Poway High School Robotics

Team Spyder 1622FRC Team (FIRST Robotics Competition)

Spring 2014

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For more information, please contact:

Rodger Dohm, Poway High School – Instructor,Team 1622 FIRST Robotics Lead Advisor

rdohm@powayusd.com Christoph Hiemcke, Mentor, GA-ASI employee,

author of this documentChristoph.hiemcke@uav.com

Matthew Culley, Mentor, GA-ASI employeeClark Schiferl, Mentor, GA-ASI employee

Poway High School Robotics, Team Spyder 1622

Contents

SummaryPoway High School: Engineering Pathway

FIRST: JrFLL, FLL, FRC, and FRCBackground on FRC

2014 FRC Challenge “Aerial Assist”Team Spyder 2014: Mechanical Team

2014 Regional CompetitionTeam Spyder: Website

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Poway High School Robotics, Team Spyder 1622

Summary

One purpose of this presentation is to express our gratitude to our sponsors, including GA through its

GASSS program.

This presentation provides an overview of the Poway High School Robotics “Team Spyder 1622”

and the worldwide FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in which it competes. Special emphasis is

on the activities of the 2014 season.

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Poway High School Engineering Pathway

The Engineering Pathway is a set of STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Technology):

Introduction to Engineering Design Engineering Geometry Principles of Engineering Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Engineering Design Development Architectural Design Science Olympiad Robotics

http://www.powayusd.com/pusdphs/engine

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Poway High School Engineering Pathway

The Robotics course is open to all Poway High School students, from Grade 9-12.

The Engineering Pathway is part of Project Lead The Way (PLTW), which involves 68 university

partners. Many universities have special scholarships for FIRST participants.

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Background on FIRST: JrFLL, FLL, FTC, FRC

FIRST was founded by Dean Kamen (of Segway fame) in 1989. FIRST stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of

Science and Technology.

http://www3.usfirst.org

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FIRST is now divided into four programs, based on the participant’s age.

FLL (FIRST Lego League) uses the LegoMindstorms robotics components, whereas FTC (FIRST Technology Challenge)

uses the TETRIX system.

Background on FRC

The FRC is usually a sports-like game with two opposing teams on a field. Each side has three robots. During the qualifiers,

robots are assigned to each side. During later rounds, winning teams get to choose their partners.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/game-and-season-info

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Each game begins with an autonomous period of about 30 seconds, followed by about two minutes of remotely

operated action.

In R/C mode, the pilots use joysticks to drive the robots via a wireless link. The robots are about five feet high with a footprint of about 3x3 feet. They are limited in

weight to 150 pounds.

2014 FRC Challenge “Aerial Assist”

The 2014 “Aerial Assist” game is almost a mix of basketball and volleyball. Spanning the midline of the court is a truss (see photo on next slide). On either end of the court there are windows behind which the operators stand. Above the windows are oval holes which are goals for scoring. On the ground at each corner is a frame: when the ball is pushed

through it, points are scored. Passing the ball between robots is also worth points.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Kickoff

2014 Challenge “Aerial Assist”

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Kickoff

Students watching the kick-off on Saturday, 4 Jan 2014

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Mechanical Team

Students brainstorm, make sketches, and build wooden protoypes: this one was a kicking-pendulum design

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Mechanical Team

Students re-design the robot using Creo Parametric 2.0, made available to all FTC teams for free

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Mechanical Team

Students and mentors troubleshooting during the assembly: we settled on a launching frame with a linear spring (we added

surgical tubing later, to increase the launch force)

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Mechanical Team

Exploration of simulation capabilities within PTC/Creo: using Creo/Mechanism to model spring-loaded launchers

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Mechanical Team

Exploration of simulation capabilities within PTC/Creo: using Creo/Simulate to predict stresses in the launch frame

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Poway High, 2014 Team Spyder: Mechanical Team

Regional Competition in San Diego (Sports Arena): our pit area

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2014 Team Spyder: Regional in San Diego

Regional Competition in San Diego (Sports Arena): score!

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2014 Team Spyder: Regional in San Diego

Regional Competition in San Diego (Sports Arena): ready!

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2014 Team Spyder: Regional in San Diego

Regional Competition in San Diego (Sports Arena): block!

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Team Spyder: Website

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http://www.teamspyder.orgIt would be nice to see GA-ASI more prominently featured!