The Week It All Comes Together…

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Each day we get closer and closer to our Reveal Day, which is next Saturday the 22nd at 1:30, all are invited. On this day we will release photos and videos of the completed robot. We waited this long to start building the robot because we wanted to make sure we had everything right on paper and in CAD first.

Our calender

Ben worked on designing our pit. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the pit is where the team sets up at the competition to work on the robot, as well as tell our team’s story to those who come to see it. He is planning on using PVC and it will look like a frame. This year we are not allowed to have a roof because they were deemed to be a fire hazard.

Your perfect and unbiased blog writer Colin went on an expedition with Lane and Coach Kirk to the high school to get a mill from the old robotics room. We got this so that we could work more efficiently and make more parts with the limited time we have. 

The small mill

The Mega Mill

Thanks for the school’s Facilities department for helping bring the Smithy into the shop

The Chairman’s team is now working on the outline for the chairman’s speech, which is basically the chairman’s essay but they read it out loud to judges at the competition. Some members of the chairman’s team got together to design banners for the new pit. One will include a list of sponsors, and the other will show the history of our team.

The Chairman’s team working on their speech

The field is still under construction (special thanks to our parent volunteers who are helping to build it)

To help with fundraising, we are selling Chelsea Robotics Bracelets for $3.00 at the Chelsea Robotics Center.

Blog Post and Photos by Colin Kovick

Week 3: Not Like The Other Weeks

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This week was quite different from the other weeks. We had meetings more than usual. We normally meet only Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but we have met every day of the week so far. We are meeting so much because we have a lot of work to get done.

Head Coach Kirk may not look that stessed, but deep down he’s ready to pull a (as some would say) “vacuum from weegee’s revenge”

This week we did a lot of work on the chassis. We started by dismantling last year’s robot Weegee’s Revenge. We then started putting together an 8-wheeled prototype. We chose eight whole wheels because it allows for more control, better stability when going over the trench, and each wheel has less wear. The bot is currently being tested on the field by the programming team to make sure all the sensors are working. 

The integration team is working on drawing up the robot in CAD before we start building, so we know what it looks like (sort of like those instructions that come with Legos).

We also have the chairman’s essay done! Andrew and Anson submitted the essay and paperwork last Wednesday night. You may be wondering what the chairman’s essay is for. It is for the chairman’s award. FIRST describes it as “

The most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. It was created to keep the central focus of FIRST Robotics Competition on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders. “

To view last year’s Chairman’s click here and this year’s here.

While everyone else was working on the robot, Ben was hard at work building carts for the electronics and tools. He spent a few weeks designing and building three of them.

Blog post and photos by Colin Kovick

Week Two: A Working Week

Did you know we have an official Instagram page? It is @frc_1502 and it is updated regularly.

After some discussion head coach Kirk Findlay decided we should work on getting the exact field measurements so we can scrimmage in The CRC (Chelsea Robotics Center). After using a 30” tape measure to try and measure 52’ 5.25” precisely we decided it would be easier to use a laser measure. After taking our time to make sure we measured correctly, we finally got the distance marked precisely.

David G. attempting to measure the field using a 30 foot long measuring tape

Other progress on the field has been made too. Jason Goodgall, Bob Tetens, and FTC sons Kyle and Ben worked on building a wooden Power Port as well as the trench. We are going to use these for practicing with the bot, and we may even have other teams over to scrimmage. For more info on the trench, see the video below. 

Jason Goodgall and FTC son Kyle building the trench

Ben and his father Bob building the turntable

This was also the week of intense planning. We started by splitting off into Project Teams of four and five and spreading out to brainstorm ideas.  After that one person from each Project Team would present their idea in front of the whole team.

Ike, Joseph, and Aiden designing a shooter

Mitchell showing his Project Team’s idea to the whole team

After the presentations were given, the integration team collected models of parts to see what they would look like after they were all combined together.

Post written by Colin Kovick and David Gauthier

Photo credits to Steve Eberle and Colin Kovick

Fll Jr. Expo and FTC Scrimmage

On Saturday, October 26 we held the FLL Jr. Expo (Grades K-3) at North Creek Elementary School. Ian Carter was our MC for the event. Six members of the FRC team volunteered to judge the FLL Jr. teams

Lane, Nick, Robbie, Trevor, Jake, and Cade ready to go judge.

