Entries in Robotics (78)
Day 65 in 2023
Breaking down the good, the bad, and the future plans at our first meeting following the weekend's match.
365_2023, Robotics, high school Days 61-63 in 2023
Robotics competitions in the Michigan division of FIRST Robotics take place from Thursday night (move in) through full days of competing on both Friday and Saturday. This weekend marked my first experience mentoring Calvin's team over a competition weekend. The experience was complicated by a major snow storm that hit the area midway through the first day of matches (Friday), shortening the day and sending us all out into a white-out to find hastily procured hotel rooms nearer than the hour drive to home. The hotel night with the kids was fun, and the 16-hour long day on Saturday to make up for it wasn't as bad as it sounds.
There was a lot I didn't know about the competitions themselves. I went to one of them last year, but wans't a mentor, so I was merely a visitor. This year I got to see how much more actually happens aside from the robots on the field. There are interviews with jduges, and learning from or teaching other teams; there's tweaking the robot, or the code, then testing and practicing and testing again; and there's strategizing, strategizing, and more strategizing. And all of it is impressive.
Overall I loved the experience. Calvin has worked on the programming and vision programming teams throughout the last two months of devleopment, and is a driver on the four person Drive Team for competitions, making him one of the two people responsible for controling the robot on the field every match. It's a stressful job that he handled with grace and poise throughout the long weekend. I was, of course, incredibly proud of him, and of all the kids on this team for the amazing things they are doing.
365_2023, Robotics, high school Day 54 in 2023
What I said yesterday about ice storms... more than half our small town is without power today, including us. The best estimate they will give us is that "95% of customers will have power back by Sunday". It is Thursday.
School was canceled today, but since the roads are safe that wasn't stopping the robotics team from practicing all afternoon and evening, so we didn't let something silly like a lack of power keep us from feeding them as originally promised. Making food for 16 by lantern light is an adventure I feel accomplished to have conquered.
Day 49 in 2023
Dreaming of a beach while spending my Saturday at the school for Robotics. No, this is not a complaint—I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be (or at least not many of them).
