After debriefing Off-Season events and preparing materials for Kickoff, we made the most of the tail end of the 2023 Pre-Season by participating in community events and workshops, finalizing construction of the drivetrain, and holding meetings to prepare for the much-anticipated Kickoff for FIRST® Crescendo. Entering the new year with over 30 committed Revolutionaries, we have high hopes for our 25th season.
RECAP
Teched Out Summit On December 2 we joined local teams at Mount Tahoma High School to attend FRC robot demonstrations, interactive workshops, and talks from industry experts. We advanced our outreach efforts with 2557 SOTAbots before hosting our FLL competition at Bellarmine. Thank you to the teams that made this event possible!
FIRST LEGO League Qualifier Event On December 3 we had the honor of hosting another FLL qualifier event for hundreds of elementary and middle schoolers in the world of Lego robotics. We had over 20 Team 360 members participate in volunteering efforts as queuers, field resetters, concessionaires, and setup/cleanup teams. Congratulations to all advancing teams, and we hope to accommodate even more competitors next year.
TRA Workshop On November 18 we joined 2557 SOTAbots at IDEA High School for their annual series of workshops covering robotics topics. Our Design and Strategy Mentor Jake Dusek gave talks on creating the perfect autonomous, as well as “What Not To Do”. Outreach and Business leads Sol S. B’25 and Santiago Q. B’25 gave a talk on FRC team fundraising and outreach. Thanks to SOTAbots for hosting this Pre-Season community event!
Jake's Advanced Topics Classes
Between lab session days since October 4, Design/Strategy Mentor Jake Dusek has carried out a comprehensive curriculum of advanced topics in FRC robotics. All attending members have developed a nuanced understanding of robot design, covering the topics every Wednesday listed below:
10/04/2023- Karthik’s strategic design principles
10/11/2023- Identifying simple and strategic advantages in past FRC games
10/18/2023- FRC mechanisms and success cases
11/01/2023- Robot troubleshooting
11/08/2023- Robot specifications for a perfect autonomous
11/15/2023- Master sketches in CAD11/15/2023
11/26/23- System checks in between matches
12/05/23- Talking to judges
12/12/23- Analyzing robot reveal videos
SUBTEAM HIGHLIGHTS
Manufacturing
Danette W. B'27 and Joseph D. B'27 finishing up robot bumper construction.
Over Weeks 10-12, the Manufacturing subteam made significant strides assembling components for the new practice robot. Along with their four leads they completed and installed the swerve modules onto the new drivetrain. After CNC machining steel plates, the subteam reinforced the drivetrain by riveting the plates on. They also began fabricating bumpers for the practice bot. Additional accomplishments included receiving a large REV shipment and taking inventory to compile a parts order list for the upcoming season.
Manufacturing focused on wiring and mounting electrical parts onto the practice robot. Jameson C. B’25, Cole W. B’24 and freshmen mounted the main breaker, CANivore and other control components– they provided power to these systems to get them functional. In parallel, Charlie K. B’25, Blake B. B’27, and others drilled holes and fabricated bumper standoffs. Through their efforts, Manufacturing got the new drivetrain wired up and ready for drive testing.
Programming
Programming Mentor Michael Schneider assisting Isaac O. B'27 with his code.
Programming worked on getting the drive code operational with the new drivetrain. Julia S. B'24, Sachin S. B'25, and Isaac O. B'27 struggled initially but eventually got the swerve modules moving using TunerX. They began setting up code for drivetrain characterization. Meanwhile, Arsema R. B'26 and Anna S. B'26 developed an IO layer for logging drivetrain data. Rookies continued attending Java classes to create a foundation for their understanding of robotics programming.
After Thanksgiving, the focus shifted to integrating vision tracking using the Limelight. Despite some setbacks with the tracking pipeline, Julia and returners got the Limelight estimating the robot's position on the field using AprilTags. In the final week, the team reset components after Teched Out, continued working on drivetrain characterization, and fixed bugs during teleop.
Design
Rydar J. B'24 discussing with mentors a Jack in the Bot-inspired belly pan design.