There were 4 teams (Boom Builders, Generation Builders, Star Wars Build It Up, and The Fantastic North Creek Builders) and their goal was to “create a building that solves a problem and makes life easier, happier, or more connected for the people that use it”.

After the FLL Jr. Expo we hosted the Beach Bot Break-In, a scrimmage for the FTC teams at the Chelsea Robotics Center (CRC). We invited two Dexter FTC teams (The Dreadbolts and [removed]) to compete. To help referee and judge, we had FAMNM (FIRST Alumni and Mentors Network at Michigan) students from the University of Michigan come help. Anson Eberle was our MC at this event after being a judge for the FLL Jr. Expo. A lot of people came to the event.

Anson was the MC for the Beach Bot Break-In

We are thankful for the Chelsea School District’s support of our FIRST teams and for allowing us to use their schools.

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Photo credits to Steve Eberle and Colin Kovick

Post written by Colin Kovick

2019 Chairman's Video

This is the 2019 chairman’s video for Destination: Deep Space. We had fun making it, it took a few weeks but in the end, it was worth it.. The editing and was done by Colin Kovick, the narration by Jake Goodgall, and the original music by Robbie Moore.

Weegee's Features: a Q&A

Weegee is looking better than ever. He is getting built up and ready for stop build day.

Question: “Well, what features does he have. I want to learn more!”

Answer: Well, hypothetical person that asks questions I just made up, you’re in luck. Weegee, has his vacuum manipulator I wrote about previously. To sum it up, it uses a vacuum to grab onto the cargo, a rubber ball.

This is the vacuum manipulator.

Question:“Well, I watched the animation, and the cargo looks like it has to be raised to be put into some of the bays. What is your plan with that?”

Answer: We have a linear slide which moves the manipulator up and down. “What is a linear slide?” Wow! You ask great questions. To quote Wikipedia: “A linear-motion bearing or linear slide is a bearing designed to provide free motion in one direction.”

Those three bars make up the linear slide.

Question: “How does he move?”

Answer: He uses 6 HiGrip Andymark wheels, nothing special.

A (clean) HiGrip wheel

Question: “How does he see? The sandstorm won’t let the drivers see, so what’s going on there?”

Answer: Weegee uses a webcam that will stream the video to the driver station. We will be navigating through the sandstorm based off of that. We have a vision tracking system that allows us to get close to objects and not hit them. It bounces light off of reflective tape and when it gets close, it slows then stops.

The camera and light on the demo bot

A test of the camera on the demo bot.

This blog post in video format.

Blog post, photos, and video by Colin Kovick.

Quick Update

Quick update: Our robot sucks. No really. Weegee has acquired a vacuum for grabbing cargo.

“But what is this ‘cargo’” one may ask. The cargo is a rubber ball 13 inches in diameter, that gets loaded into a cargo bay.

The cargo bay must be covered by a hatch panel to retain the cargo. “Tell me what a ‘hatch panel’ is too” one might also say. The Hatch Panel is a disc 19 inches in diameter, with a 6 inch diameter hole in the center of it.

This covers up the cargo bay so that the cargo won’t fall out. “But that vacuum won’t be able to hold it, it’s got a giant hole in the middle.” The hatch panel has hook and loop tape on the rim. The vacuum manipulator has hook and loop tape on it, so that it can grab the hatch panel.

If you want more information, I would suggest you watch the game animation or read the manual.

Blog post and photos by Colin Kovick

Kept you waiting, huh? A long awaited update.

February 5th, 2019

Kept you waiting, huh? In the blog’s absence we have been working long and hard. But this week we’re trying to finish up Weegee’s Revenge. He was named after the Smash Attack of Luigi from the game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he sucks his opponents into a vacuum and spits them out. Hint: Vacuum manipulator.

Weegee is without his socks and without his parts, but is changing fast. Currently, all his  guts are on the Demo Bot blogged about previously. We have taken on a new design with our electronics. We also make sure our electronics are safe and tested. The light ring didn’t work, so we tested to make sure every part works. We changed our drive train to arcade drive, easier to move forward without going at an angle, from tank drive.

