Day 6 of FIRST Power Up

Welcome to Day 6 of FIRST Power Up! Today, we have a low attendance of mentors and students, but we are still working hard for the robot

Two very important groups that weren't mentioned in previous blogs are Programming and Marketing. They have been working in smaller groups compared to Prototyping Groups, but they're still getting so much done.

Hint: Amazing robot vision can be expected this year

And of course, prototypes were getting finsihed, achieving its job of approving the concept of mechanism.

The best part of the day - CNC machine! Usage of CNC machine at our ATC (Applied Technology Center) came very usefully when making robot parts. Last year, we CNCed the drive base wheels, which was something new and amazing for the team.

Day 3 of FIRST Power Up

Welcome to Day 3 of FIRST Power Up! Today, we continued on with cube intake and drivebase prototypes. Now that the Strategy Team has set our plans for the season,the prototype groups now have a set goal for the robot.

Before getting crazy with prototypes, it's important to stay organized during the long, but short six weeks of build season. At anytime, Karsyn always tries to keep the entire team organized.

Prototype Groups from Day 1 are now divided into several subgroups within mechanisms. This group is using the robot from 2015 FIRST Recycle Rush to do a cube intake prototype. Different parts are tried and added, data is collected and calculated!

The second cube intake group decided to use different parts and a different way to approach this game. More traction and guide to intake the cube!

The third group of cube intake efficiently used the laser cutter to prototype!

All three prototype groups are making an incredible amount of progress everyday.But between all this busy progress, the ausTIN CANs don't forget to:

help each other,

work with others,

and involve everyone!

2018 FIRST Power Up Kickoff!

The 2018 FIRST Power Up is finally released! We hope every team is excited to start another great season. For anyone who didn’t check it out yet, the game animation is linked below.

Today, 27 students and 9 mentors attended the kickoff and meeting! After reading the rules, the entire team gathered to decide the needs, wants and wishes about the general robot functions. This provided a detailed picture of what kind of robot we want to have on the field.

The NEEDS included: manipulating the cube, climbing, moving quickly, cubes on the switch, cubes into exchange station, cross the line during auto, and durability.

The WANTS included: cubes on the scale, configurable auto stage, slim design, video feed to driver station, pick up cubes from any position on the ground, auto-aligning climb, and position sensing.

The WISHES included: win a regional, side climb, variable climb height, scriptable auto, pick up cubes from the pyramid, and LEDs.

Then, we decided on 3 prototype groups, which were:

1) Everything (every function available to score) with front climb
2) Vault, Switch, Climb 

3) Everything with side climb.

In total, we were divided up into 5 groups:

CAD (currently for drivebase),

Strategy,

Prototype Group #1- Everything with front climb,

Prototype Group #2- Vault, Switch, and Climb,

and Prototype Group #3- Everything with side climb.

Our team is working harder than ever to get a solid idea on this year's robot. We are excited, energized, and ready! 

Fixed Ideas (Accomplishments):

1. Dimensions of the robot

2. General mechanism ideas for the cubes and climbing

Reminder: We are attending the Hub City (3/7- 3/10) and Alamo Regional (4/4- 4/7). See the Calendar for more information.

ausTIN CANs host VEX tournament

Anderson High School students and parents hosted a successful VEX tournament on Saturday, October 28th. It was a great opportunity for teams to come together so early in the season to compete with other area teams. A total of 28 teams were in attendance, and smiles were prevalent even as bots were breaking down. (More data for analysis!)

Congratulations to the e-lime-n-ators, Team # 59990Z from Boerne, TX, for having such a capable robot and such gracious team members! They cleaned up on awards: Tournament Champs, Excellence Award, AND Robot Skills winner!!! Joining them for a winning alliance were College Station High School teams 8332A and 83973A. Good luck to all 3 of you at the State competition in February!

Many thanks to all the volunteers who answered the call and helped our event run smoothly. We could not have done it without you!

#InTheZone #OMGrobots

Community Outreach 9/23/17 - 9/24/17

Members of the ausTIN CANs teams participated in community outreach programs the weekend of September 23-24, 2017 in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America. One group presented to a Scout STEM camp in Bastrop and discussed Lego Mindstorms robotics. Another group took FRC and VEX robots to a Cub Scout Pack meeting in our area to promote general STEM awareness and participation with the next generation of CANs. It was great to see some excitement generated in the field of engineering.

October 18, 2017

Community Outreach 10/6/17

ausTIN CANs invited K-5th graders to our school and introduced them to STEM and robotics in our Night of Robots

Community Outreach 10/12/17

ausTIN CANs brought VEX robots to the courtyard of Summit Elementary to promote STEM and robotics to the 2nd and 3rd graders.

Community Outreach 10/17/17

ausTIN CANs brought VEX robots to the courtyard of Hill Elementary to promote STEM and robotics to the 5th graders.