In Weeks 10-12, Design focused on conceptual designs for a 2016 competition bot after the mock kickoff. Rydar J. B’24, Connor M. B’25, Carter W. B’26 and Brad S. B’25 explored shooter, intake and other mechanisms. They also assisted with finalizing electrical components on the preseason drive base. Over Thanksgiving break, Rydar iterated on drive base belly pan designs, settling on a 2910-inspired style that was CNC’d and mounted. Carter and Brad refined 2016 bot concepts while Connor explored elevators.
Design soon shifted to revising and fine-tuning existing designs. Rydar finalized the lexan bottom belly pan which was then CNC’d and mounted. Carter wrapped up the cart redesign he was working on. Brad and new member Ethan O. B’27 continued refining designs for the conceptual 2016 robot. The subteam spent time reorganizing files and optimizing workflows. Design made good progress on drive base components and gained experience through the concept 2016 bot from Mock Kickoff.
Outreach and Business
Program Director Joy Taylor revising Santiago Q B'25's sponsorship email.
Outreach and Business began many early stages of planning and promotion for upcoming events. Sol S. B’25 and Santiago Q. B’25 worked on invites and emails to publicize the FLL tournament. Sol also updated the outreach plan and prepared forms for FLL. He assisted Santiago with grant applications as well.
Soon enough, execution of the FLL competition and Teched Out Summit became the primary focus. Sol created instructional videos and managed volunteer sign-ups for FLL. He also helped get volunteers registered on the FIRST website. For Teched Out, the subteams coordinated team attendance at the event. In addition, they started brainstorming ideas for the Impact Award and reviewing plans for future outreach in the new year.
Marketing
Mac D. B'24 showing a drafted storyboard to returner Antoinette D. B'25 and rookie Adam A. B'27.
During Weeks 10-12, Marketing focused on planning and content creation. Mac D. B’24 started storyboarding an upcoming video and researched a product for a REV robotics review. Throughout the following weeks the subteam shot photos for a mock competition poster and finished filming a sponsor 'thank you' video. They also shot and edited footage for the REV product review.
In the next two weeks Marketing worked on November social media content and wrap-ups. Claire S. B'27 uploaded FLL photos, Amy S. B’27 created promotional graphics, and Adam A. B’27 finished editing the sponsor video. Claire wrote a script for the REV review, which Mac edited and posted later. The subteam also submitted the monthly REV check-in and took product photos. Marketing has kept our presence strong in the last weeks of Pre-Season.
Scouting
Griffin L. B’24, along with Scouting Mentor Stephen Shimshock, exploring SQLite.
From Week 9, Scouting continued to explore SQL alternatives like SQLite and began developing consistency metrics in Power BI. They decided to back up the SQL database before making any switches. Over the break, the subteam downloaded data to test uploading elsewhere and created new Power BI graphs for scoring consistency.
In Weeks 13-14, the focus shifted to planning and improvements for next season. Soon, Scouting got reusable sheets printed and set goals to simplify training. They aim to implement scouting tests with Week 0 matches. Discussions centered on organization enhancements like assigned seating. Regardless of sheet simplicity, a training session is planned to emphasize competition logistics.
General Management
David A. B’25 explaining to rookie Tony G. B'24 how our hour allocation and travel team system functions.
General Management, led by David A. B’25, focused on meeting prep and administrative tasks. David updated the website, calendars, forms and uploaded notebook templates. He also prepared slides and agendas for upcoming meetings and events. Over Thanksgiving Break, he continued to create Build Season team resources and mapped out personal task management.
To maximize productivity during the season, David created a Gantt chart based on subteam feedback to map task timelines, and ran more team meetings in anticipation for Kickoff. Additional tasks included newsletter articles, grant assistance, and meal calendar creation. General Management used these last few weeks to create systems of productivity and administrative upkeep when the season starts.
Upcoming Events
Community Strategy Session Join us on Bellarmine Campus from 11 AM to 3 PM to discuss game strategies and point maximization with many other local FRC teams. We hope to connect with our community members and future competitors as we gear up for Week 1 of FIRST® Crescendo Build Season.
Ice Cream Social and Robot Reveal Once the seven-week Build Season is over, please join us Saturday February 24 from 5:00 to 9:00 PM in the Campus Center to celebrate the team’s accomplishments. All friends, family, alumni are welcome to join us for ice cream and commemorate this milestone!
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