2020 Week Three Article
The Janksters have completed the third week of build season! They are steadily making progress to complete a fully-functioning robot for Infinite Recharge with the help of mentors and student alumnae.
The Mechanical Committee has moved on from prototyping to CAD, which has allowed them to finalize dimensions and spacing details. In order to ensure that all the mechanisms are completed on schedule, some of the members of the storage group have separated into a new turret mechanism group. The chassis subcommittee has finished up the CAD and has manufactured a preliminary chassis frame for the team’s first robot, Jankybot. Managed entirely by rookies, the Many Projects subcommittee has stepped up by making excellent progress on building various field components for driving practice. Meanwhile, the shooter and intake group, climbing group, and control panel group are all starting their CAD to finalize their mechanism designs. Mechanical lead Leela ‘21 says, “I like that I am CADing more and learning more about the program!”
The Programming Committee has been working hard to ensure that the driver’s role is as easy as possible. They currently have a working chassis code, color sensor code, and climbing and shooting code. The vision code is currently a work in progress; they are figuring out how to sense how far from the target that the robot is.
The Electronics Committee has sent out the base plate of the robot for manufacturing after collaborating with other committees actively to receive relevant dimensions. They have also prepared new chargers for use and have begun printing 3D components for mounting.
The Business Committee has finalized our shirt design and has been actively posting the team’s progress on social media. They have also started making Perler bead bows to serve as giveaways at competition and have begun button production. A rookie of the business committee, Dora ‘23 says “I enjoy being more independent because I have a comprehensive understanding of Adobe Illustrator. I was also able to work on the back of the t-shirt and the polycarb.”Additionally, they are revamping team documentation for demos and outreach events.
Overall, the Janksters have been having a productive week. The wheels are turning for a fully-functioning robot in the near future!