Meanwhile, We had Andrew, Anson, and Nick working on Chairman’s. They had been working on this since week two, so about 80 to 100 hours collectively. They began a countdown, drawing a crowd. They then submitted the document successfully.

“We got a lot of stress off our back” said Nick.

Blog post and photos by Colin Kovick

Team 1502's Demo Bot

Recently Team 1502 has been working on a demo bot. The demo bot is being built by an eccentric team of members, all whom are working towards an exciting robot to display their skills in engineering and teamwork to the Chelsea Robotics Community.

The demo bot will be armed with pneumatic cannon that will shoot projectiles through utilizing air pressure inside a cylinder tank. Keeping audience and presenter safety close in mind, the pneumatic technology has proved to be a difficult challenge to tackle.

Working on the pneumatic cannon designed for entertainment

Pneumatics are similar to Hydraulics as they both depend on built up pressure. However, pneumatic technology relies on air pressure, whereas hydraulics relies on water pressure. The team has chosen to use pneumatics to prevent unfortunate circumstances whereas the technology could break and become a hazard to surrounding persons.

The cannon will serve purely entertainment value to the intended audience of Elementary School Children. The demo bot will help share Team 1502’s mission and diverse range of talents with the Chelsea community.

“To demonstrate engineering abilities and mount a pneumatic cannon that will entertain children.”

— Aidan D.

Meanwhile, the cannon will be mounted on a sturdy base which will drive forwards and backwards, as well as adjust the cannon through the use of a mechanical arm. By using pillow blocks to create movement as well as a 90 degree pivot in the arm, the pneumatic cannon should become an outstanding display of teamwork and robotic talent.

Planning the functions of the arm

The team has salvaged parts from retired robots to construct a successful and spectacular presentation of pneumatic power, and currently is working on the movement of the arm, and the pneumatic technology which will power the cannon.

Team 1502 hopes to inspire the Chelsea Robotics Community by presenting the demo bot and other amazing creations which represent the work ethic and teamwork which was invested.

Chelsea Robotics FLL JR. EXPO

The FRC Team 1502 just attended the Chelsea Robotics FLL JR. EXPO! How exciting!

Many of our own team members volunteered for a variety of tasks helping out. A panel of Team 1502 members personally judged each entry and several others assisted with the  Are You Smarter Than A Mars Rover? activity. 

Later, we all celebrated the FLL Team’s spectacular presentations with a dance party. Some of our volunteers showed the kids how to moonwalk, and others just danced along.

Team 1502’s talented designers made gear shaped trophies to be distributed to each team. The parents made the award ceremony very special by standing up and making a tunnel for each team to run through. 

I’m sure we all had a blast helping around, and we hope the FLL teams did as well.  

Everyone wins! Medals for all!

2018 has come to an amazing conclusion for the Chelsea Robotics community, and we’re sure to make the start of 2019 even more spectacular.

Exciting Announcement from Principal Kapolka

Good morning, Team 1502 parents and students.  It is with great excitement that I am emailing all of your this morning to inform you that Kirk Findlay has been named the adviser for the high school team.  Kirk brings passion and experience to this role and is eager to meet with students and parents to share his vision for the program.  

Additional information regarding meetings, dates, events, etc. will be forthcoming from Kirk shortly.

I am looking forward to a great season with Kirk at the helm. 

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend with your family! 

Team 1502 Works the Ice Cream Shop at Chelsea Fair

This last weekend, the High School FRC (FIRST Robotics Challenge) operated the Ice Cream Booth at the Chelsea Fair to raise funds for their program. A special thank you to Brennan, Robbie, Cade, Evan, and John Ridley for working the Ice Cream Shop at the Chelsea Fair!! Also thank you to the Fair Organizers for the opportunity for our Young Engineers to shine!

2017 Chelsea Fair Parade

Today the FRC Team and the FTC Teams are marching in the Chelsea Fair Parade.  We are preparing our float and banners.  If you see us on the parade route, cheer extra loud for us!

A Finalist in the FRC Safety Animation

Congratulations to the Animators of Technical Difficulties.  On their first year submitting a Safety Animation, they received high honors and was one of the 9 Finalists World Wide!

Check out the animation!