Overview:
Team 612 completes the building process of our robot for the Week 1 competition!
The Marketing subteam has submitted our entry for the 2022 Chairman’s award.
New and improved T-shirt and button designs are on the way!
FEBRUARY 28, 2022, CHANTILLY, VA Chantilly Robotics is set to close the incredibly successful six-week 2022 Build Season! Here are some of our key triumphs so far:
The mechanical subteam is set to finish the construction of the robot in the next couple of days. The robot will be 30 inches long, 30 inches wide, and 63 inches tall, weighing just over 115 pounds. Thirty CAD builders made nearly one hundred prototypes each consisting of endless amounts of intricate parts during 23-hour recent workweeks. Once prototyping concluded, the members were swift to print, saw, drill, cut, and assemble the robot together. As of today, the drivetrain has been fully completed, and the arm, grabber, and climb are extremely close to completion.
With the completion of the skeleton of the robot, the electrical subteam is working diligently to wire the robot’s circuits and various components; the team has just received electricity-powered air compressors that produce the pressurized air that controls the pistons and gears of the robot. Pneumatics, wiring the drivetrain, and establishing the communication channels between motor controls are also well under progress. The programming subteam is working on tweaking and testing code. This process is set to conclude on the 26th of February. Simultaneously, newer programming members are learning how to compile and program basic robot functions such as drive and climb. Additionally, they are working on experimental projects such as autonomous and path finding by utilizing Inertial Measurement Unit’s (IMU) to track position and account for wheel slippage, and vision processing to align the cargo with the robot. Along with that, they are also attempting to use complex path finding algorithms to maximize points. Up until now, the human-operated controls and processes have been fully coded, and finishing touches on autonomous programming are being put in place.
After a month of planning, drafting, writing, and revising Marketing submitted an entry for the 2022 Chairman’s Award on February 16th! The writing portions, which consist of the thirteen-question Executive Summary and 10,000-character Chairman’s Essay, both underwent several iterations of revisions before being finalized. Now, the subteam is working on finishing the video and the presentation for the interview with the FIRST judges. Finally, the media members have worked efficiently to finalize our button and t-shirt designs for this year!
Overall, our team has made tremendous progress in meeting deadlines and completing all required tasks well before the competition date of March 5th. After a wait far too long, all of our new and senior members deserve a chance to be immersed in the spirit of 612 and the types of robot-building activities that thrived before COVID-19, and this game seems to be building an unrivaled camaraderie necessary for a healthy and productive future team. The efforts of our hard-working members, in addition to our tireless leadership and adult mentor group, have fostered an excellent and thriving STEM environment that we hope to maintain throughout the team’s future.
Without the support of sponsors like you, Team 612 would not be able to plan and offer such diverse outreach opportunities to promote STEM in our community. For Team 612 to continue providing opportunities to the next generation of STEM innovators, they need continued support from sponsors. For more details, please email chantilly.612@gmail.com or visit https://www.frc612.org/current-sponsors.
About Chantilly Robotics
At Chantilly Robotics Team 612, we brighten the future for leaders and student
technologists within our team, school and community through fun and engaging methods of
learning and teaching while shining a light on the importance of STEM (science, technology,
engineering, math). Chantilly Robotics was founded in 2001 with eight student members and has
grown to over 80 members in the 2022 season. Team 612 competes at FIRST Robotics
Competitions in the Chesapeake District and spreads STEM as well as FIRST values through
community outreach. For more information, visit https://www.frc612.org or email
chantilly.612@gmail.com. Chantilly Robotics Team 612 is a club within Chantilly Academy, a
public educational institution.