Ohh Hartfordddd!!! (4.6.11)
So I've had to face the sad truth, I just attended the last regional of my high school career. It was a blast of course, but the ending was bittersweet. The past 4 years have been amazing, and I can definitely see how my life has been shaped by the team. I was talking to my dad and I realized that I've attended 8 regionals, and no two were ever the same. I was met with new experiences each and every time. That's part of the whole learning process. Every situation I've encountered has shaped me, adding to my FIRST experience. So now that my sappy part is over, let's get to the fun stuff. Team Paragon has changed a lot, and this year we produced a fantastic robot. If we had been able to complete our minibot, we would have easily been in the top seeds. Sadly we were unable to get our deployment system working correctly. We performed well, but this game was very dependant on the minibot deployment. However, we did make a break through. For the first time in the past two seasons, Team Paragon had a working autonomous. After a great deal of troubles, we got one working and were able to score an ubertube! This was huge for our software team, and shows how much we've grown. Our spirits were high throughout the weekend, and when the music finally picked up, so did our energy. We attended the team social, which was really cool because we were able to meet people outside of the stressed environment of the competition. It was a great weekend filled with fun. I really can't find the words to explain it, but here's a slideshow that works a little better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmXCeNu4CCQ. Thank you to all of our dedicated mentors and all of the people that made this regional happen :) Happy offseason!
WPI! EEP! (3.17.11)
Hey Guys! Sorry it took so long to post, this week has kind of been hell week at school. However, we went to WPI this weekend, or really, we took WPI by storm. Having a regional at a college is an awesome idea for FIRST. It gave students a chance to see the school and its surrounding areas. I know that after visiting again I have fallen even more in love with the great campus and curriculum. So our team went, and on Thursday we were one of the few teams with a working robot. Although our minibot deployment system didn't work, our robot was phenomenal. Our scoring mechanism is consistent and strong, and we were able to lead our alliances to many victories. Never has Team Paragon been a force to reckon with, but this competition we were a target. After choosing the 8th seed alliance for the final matches, we won our first match against the NUMBER ONE! alliance. This was an awesome victory, but soon enough they realized that they needed to stop us. In the next two matches, the other alliance's defense improved and we were shut down. Hopefully for Hartford we'll be able to get a minibot and we will be even higher in the ranks! This was an amazing competition for the robot. However, our students were just as good, if not better. We won imagery award and our spirit was high the ENTIRE weekend. Everyone noticed us as a team and congratulated us on our performance. In my opinion, it was the best regional since 2008. Let's keep it up team!
Day before WPI! (3.9.11)
After an almost flawless ship, the team has been busy with driver practice and making little last-minute adjustments. We're looking forward to the packing session, followed by WPI! Everyone is excited to get to the competition that we have be working towards all summer. With our strong drive team and an (almost) finished robot, we have a shot at doing well! Team Paragon has an annual drive team test, given to everyone who wants to be on the pit crew or on drive team. This year the drive team consists of Zac as driver, Joe as coach, Greg as operator, and Dijon as human player. I personally think we have a good shot at doing well this year at the competitions. It definitely snuck up on us, but we're ready to go!
Week Six Update (2.20.11)
Week six was full of adventure, as the team geared up for ship. We're shipping this Tuesday and there is still plenty to be done! While half of the students stayed at the site to continue building, a group of us went to Suffield Shakedown, a scrimmage at Suffield High School that shows teams what they're looking at for the competition season. While some teams were well prepared, it was obvious that most still had some work to do. This season has definitely been rough up here in the Northeast, with all of the snowstorms and whatnot. Although there were only two working mini-bots, it was clear that they would become the deciding factor in the coming regionals. At the competition, I got to see a lot of people from a lot of teams. We saw the rookie team from Mercy High School, and came to find that they were doing very well in terms of completion. I also got the chance to talk to Connecticut's Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman. I gave her my team shirt and made her an honorary member of Team Paragon. It was an exciting day for everyone!
Week Five Update (2.15.11)
So. Let's just talk for a minute about how we have exactly one week left of build. One week. That's like, nothing. The next few days are going to be insane. Hopefully we'll have a working robot for Suffield, although at this point it looks like we won't even have a spot to compete anyways. The important thing is that we go to learn about how the game is played and whatnot. So. This weekend we had some very special guests come to the build site. We had a few girls from a new rookie team at Mercy High School come to tour our site and see how we run our build days. All of these girls were new to robotics, so it was a really valuable trip for them. FIRST is all about "Gracious Professionalism", and working with others to reach a common goal. It is important to realize that despite the competition, the veteran teams (like Team Paragon) should reach out to help rookies teams such as the one from Mercy. This year, Team Paragon is mentoring two rookie teams, and has been visited by three. We have made it a responsibility to spread our knowledge in order to make the FIRST community a stronger place. The same goes in the world of a more broad spectrum of technological advancement. If one country holds a great deal of power in one aspect of technology, they should help spread it, making the world a more cooperative and efficient place. For example, the two boys that I discussed in my post about the Seiman's Award needed the help of others to implement their ideas. If the world can learn to work together to obtain a common goal, much more will be completed in a much shorter time span.
