Hello! |
This is the first of a several newsletters we plan to send your way in the coming months. The goal is to keep you updated on our work this special season, and to give some interesting insight into the team!
This year, FIRST presented teams in January with three competition options, two of which COMETS is competing in this season. For each, FRC teams are split into random divisions of 30 teams. From there, submissions are judged for scoring and awards, similar to a normal competition season.
The Game Design Challenge
This challenge allows teams to submit their vision for the ultimate FIRST Robotics Competition game!
We've been hard at work, virtually collaborating to craft a game with the most consideration and attention to detail possible.
Infinite Recharge At Home
In this challenge, the 2020 game, Infinite Recharge, is broken down into smaller pieces that test: drivers' skills behind the remote, execution of autonomous code, ball collection and efficiency, shooting accuracy, and more.
In this season like no other, we’ll still be making the most of what FIRST offers our students.
The Game Design Challenge
This challenge allows teams to submit their vision for the ultimate FIRST Robotics Competition game!
We've been hard at work, virtually collaborating to craft a game with the most consideration and attention to detail possible.
Infinite Recharge At Home
In this challenge, the 2020 game, Infinite Recharge, is broken down into smaller pieces that test: drivers' skills behind the remote, execution of autonomous code, ball collection and efficiency, shooting accuracy, and more.
In this season like no other, we’ll still be making the most of what FIRST offers our students.
For Senior Lydia Festian, robotics is not just an opportunity to learn about the engineering field from mentors but also a chance to help others and utilize her problem solving skills, “The truly invaluable knowledge I have learned is from working together with my teammates to solve whatever problems FIRST presents us with.”
As the team captain as well as programming captain of our FRC team 3357, the COMETS, her story from beginner freshman to insightful senior is one that will inspire many students to come. Rising up to the occasion freshman year, Lydia decided to focus her attention on the software subgroup, “because it was the area of the team that had the fewest members and least mentor support.” As her time continued with the COMETS, she began lending her time at the buildspace toward other facets of the team: mechanical, electrical, and business, gaining knowledge in all other subjects. Now, as a senior, Lydia hopes to accomplish so much more. “I am most looking forward to creating a sustainable chain of leadership within the COMETS and working with the programming and scouting subgroups to make more modular code that can be used for years to come.”
The meaningful lessons and skills developed in such a professional setting throughout her four years on the team will aid Lydia Festian in her future; she intends to pursue a secondary education in Mechatronics or Robotics Engineering.
None of this would have been possible without the help of the team's sponsors, who’s generous donations create a circle of STEM, getting students involved in engineering and helping them pursue their intended careers and paths. In Lydia’s words, “Having access to such equipment and having the ability to use them in highschool is a rare opportunity that wouldn’t be possible without the donations of our sponsors.”
As the team captain as well as programming captain of our FRC team 3357, the COMETS, her story from beginner freshman to insightful senior is one that will inspire many students to come. Rising up to the occasion freshman year, Lydia decided to focus her attention on the software subgroup, “because it was the area of the team that had the fewest members and least mentor support.” As her time continued with the COMETS, she began lending her time at the buildspace toward other facets of the team: mechanical, electrical, and business, gaining knowledge in all other subjects. Now, as a senior, Lydia hopes to accomplish so much more. “I am most looking forward to creating a sustainable chain of leadership within the COMETS and working with the programming and scouting subgroups to make more modular code that can be used for years to come.”
The meaningful lessons and skills developed in such a professional setting throughout her four years on the team will aid Lydia Festian in her future; she intends to pursue a secondary education in Mechatronics or Robotics Engineering.
None of this would have been possible without the help of the team's sponsors, who’s generous donations create a circle of STEM, getting students involved in engineering and helping them pursue their intended careers and paths. In Lydia’s words, “Having access to such equipment and having the ability to use them in highschool is a rare opportunity that wouldn’t be possible without the donations of our sponsors.”
The “Super Pit”, as the project was dubbed, is pictured below. It decreases the number of components brought to competition with the end goal of optimizing productivity and space. This pit also goes a long way to teach students about maintaining a proper inventory and more importantly teaches responsibility to ensure that the pit is properly stocked. Components will not end up in it by accident. They end up in the proper bins through planning and execution.
While at a competition, our team is forced into a 10’ x 10’ area with the high expectation to maintain and repair our robot. From 2014-2019, the COMETS brought four wire racks plus a toolbox with all the hardware and components they could hold. The racks “organization” was limited, and the pit was functional solely based on the fact the racks were the exact same as they were in the shop, so the students were familiar with working out of them. In those years, we were notorious for bringing everything but the kitchen sink.
This was both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side it allowed us to ensure we not only knew where everything was, but also allowed other teams in need of parts to visit us and be their “one stop shop” for their common COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) components. By working from the mentality of “take everything from the build space to competition” protected us in the sense of having what we need. This mentality also presented a huge problem… the lack of SPACE!!! Having all these things did not allow for adequate space to work on the robot. Through years of observations, our mentors with help from alumni and graduating seniors came to a solution to maximize space which led to a design which allowed students to efficiently work on the robot.
Key Features:
While at a competition, our team is forced into a 10’ x 10’ area with the high expectation to maintain and repair our robot. From 2014-2019, the COMETS brought four wire racks plus a toolbox with all the hardware and components they could hold. The racks “organization” was limited, and the pit was functional solely based on the fact the racks were the exact same as they were in the shop, so the students were familiar with working out of them. In those years, we were notorious for bringing everything but the kitchen sink.
This was both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side it allowed us to ensure we not only knew where everything was, but also allowed other teams in need of parts to visit us and be their “one stop shop” for their common COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) components. By working from the mentality of “take everything from the build space to competition” protected us in the sense of having what we need. This mentality also presented a huge problem… the lack of SPACE!!! Having all these things did not allow for adequate space to work on the robot. Through years of observations, our mentors with help from alumni and graduating seniors came to a solution to maximize space which led to a design which allowed students to efficiently work on the robot.
Key Features:
- Large Pit Dimensions 94” long, 28.5” deep, 80” tall
- Small Pit Dimensions 67.5” long, 28.5” deep, 80” tall
- Both pits are collapsible to 61” tall for transportation
- 5% increase in space from old pit design
- Built in overhead lighting- some of the competitions have very poor lighting in the pits.
- 64 Tote positions
- Built in vacuum
- Onboard compressor
Old pit setup
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Working on the bot
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Packed in trailer
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From all of COMETS, a hearty thank you for everything that you make possible as a sponsor of our team! We look forward to keeping you updated on the happenings of our team.
Thanks for your time!
Thanks for your time!