traction Control Modules. These are the evils of a rapidly prototyped robot, or anything that is rapidly prototyped for that matter. The prospect that we had overlooked something and the robot wasn't going to work was frightening. However, the challenge of developing a viable solution is thrilling and satisfying, so the effort was rewarding and well worth it.
We won second place at Portland, and also were given the Xerox Creativity Award. In Seattle, we made it to the quarterfinals, and we won the Rockwell Automation Innovation Award.
All our team's many successes are due to the commitment of our mentors and members. Our club wouldn't exist without the help of our advisor, Darren Collins. Not many people could fill his shoes as the important ally to the club that he is.
2008: Catalyst
by Doug Dopps
In 2008, the game ("FIRST Overdrive") required robots to race around the field and score points by lifting or launching giant (48-inch) red and blue excercise balls over 6-foot hurdles. In the end game, a robot could score additional points by placing balls atop a hurdle. And, a robot could thwart an opponent by knocking the opponent's balls off the hurdle.
Our team analyzed various concepts for a drive train, manipulator, and game strategy. After much discussion, the team finally settled on a 6-wheel drive cantilever chassis with a 3-stage aluminum extrusion elevator lift. Twin motors drove the lift from floor to hurdle in just 3 seconds. Omni-mounted corner wheels gave an exceptional level of maneuverability.
This was Catalyst.
Looking like a cyclops, Catalyst used a pneumatic-powered tri-fingered grabber to reach out and embrace the ball, lifting it above the heads of spectators near the field, and dropping it over the hurdle, or gently placing it atop the hurdle. It was generally agreed, by those who know, that Catalyst was the most dangerous-looking robot around.
With its maneuverability and control, Catalyst was merciless, and relentlessly scored against opponents. Our team was a finalist at the Portland regional competition, but we were just getting warmed up.
At Seattle, we went all the way, winning the regional championship and advancing to the world championship in Atlanta, Georgia. We also won the Motorola Quality Award.
The competition at Atlanta is of a different order. The best teams in the country, those with years of experience, come here. This was only our second year as a team. There are so many teams at the championship that they are divided into four divisions. We played in the Galileo division, and advanced through the elimination rounds to the quarterfinals. There we formed an alliance with Skunkworks (team 1983) and Las Guerrillas (team 469). Alas, we were outmatched and didn't make it beyond the quarterfinals.
2008 was the second year in a row that we went to the championship. Even though we didn't win, we went up against the best teams in the country and made a good showing. Going to the championship is profound, no matter how many times you go.
2007: Epic
by Austin Weary
The 2007 build season was definitely one to remember. We tossed around basic ideas, and then we designed and built as we went along. "Precise Enough" was truly the team motto. Thanks to the dedication of the core members and mentors, the club managed to make it all come together.
We shared a joint practice field with several other teams. It seemed some of the teams never showed up, but we were there all the time.
We really had no idea what to expect in Portland. Amazingly enough, our team was one of the few that had a reliable autonomous mode, and this turned heads at the competition.
Picking alliances was no easy task. We never thought we'd finish in the top eight, and didn't do any scouting. We picked teams 360 and 2149 but didn't make it past the quarter-finals. Our performance, though, was enough to impress the judges, and they awarded us the Rookie All-Star Award.
Then we realized that the award came with an invitation to the FIRST championship in Atlanta. The atmosphere in Atlanta was much stronger than it was in Portland. 344 FRC teams competed on four fields. It was overwhelming.
We flipped a number of times during the endgame but our autonomous mode worked beautifully. We finished with a record of 5-2 and were ranked in the top 15 on our field. Our robot broke in our last match, but we managed to fix it quickly. Sadly, none of the top eight alliances picked us, so we didn't get to compete in the elimination rounds.
We learned a lot that year, and we were proud of what we had accomplished. Somehow, with a lot of dedication and intuition, we managed to put our foot in the door toward becoming a powerhouse team in the Northwest.
