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| Panther Robotics pick up pace to stay on schedule |
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| Education | |||
| Written by By Beth Petelin, Special to the Republic | |||
| Wednesday, 28 January 2009 08:00 | |||
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Weeks two and three of the six-week build period for the Panther Robotics team have been very busy and productive. Committees are meeting to complete individual deadlines, but members are working across committees in order to stay on schedule. In week two, the build committee continued to develop prototypes and built a rolling chassis to run tests on drive trains and to allow a mount for camera testing. Options discussed in week two for possible superstructure components have been finalized. In week three, concepts were completed into structures that can be transferred directly to the chassis when it is finished. Game flooring was set up in the new shop to assist in testing prototypes under tournament conditions. This process helped the team determine the optimal drive train for the flooring meant to resemble the surface of the moon. Dedicated students and mentors worked extended hours this past weekend to ensure the robot will be completed according to schedule. The Web site committee has been very productive in weeks two and three, creating all of the pages and is now working on formatting and inserting content. The committee hopes to have the site online soon. They must have the project completed to submit for judging by Feb. 12. The audio/visual and scrapbook committees are working together to record the team’s process in both pictures and video. Scrapbooks from previous years have been reviewed for ideas, and so far, two pages of the scrapbook have been completed. The marketing committee proposed several ideas for a theme in week two. With design ideas from team alumnus Jackie Thompson, the team decided on the theme “Make the FIRST Impression.” This theme will be incorporated in T-shirts worn by the team on practice day, as well as promotional items developed to share with other teams at competitions. Scouting has begun to look at the teams that are going to attend the Kansas City regional competition. There are 49 teams from the Kansas City area as well as 11 teams from around the country that will be competing Feb. 27 and 28 at Hale Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Scouting helps the team make connections with teams they will be paired with during qualifying rounds. Programming has been very successful with its operations. The programming committee has the camera functioning to detect targets on the trailers and aide the robot in scoring moon rocks. The committee is working on getting the robot to go to the target independently. This will be helpful during the autonomous period where the robot has to move without human interaction and also help with steering during the rest of the match. Once again, the team has had great participation from the parents, mentors and alumni. The parents have provided many delicious meals and snacks to keep the team energized. The alumni have offered their assistance by sharing their familiarity with the process, as have the mentors. Follow the team’s progress with weekly updates in the Republic.
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