Week 8 — What Can I Work On?

Outreach: Backyard Bolton

Saturday, October 17, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

Missing equipment

Does anyone know where our motor speed controller was put away at the end of Sunday's meeting?

Scrimmage: Sunday, October 25, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Are we entering one or two robots?

No meeting Sunday, October 11 (holiday weekend)

The next meeting is Wednesday, October 14.

1. Make the robot signs (both robots)

Every robot needs signs that show its team number and its alliance color. The rules are specific:

• At least two signs per robot, on surfaces at least 90° apart (for example, front and side). R401
• Each sign is at least 6.5 in wide × 2.5 in tall, made of something sturdy, and held by the robot's frame. R401
• The background is a solid red or blue rectangle that matches the alliance you're assigned for that match. R402
• The numbers are solid white, about 2.25 in tall, side by side (not stacked), with about 0.25 in of background around them. R403

How many? We play some matches as red and some as blue, so each robot needs 2 red + 2 blue signs — 8 signs total for 36563 and 36564. (A reversible sign is OK only if the wrong color can't be seen.)

1. Read rules R401–R403 in the competition manual.
2. Look for existing OnShape sign designs if you don't want to start from scratch.
3. Design the sign in OnShape. Raised or recessed numbers look great — just make sure they end up white on red or blue.
4. 3D print the signs.

No time for a 3D model? Signs can also be printed and laminated. FIRST provides a printable sign template.

2. Wire the goBILDA Pinpoint

Make sure the goBILDA Pinpoint is wired correctly. Our odometry — and the autonomous below — depends on it.

→ goBILDA Pinpoint documentation

3. Build a simple autonomous

First, the Pinpoint: make sure it's wired and added to the Control Hub's robot configuration as a goBILDA Pinpoint Odometry Computer named pinpoint on I2C bus 1, 2 or 3. The autonomous can't track where the robot is without it.

Then, after finishing the Odometry and Autonomous lessons in the simulator, create an autonomous program that:

1. Starts from a legal starting position.
2. Leaves the starting area legally.
3. Drives to a location where it can score points.
4. Parks in a useful scoring position.

Legal start — before the match, the robot must be: G304

• completely on our alliance's side of the field (columns A–C for red, D–F for blue),
• touching the field perimeter wall,
• not in the loading zone, and not touching a flower,
• inside its 18-inch starting size,
• touching exactly 4 pollen pre-loads, and
• completely still after INIT.

Easy points in AUTO (checked at the end of the 30-second AUTO period):

• LEAVE — 3 points: the robot is no longer touching the perimeter wall.
• PARK — 5 points: the robot is at least partly inside our loading zone.

Leave the wall and park in the loading zone and that's 8 points without shooting anything.

Other AUTO rules to know:

• An OpMode must be selected and INIT pressed before every match. For an AUTO OpMode, the 30-second timer must be turned on. G305
• Hands off during AUTO — no touching the robot or the Driver Station except to start or stop it. G401
• Stay on our side. Driving into the other alliance's side during AUTO is risky and can be a penalty. G402
• The robot must be still between AUTO and TELEOP. If your TeleOp INIT moves servos, wait until TELEOP starts to press INIT. G403

Build and test it in the Impulse 3D Simulator. You do not need to program the path by hand — drive the route and record it with the simulator's Path Capture tool.

Don't worry about shooting pollen yet. The goal for now is to get comfortable with odometry, autonomous movement, path planning, starting positions and scoring locations.

4. Self-inspection checklist

Every robot is inspected before it can play. Check ours now so there are no surprises at the scrimmage:

• Fits inside an 18 × 18 × 18 in cube with every part still. Pre-loaded pollen may stick out. R102
• Holds that size on its own without pushing on the sizing box. INIT may hold servos and motors in place, but don't stall a motor against a hard stop. R103
• Robot signs are on, meet the rules, and we have both colors. R401–R403
• Main power switch: exactly one approved switch (ours is the goBILDA Floodgate, 3103-0005-0001) and all battery power goes through it. It must be easy for the team to reach, away from fast-moving parts and pinch points — and ideally protected so another robot can't bump it off. R603
• Exactly one approved 12V NiMH robot battery, unmodified. R601
• No wiring uses the robot frame to carry current. R605
• Grounding strap is an approved part, plugged into an XT30 port on a store-bought device, with its resistor end attached to the frame. R605
• Fuses, power devices and their wiring can be shown to an inspector, and the Control Hub's status lights can be seen. R606
• An OpMode selects and INITs cleanly on the Driver Station. G305

This is our quick self-check from the BIOBUZZ competition manual. The latest manual, team updates and FIRST's official inspection materials are on the FTC Game & Season Materials page.

