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2018 Preseason

By Uncategorized No Comments

Hello again!

It’s been a while since our last update, but don’t worry, we’ve been working as hard as ever. Over the summer, we focused on volunteering and outreach. Some members of our team volunteered at Thomson Reuters’ Girls in Tech program, teaching middle-school aged girls how to use Scratch and think like programmers. We also attended Thomson Reuters’ Unconference, a technology fair where we demonstrated our robot Omnibus’ abilities and learned about new advances in technology, and won a First (ha) prize ribbon for our robot in the education building of the State Fair.

  

We’ve also been working on fundraising for the upcoming season. Team members and mentors alike have been regularly volunteering at the U.S. bank stadium and Team Ortho races to help raise money for the team.

This season, we’ve welcomed an influx of freshman members, which puts us at over 40 student members. Since the beginning of the school year, we’ve been working hard to teach freshmen and new members about our team, be they members of the Business team, the Build team, the Programming team, or our new Strategy team. We don’t yet know what our challenge is, so Build, Programming, and Strategy have been focused on fixing up our robots from last year and preparing themselves for this year, while Business has been focusing on securing sponsorships for the coming year. Although we haven’t gotten any game information, FIRST has released a teaser trailer for this year’s game, which is called FIRST Power Up and has an 8-bit theme.

This weekend, we’ll be competing with Omnibus at the Minnesota Regional Invitational, an offseason regional competition at Roseville High School. We’ll also be at the Minne Mini on November 17th, and we’ll be volunteering at the Monster Dash on October 28th. As per usual, we’ll be having regular meetings on Thursdays at 2p.m. in Highland Park’s woodshop.

That’s all for now! Thanks for keeping up with us!

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

If you would like to contribute to the team, please use this link to contribute through GiveMN. Thank you!

End of the 2017 Season

By FRC 2017 No Comments

Hello again from The Automatons!

10k was a wild ride. We played hard, worked hard, and definitely built hard. Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify for championships, but after ranking 19th with a 4-4-0 record we were the 9th pick for playoffs, which landed us on the 8th-seeded alliance with Blaze Robotics and QWERTY Robotics. Despite being the lowest-ranking alliance, we managed to secure a 2-0 win against the #1 seeded alliance! However, we went down in the semi-finals (again) due to our robot losing connection during a tiebreaker match.

Match Red Alliance Blue Alliance Scores
Qualifications
4664 2480 2823 2847 6709 6424 108 170
2500 2509 1816 3202 2823 2511 292 168
2823 2232 4207 6175 3630 3751 211 264
3184 2532 2823 4229 2529 3745 231 115
2181 3026 2480 3058 2823 2239 140 270
5172 2823 2545 3278 3839 2498 259 330
6176 4607 4198 3026 2052 2823 148 318
5637 3100 3244 2823 2498 3454 90 315
Quarterfinals
3026 2500 2052 3278 3184 2823 256 299
3026 2500 2052 3278 3184 2823 165 246
Semifinals
2823 3184 3278 3299 4198 2181 306 235
2823 3184 3278 3299 4198 2181 216 305
2823 3184 3278 3299 4198 2181 180 300

Besides performing a lot better than we did at Northern Lights, we also won the Innovation in Control award for our spectacular shooting mechanism that made Omnibus the best shooter there. Those that weren’t busy building or programming presented for Chairman’s and Dean’s List and did extensive scouting throughout the matches. Also, ScotBot did a bit of dancing and we got a visit from our principal, Dr. Winston Tucker!

Videos of Omni in action can be found on our YouTube page. We’re currently planning a car wash on May 13th to raise money for next year, so stop by Highland from 9-2 if you want to support us (or if your car just needs a wash).

Thanks for keeping up with us!

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

If you would like to contribute to the team, please use this link to contribute through GiveMN. Thank you!

 

Getting ready for 10k!

By FRC, FRC 2017 No Comments

Hey, everyone! Thanks for keeping up with us.

On bag day (or, for the non-robotics folk, February 21st) we finally completed our robot for this year and gave it a name. Meet Omnibus!

picture of omni

Omnibus gets its name from the fact that every component is stored inside of its box frame – besides being a name for a collection of books, omnibus is an adjective meaning “containing or including many items”. After the build process was complete, we programmed it and put it in a bag.