Week Four Update (2.7.11)
This week was yet another of great advance! Despite TWO closings, we kept on schedule and have a final chassis! As the favorite team saying goes, we're "moving right along". I would also like to make a shout-out to all of the Superbowl watchers of the FIRST community. Although Will.I.Am. did not wear his FIRST hat during the performance, he did put emphasis on saying FIRST things FIRST and had an image of the FIRST logo reflected on his head during a related lyric change in one of his songs. However, Team Paragon has larger issues at hand, or rather, larger accomplishments! We have officially named the robot "Blue Cyclone" and have named the mini-bot "Spider". I would like to focus on why this robot has been named Spider. The goal of the minibot is to climb a post in order to score bonus points for the alliance during the end game. The mechanics of this seem simple, but it is rather complicated to build something that will climb a pole quickly and efficiently, and then come back down automatically. This has posed a great deal of difficulty to the team, as many of our focuses are on the large robot. We are implementing the skills used by an elevator, something that we have fair knowledge of, having Otis Elevators as a main sponsor. The skills that students are learning in the making the minibot will help them in future endeavors in fields such as elevator making and other related jobs. Thanks for tuning in this week!!
Week Three Update (1.31.11)
I'm pretty sure this season is moving more quickly than any other. With all of the snow days, it's a wonder that we still are ahead of any other season. Our prototype chassis has been newly updated with limit switches, hopefully making the arm control system more effective. Mechanical is also making other changes to the prototype. The arm is too heavy for the motors, so they are working on redesigning it in a less heavy fashion, which will give us an arm that can lift without slipping. We also proved our tube-grabbing mechanism to be ineffective, so the mechanical kids are working on a more efficient grabbing system, one that won't just push the tubes around the field. Electrical has once again cleaned their end of the room, waiting to be able to wire the rest of the robot. They bought some way-cool LED lights, doing what they do best; spending money. The admins, as always, are incredibly hard at work, improving the organization of the team and starting ideas for the awards to be given out during the competition season. Web has redesigned the layout of the website, making it much more appealling to the eye. The programming crew is always busy learning new techniques and working out kinks to mak ean effective drive system. The entire group is in a state of constant learning, which is very commendable. The team is moving forward at a rapid pace, despite the many build cancellations. Hopefully by the end of next week we will have a name for our robot. The name ideas range from silly ones like Snookie and The Situation to The Cyclone and Spider. With the banning of diseases from the name pool, this year is sure to bring an interesting name to our wonderful robot. If you have any name ideas, comment below and I'll be sure to put them up on the board. Happy Building!
Week Two Update (1.22.11)
It is official. Week two of build season has concluded. It is amazing to see how far we have come. There has not been a time that I've been on the team where we have had a running prototype by the end of week two. Let alone a built AND PAINTED competition chassis. The blending of Team Paragon and the Technowizards has been a blessing to say the least. Now all we can hope for is a build season full of continued efficiency. Through the past week, everyone has been working hard to keep the season moving forward, despite days lost due to snow. Mechanical fabricated an entire working prototype, and came up with a very effective arm and grabbing mechanism. Electrical wired the prototype (again) and kept working on batteries and whatnot, waiting for the envelope to build the electropneumaquarium. Programming has kept the learning process moving strong, and made it so the team can drive our new mechanum wheels for practice with the prototype. Admin has kept up it's work, sorting out financial business, working on the handbook as well as the pit book, and many other wonderful jobs that keep the team running. Don't forget to check our ever-growing website at team-paragon.org! And we must keep in mind that none of this could be done without our incredibly hard-working and always-patient mentors! Let's keep it up Team Paragon!! :)
Week One Update (1.16.11)
Well, week one of build season has officially come and gone!! I guess the old saying is right, "time flies when you're having fun".... or building a robot. Since the kickoff video was released, FIRST Team Paragon (notice the use of Dean's Homework for any robotics nerd reading) has been working busily to complete a robot BEFORE the Hartford Regional this year. For anyone not involved in robotics, six weeks seems like plenty of time to build a robot. Sadly, this is not the case. Six weeks is nothing as far as getting a machine working cohesively enough to complete a task goes, especially for a team full of teenagers. Paragon actually had shirts made up that say "Will finish in Hartford". HOWEVER! This year is going to be different. With the new addition of students from Cheney Tech, FIRST Team Paragon is doing better than ever. After about three days of strategizing, the team came up with a pretty solid choice for robot design. While mechanical immediately began prototyping and mocking ideas up in CAD, the rest of the team did basic preparation for the season. Electrical cleaned and made battery leads, two very tedious tasks that have the ability to take up valuable build time. Admin designed shirts and buttons, and made a new policy as far as picture taking goes (you take it, you resize and rename it before the night is out!). Software has continued to learn and is exploring all of the new challenges that face the team in the upcoming competition season. I can't give too much away, but our prototype is looking great! The arm has been assembled in a way that will be greatly beneficial to this year's game, and our extended envelope (84 inches!) has given us a world of newpossibilities. A chassis design has been decided upon and next to look at is the grabbing mechanism! We're moving ahead at an amazing pace, and by the looks of it we will actually have drive practice before we ship! Now we just have to hope that the rest of build season goes as well as week 1 and we need to keep in mind that none of it could be done without our extremely dedicated mentors! So here's to an awesome build season! Stay tuned for more updates!