Pick one subsystem and learn everything you can about it

• Intake
• Indexer
• Drivetrain
• Shooter — start with our Week 7 turret reference (top flywheel, scoop hood, front spin)
• Odometry — goBILDA Pinpoint
• Pollen extraction from flowers

Ask yourself:

• How does it work?
• Why did we design it this way?
• What could be improved?
• What problems are we having?
• Can you think of a different design?
• Can you find examples of other teams doing this differently?

For inspiration, check out this mechanism: → watch on YouTube

Scout some matches

Watch a few FTC matches on YouTube and look for things other teams are doing that we aren't. Write your observations in our Google Doc and share interesting ideas with the team.

Things to look for:

• Interesting robot designs
• Different intake mechanisms
• Different shooters
• Autonomous strategies
• Endgame strategies
• How teams deal with defense
• Things that seem particularly effective
• Things that seem like they don't work very well

Don't just watch the match — study the robots!

Complete the OnShape CAD lessons

Continue working through the CAD training.

Want a real design job? The robot signs need to be designed in OnShape.

Complete the simulator lessons

Keep working toward completing all of the quizzes in the Impulse 3D Simulator. Then take on the simple autonomous.

Complete the electrical training

Work through the electrical training. Then help wire the Pinpoint.

Add the grounding strap

Add the grounding strap to the robot. Make sure you understand why it is there and what it does, rather than simply attaching it.

Rule R605 only allows these straps: REV REV-31-1269, AndyMark am-4648a or Swyft SR-Ground-01. It plugs into an XT30 port on a store-bought device and attaches to the frame through its resistor end.

REX shaft spacers

Print REX shaft spacers in 0.25 cm steps: 0.25 cm, 0.5 cm, 0.75 cm, 1 cm, and so on.

Directional mecanum intake wheels

Print some directional mecanum intake wheels for testing. Try different orientations and configurations and see how they affect the intake.

Robot signs

Once the robot sign design is ready, we need 8 signs: 2 red + 2 blue each for 36563 and 36564.

Make a robot video

Make a short video showcasing some aspect of the robot. For example:

• Show an interesting mechanism.
• Explain how part of the robot works.
• Demonstrate something the robot can do.
• Interview a teammate about something they designed.

Important for now:

• Only show the robot.
• Do not show students in the videos yet.
• Do not use student names yet.

Example interview

Student 1: Hi, this is Team 36563 Prime Symmetry, and today we'd like to show off our [mechanism]. We're here with the designer. Tell me a bit about how this works.

Student 2: [Explains how the mechanism works.]

Student 1: What do you like about this design?

Student 2: [Answers.]

Student 1: What do you plan to improve?

Student 2: [Answers.]

Student 1: Awesome! Thanks for telling us about [mechanism]. Check back with our channel for more updates!

Research existing portfolios

Start preparing now — don't wait until the end of the season. Look at engineering portfolios from successful FTC teams and pay attention to:

• What information they include
• How they organize their engineering process
• How they document design decisions
• How they show iterations
• How they describe problems and solutions
• What kinds of photos and diagrams they use

Start collecting our own information

As we work, start collecting:

• Photos of the robot and its mechanisms
• CAD screenshots
• Design ideas and sketches
• Problems we encountered, solutions we tried, and things that didn't work
• Design changes
• Programming milestones and testing results
• Match observations
• Outreach activities

Take pictures as we go! It is much easier to build a good portfolio with documentation from the whole season than trying to remember everything at the end.

Pick one thing from this page and start. If you're stuck, try this:

1. Find something on the robot you don't understand.
2. Figure out how it works.
3. Find out why we designed it that way.
4. Think of one way it could be improved.
5. Share your idea with the team.

You don't need to wait for someone to give you a job. If you see something that could be better, investigate it!