When we went to Northern Lights, our first regional of the year, it turned out Omnibus was slightly overweight. We had to cut a bunch of holes in its frame and get rid of some components, and because of that and our lack of drive practice, we didn’t get off to a great start. With some repairs to the robot, we managed to win 4 out of our 8 qualification matches, pulling ourselves up from last place to 28th place. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it past qualifications, but we learned a lot from the competition and made tons of improvements to our robot – and once we can legally take it out of the bag again, there’ll certainly be more to come.

Match Red Alliance Blue Alliance Scores
Qualifications
3723 2823 4786 2512 3036 2509 190 255
2491 2823 6132 3298 4665 5172 92 151
2989 2501 4859 3298 2823 3026 165 106
2518 5143 2987 6758 3130 2823 190 241
4226 3883 3313 2823 5143 2883 160 240
2502 4624 2823 6628 5232 2846 157 147
3297 6044 2823 3026 5882 2499 145 181
3367 5929 6707 4656 3754 2823 165 197

We built a shadow-bot between competitions to test code and build new mechanisms, and since we can actually test on it and make adjustments, our outlook is even better than before. Our shooter mechanism can now get 21 kPa in autonomous mode – and it’s pretty dependable.

We’ve also made improvements to our gear catching mechanism and our climber using the shadow-bot. We’ve gone from a passive gear catcher – which just catches and delivers a gear – to an active gear catcher that can actually put the gear on the spring. We also let our drive team have some much-needed practice, so now we’re pretty proficient with our robot.

 

The business team has been working hard to perfect our presentation for the Chairman’s Award – for those not in the know, the Chairman’s Award is the most prestigious award a team can possibly win. It celebrates growth as a team and promoting STEM to one’s community. Along with that they have been working to get more sponsors to allow for more events in the near future.

That’s all for now! DFTBA!

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

If you would like to contribute to the team, please use this link to contribute through GiveMN. Thank you!

 

FIRST Steamworks!

By FRC, FRC 2017 No Comments

Hey, Everyone! 2823 is back and with a bang!

This year’s game is quite the challenge and since its release we have been hard at work on it. If you do not know about this year’s game you can see the game animation below along with updates about what we have been doing since kickoff!

Prototypes

We have put a lot of time and effort into our prototypes thus far and we will see that continue until at least the end of this week as we perfect them into mechanisms to go onto our chassis.

  • Gear Mechanisms 

The first mechanism that we began working on is the mechanism to pick up and place gears. The original goal of this mechanism was not only to catch and carry the gear but also to do so from odd angles. The major reasoning behind such design choice was due to the fact that we want our cycle times to be as low as possible. Having a gear mechanism that can work within many ranges allows us to be within a wide margin of error which in turn allows for quicker turnaround and cycle times. Check out video of the mechanism prototype below.

  • Climber Mechanism

The climber is one of those mechanisms that we wanted to prototype as soon as possible. We feel that this mechanism has a high value and will set teams apart while it also has the potential to decide crucial matches. One thing that we did take into account is that we can bring our own rope. With this being an option in this years game we believe that it can easily be used to our advantage by designing the climber around a rope of our choosing. We also want it to be quick and sturdy as our robot needs to remain on the rope for the points to be valid. Check out some video below.

 

  • Intake Prototype

We have very recently begun design on our intake prototype. More information will come in a future post. For now, check out this video of last years robot intake on this years field elements. It surprisingly works pretty well.

  • Shooter Prototype

The shooter is a vital piece of our strategy. While it serves a seemingly simple task it can easily be one of the most complex things to prototype. We had a lot of thorough discussion as a team regarding our shooter. We realize that while it is important to be able to shoot from a fixed position it is also important to be able to do so rapidly and consistently. It is still an ever evolving prototype and we will keep you updated on its progress.

That’s all for now! DFTBA!

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

If you would like to contribute to the team, please use this link to contribute through GiveMN. Thank you!

Prepping for Kickoff!

By Uncategorized No Comments

Team 2823 is preparing for the kickoff of FIRST Steamworks!

With the support of our lovely mentors, we have been working diligently to teach all of our new members the skills necessary to be successful while at a robotics competition.

The build team has been working diligently on a drivable chassis along with lessons regarding electrical engineering, welding, and the basics of how to use the many tools within our shop.

The programming team has been working on programming the drivable chassis along with improving the vision processing code from last year.

CAD has been working with their mentor on a “top-secret project”, while simultaneously working on becoming CAD masters.

The business team has been working on securing grants, managing our social media accounts, figuring out our financial needs, and, as of late, fleshing out a logo for this year.

We look forward to the start of the 2017 season!