Kickoff! (1.8.11)
So today was quite possibly the most exciting day of my teenage life. What made it so special, you ask? Well the answer is simple. Today was the official kickoff date for FIRST robotics. For any FIRST student, today was Christmas all over again. We were given two clues this year, hinting at what the game would be. The first as I posted before was Little Eva. The second was just the FIRST logo, which is a special positioning of a triangle square and circle. They're linked together so a lot of people thought that kind of tied in with the whole Locomotion idea. However, today a lot of different theories were tied together in some unexpected way. The name of the game is Logomotion. Long story short, the robots have tubes shaped like the shapes in the logo that are to be scored on posts in scoring zones. We have "uber tubes" for the autonomous period in the beginning where the robot runs purely by programming. If we can score tubes on top of those during regular game play then they act as a doubling tool. They're fantastic bonuses. Scoring these tubes on their pegs in order of the logo is yet another doubling tool. Then, in the very end of the game, robots are supposed to release mini-bots (how cool does that sound?!) that will race up posts. The first to reach the top receives 30 bonus points. The second receives 20, third receives 15, and last receives 10. I personally am psyched to see how these races turn out. There are a possible 158 points available per alliance in this game, so there will definitely be a lot to take in during the matches. And by the way, I was partially right with my guess as to the meaning of Eva. I thought we would need to include some sort of video feedback, and sure enough we do, or at least have been given the tools to. There are lines on the ground so robots can use light sensors during autonomous, very much like in FIRST Lego League. Team Paragon spent the day learning the rules and strategizing how we would play the game. We figured out that the most important parts of the game are speed, autonomous scoring, mini-bot scoring, and tube handling. If we can get a robot that can master at least two of these things, we can pretty much look at a successful season. And now the insanity begins. We have six weeks to build a robot fit to compete. We're all psyched. This season is sure to bring on a lot of challenges, but Team Paragon is surely ready to take them on. As Will.I.Am said today in the broadcast, "It's dope" :)
Information from: http://www.usfirst.org/
Game Hint! (12.31.10)
Hey guys! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season!! I'd just like to give a quick FIRST update. Kickoff is a week from tomorrow and everyone is psyched for it! We're all patiently waiting for the game, and while we wait the Game Design Committee (or GDC) has given us a little clue as to what the game will be. Every year the GDC releases clues to stir up conversation in the FIRST environment. This year, the first clue was a picture of Little Eva, the singer of locomotion. Although there has been a lot of speculation on what this could mean, I have two favorite ideas. One is that the correlation between locomotion and the game is that our robots will be towing something. Possibly a cart? Anyways, that's an idea that a lot of people believe. I also have a long shot idea. On the robotics forum "Chief Delphi", there was one person who posted an idea that everyone kind of disregarded. He said, "EVA can also stand for Electronic Video Assistant. Couldn't it be possible that it has something to do with robot vision? they've been trying to get teams to do more with vision for awhile now, maybe we're required to do it in endgame or something. Or better yet, earlier people were mentioning a major game change before end game but after auto, maybe the screen darkens in front of the drivers and they have to use their vision code to see what's going on." I really think this statement has some merit. There has been discussion in FIRST about wanting to make the game more interactive, making teams utilize video feedback. Granted this idea is a long-shot, and we won't know until the game comes out, but I think it has potential. So any FIRST-ers out there reading this, comment and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear ideas :) Until kickoff, happy waiting!
Information from: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88030
Pancake Breakfast (12.8.10)
Hey everyone!!!! So there's not too much going on at robotics now, just trying to get ready for the season. Everyone is getting their last bit of hours in for travel requirements, and as always, the focus is fundraising, fundraising, fundraising! Last week was a good week, but we need to keep it up. So I'm asking everyone who sees this to come to our first annual pancake breakfast. It is from 8-11 am December 12th at the Elks Lodge in Windsor, on Deerfield Ave. It is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for Seniors (not the high school kind) and kids under 12. It's sure to be a blast! Come and support Team Paragon in our fundraising efforts! :)
11. 9.10
It's been so long since my last post. Sorry guys!! I am proud to announce that this blog will soon be advertised on the Team Paragon official website: http://team-paragon.org/. Because of this, I will be giving a lot more updates on the team and its progress. Over the past few weeks, Team Paragon has been working on a variety of projects. We have a new lathe, which is possibly one of the most exciting things to happen to the team in quite some time. Also, we have been working on a new prototype chassis for the upcoming season. This year, we made a metal chassis, a first for the team. It is wonderfully lightweight and will be highly adaptable for the game. We are working on updating our website and cleaning up the site. As far as upcoming events go, we will be holding a Holiday Pancake Breakfast at the Elks Lodge in Windsor on December 12th. The tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and children under 12. We invite anyone in the area to join us for this fundraiser!
