Friday, April 14, 2017

FIRST Robotics. Tournament Redux

Ah, the wonders of doing two grueling, multi-day student robotics tournaments in back to back weeks.  

In some ways it is actually easier.  We just left all the kit on the dollies ready to be repacked.  Other than a session for workshop cleanup we have not had to do anything to get the team ready either.



Our robot got a quick inspection and approval this time. Instead of having it take three hours and putting out inspection sticker on as we rolled into the first match we got the thumbs up in one hour and had time to get ready.

Oh, we also found a moderate structural flaw in the bottom of the robot.  And a crucial component deep in one gearbox had worked loose.  But we have had to put out so many brush fires that these were simple matters to fix.



Practice matches went fairly well.  The only annoyance is that the custom ropes that we make to best fit our climbing device were in a couple of situations done poorly. The best climber in the world can't jump an extra half inch to grab the rope!

But the robot is driving crisply and our drive team, a new bunch this week, has the measure of things.  So much better than a week ago.  

So a rope making session tonight.  And tomorrow a new day dawns.  

Hoping it is bug free and enjoyable.


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