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

If you would like to contribute to the team, please use this link to contribute through GoFundMe. Thank you!

Preseason

By Uncategorized No Comments

Hey, everyone!

Our preseason is off to an electric start. We have held multiple regular meetings so far and have recruited many new members. The goal of our preseason is to build the skills that team members would need during the regular season. We do that in a variety of ways.

The build team is building the necessary skills by having new team members work with returning members to build what we call a “shadow bot.” The shadow bot is usually different every year and is primarily used for demonstration. This year it will be quite exciting and more info on that will be coming soon along with a robot reveal.

The business team is off to a great start. We are starting the year off strong with lots of fundraising and many projects that would make our team more efficient and more enriching for all of our team members. Expect a lot more from us soon.

The programming team has been using last years robot to teach new members the pillars of Java. Expect a cool demonstration from them soon. Right along with them has been the CAD team. They have been working diligently to get the shadow bot’s concept within a detailed 3D model. When that is thoroughly completed we will be releasing that.

That is all for now. Expect updates from us at least once a week from now on.

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

If you would like to contribute to the team, please use this link to contribute through GoFundMe. Thank you!

FIRST Championship

By FRC, FRC 2016 No Comments

After coming off a successful 10,000 Lakes Regional, Team 2823 has graciously been offered to attend the FIRST Championships in St Louis, MO

We are glad to be attending the championships for the first time, but we need your help!

You can help us in many ways!

Donate via our GoFundMe page.

If you can’t donate, don’t worry. Spread the word through all of our social media channels!

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/highland2823/
Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HProboticsorgFIRST/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

Lake Superior Regional

By FRC, FRC 2016 No Comments

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to give everyone an update about what is going on with HP Robotics and how we did at the Lake Superior Regional out in Duluth, MN. To summarize things, we did really well. This was our best regional thus far in terms of our accomplishments.

After the qualification matches we ended up in Rank 16 which meant to move on to playoffs we needed to be picked by another team that was in the top 8. We graciously accepted an invitation to join team 2538 – The Plaid Pillagers – and team 4531 – STEMpunk – in Alliance number 6 which allowed us to go on to playoffs. We ended up having to bow out in semifinals due to robot malfunctions, but we were still very excited to make it that far. After all was said and done we ended up in Rank 3rd overall.

Along with ranking as high as we ever had before we ended up winning the creativity award sponsored by Xerox. This officially sealed the deal as our best and funnest regional yet. We still have one more regional to go and expect a post soon with more information on that.

In the meantime – DFTBA

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and ​share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/highland2823/
Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HProboticsorgFIRST/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/

 

Stop Build Day is Near

By FRC, FRC 2016 No Comments

Aaah! It’s been so busy we forgot to post updates. Sorry about that, we will try to make post more frequently. Now on to the information you all want to hear.

Stop build day is coming up! To be more exact it is February 23rd. That means that our robot has to be completely done and placed in a bag for our first competition in Duluth. We have made great progress on our robot and we will slowly release more information about our robot as it is being completed.

Today we present the information about our chassis!

The chassis is rolling with 12″ wheels which are attached by #35 chain and are in Tank Drive via 4 CIM motors and Vex Pro Gear Boxes.

Here goes some photos and even a video of the chassis in action.

IMG_20160206_201113

IMG_20160214_151425

IMG_20160129_204924

The Season Begins

By FRC, FRC 2016 No Comments

Hey Everyone!

A lot has happened since we last updated you guys so let us get right into it.

First off, as you may have noticed this is the new website for HP Robotics. HP Robotics is composed of FRC Team 2823 and FTC team 10209 currently. There will be some lovely updates coming to the website within the next couple of weeks. If you encounter any issues or have some questions regarding the website feel free to email us at webmaster@hprobotics.org

Now, for the info that you all really want to hear. The FRC Game has been announced! You can find more info on that by clicking here.

The FRC Team is already hard at work. We began with a great kickoff at Central hosted by The Minutebots – FRC Team 4536. We watched the game along with many other St. Paul Hub teams and then we broke off and discussed the game and its rules in its entirety. The next day around 15 of us met and discussed strategy and robot design. Then on Monday we met again and discussed strategy and robot design as a whole and we decided on a couple aspects regarding strategy and the robot itself.

More updates will be coming shortly.

Follow HP Robotics on all of the official channels and ​share with your friends!

Website: https://www.hprobotics.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPRobotics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/highland2823/
Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HProboticsorgFIRST/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPRobotics/