Week two of build season has passed quickly. We were able to reach consensus on the entire robot design, after much debate. Our mechanical team has built a manipulator prototype, a chassis, and a prototype for the actuator. During week two, we were able to test the manipulator prototype. CAD has begun to draw the prototypes on 3D modeling softwear. Animation has been hard at work with storyboarding and modeling the animation for this year. Website has been making some tweaks to the website. Chairman’s has been working on the essay and presentations. All in all, it has been a fairly good week. The entire team is very excited for the 2012 Lake Superior Regional in Duluth!

It has been a week since Kick Off. On the first official day of Build Season, we deemed a few things important to focus on and then talked about how to best go about designing the robot to fit those needs, which include being maneuverable and being able to shoot the basketballs a long distance. After some debate, we have come to consensus on almost all of the different components for the robot. Our mechanical team is starting to build the drive train and prototypes for the manipulator. Website, Animation, and Chairman’s all have been hard at work to be able to submit their work on time.

On Saturday, January 7^th, FIRST released a live news feed on the NASA website, telling teams all around the world about the new FIRST Robotics Competition game for the 2012 season. People in every corner of the globe — from the USA to Israel to Brazil to Australia — gathered around computer screens and projectors to watch and listen as Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers and the rest of the FIRST team spoke words of encouragement. After a handful of speeches, the grand finale — the thing everyone was waiting for — came to screens across the entire world. The game was revealed. It is more or less a game of basketball for robots. (For more information on the game, click here.)

When the feed was over, CORE came back to the high school and almost immediately began brainstorming ideas of how to best go about building the robot for this particular game. There is a lot to consider: drive train, wheel types, and how to shoot the balls, for a start. Now, for the next six weeks, CORE will be building the robot and getting ready for the competitions.