Week of Work

Accomplished:

+ Began building the robot arm

After receiving inspiration from some other robots, we came up with an arm design. As of now we are not yet done with the arm itself, however. We hope to get to that point soon, despite only having another four class days to work on it. There have been a few problems and obstacles during the week, namely the lack of quality materials and in some cases the lack of materials period. Weyoun now proudly wears badges of "ingenuity" like clear tape and plastic wrap. Hey, we've had to make do with what we do have!

A close-up on Weyoun's new, in-progress arm

From my photography you'd think only Sammyr does any work 

Renewed Optimism, as Well as Confusion

Goals:
+ Maintain blog up-to-date
+ Complete the robot arm challenge

The "robot arm challenge" goal is not very specific, so I'll elaborate briefly. We need to create some pyramids out of straws, create an arm for our robot, and have the arm be capable of picking the pyramids up and putting them on a rack. If we succeed in putting 3 pyramids on the topmost rack, then we will receive the best grade possible. It is our hope that we can accomplish this as soon as possible, due to our previous setbacks and not being behind the other teams.

This part of the project has me a bit stumped, honestly, but we can do this! We have to...

The rack with some pyramids hanging off of it

Runnin' Out of Titles!

Accomplishments:

+ Programmed Controller
+ Completed two laps around the chairs

This week was one of those testing weeks. We worked hard on Monday but didn't have school on Tuesday and Wednesday. This Thursday there was only one person from this group in attendance. He put the controller battery to charge and did a little bit of maintenance on the robot. What happens on Friday is still unknown since it has not happened yet. There is sophomore testing on this Friday so He might be alone again.

 I'm not sure we'll have the time to give it an awesome arm so we failed in that section of the robot. But we are sure of this, we'll have a an RC toy car ready by the end of this school year!

Sammyr, working on this very same blog post! Inception!

YAY!

Goal:

+ Program the controller so we can move the robot with it

Things are finally picking up the pace! We completed the two laps around the chairs using autonomous mode! This week we'll be working hard too, and hope that everyone will cheer us on! I'm in high spirits, for once. Optimism really is a renewable resource, huh?

Our cool new expanded work area!

One Lap

Accomplished:
+ One lap around chairs

What our group got done this week is manage to cleanly make our robot complete one full lap. All we need now is for it to do it multiple times and then try and finish up the portable controller programming. We could have done more this week, but with all the important school testing and class relocation we couldn't do much. The controller is our next goal.

The controller, which we will be focusing on next week

Back at It

Goal:

+ Finally finish the laps!


After an entire week in the portables in the back of the school, we've finally come back to working on our  little robot. We took beneficial advice from Mr. Martin regarding the course of Weyoun ( this is how Karen names it). Anyways, he informed us that the robot should move a large distance around the double chairs. This would lower the failure chance of it not working.

The chairs we need to do two laps around can be seen in the distance

Lost Week

Accomplished this week:

+ A bit more of the coding done

This week has been strange. The only day we did anything, really, was Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday were all-testing days, and today and Thursday we were in the portable. So, nothing much got done. Sigh. This... isn't good.

Tools we needed this week and did not have

End of Another Week

Accomplished:

+ Were able to charge enough batteries to keep us working
+ Able to program a bit more

This progress may not seem like much, but to us it is precious. When you've had a quarter (and semester?) as filled with setbacks and bad luck as we have, ANY progress is welcome. There don't seem to be enough programming cables for all of the teams, which leads to a lot of consternation... All we can do is keep on working.

Weyoun, a very relaxed and irritating robot

Well.

Goals this week:

+ Have Weyoun work again

This goal is not very specific, as the steps we'll be taking to complete it are not yet determined. There are a few things in mind, but I'll mention them in the week wrap up post to explain if they worked or not instead of cluttering up this post. I'll be needing the support and efforts of my entire team, so nobody can be absent this week, guys! (Except today, since I can't magically summon Sammyr and Isai to my side, though that would be seriously cool.)

If you are Mr. Martin and are reading this, please have mercy. We have been working hard, yet nothing seems to go right for us. This "F" is weighing very heavily upon my soul. Help. Please.

Weyoun looks so relaxed and carefree. I'd love to kick him right now.

Frustrated Beyond Belief

Accomplished this week:

+ In-depth maintenance of Weyoun

That's all. Thanks to a series of bad luck (and this coming from someone who doesn't believe in luck!) and our batteries being stolen from their charging station (unless they got up and walked away), what we have accomplished this week is very little. Even our code has stopped working. I'm not sure what we can do anymore. I have an "F" in this class and it is driving me crazy, but as of now there isn't anything I can do to fix that.

Somehow we've got to pull through. Somehow we can make it.

I hope.

(P.S: Blogger, please stop registering me as Sammyr. I am not a male.)

A close-up of the battery we had to borrow from another team

This is a Title

Goal:

+ Obtain the elusive charged batteries

  This is the final week for trying to finish up both our machine's basic programming and its arm attachment. I (Sammyr) don't know how we'll do it, but I have faith in my group. Today in Monday, our battery needs more juice. So for today, I'm just making the this post.

          We'll hopefully have the machine ready by Friday, that includes its autonomous function and its control via remote.

The problematic batteries in question

No Arm, Just Program

     During this week, we ended up taking up its entirety on programming. Our machine had many problems. The best, or should I say the worst, is that our machine had some internal affairs to deal with.

     During its testing, one of its sides tended to turn more powerfully than the other. We suspected this had to do with how we built it. To any future engineering students, make sure you check every variable as to why things don't go as planned.

     But hopefully, we'll be done with this programming and move on to Arming :D

Currently, this is the code we are operating the robot on.

In related news, the robot has officially been dubbed Weyoun! Yay for Star Trek references!

Programming and Arming

Goal:

+ Finish programming
+ Start arm

This week our group is having to work on both programming our robot to move via our controller and by its own coding.

Our goal is to possibly have programming done by Wednesday and the arm done by Thursday. We'll be crunched for time by I think we can make it. We were bewildered as to how we ended up last and it will not last for long!

The Robot's structure is officially finished for this part of the challenge.

Now We Know, Now We Begin

Mr. Martin extensively guided us on how to begin programming through "ROBOTC". We're stuck with a different brain (microcontroller version 0.5) and needed more aid to work with such an old device. To any future "Principles of Engineering" students, you have to be very patient with using this micro controller.

Our group is in last place but with enough research, hard work, and determination, we'll be able to come back to our original position in this Robot Race.

A closeup of our programming USB.
It's really old technology, so it's rather finicky.

Back from Break

Spring Break proved to be a time of rejuvenation once again. Unfortunately, it ended all too soon and left me no alternative... I had to return to school. Due to a streak of bad luck, we are behind on the robot and it can't even move autonomously.

Our goal this week is to get it running by itself, and also to program it.

We need all the help we can get, but nobody seems available for asking. We'll need to do our best and try not to panic...

The program we'll be (hopefully) using soon

Beginning To An End

This week are minds are set on the hopeful completion of the robot. We should be adding the battery and microcontroller before Friday hopefully finishing on the day of. We've also progressed at a decent pace and are getting much better with our decision making.

The components we've yet to add

Friday!

We've come to the end of another week completing the base portion of the robot. Although it was rather difficult finding the right parts and deciding when and where to use the right tools we did manage. We even taught each other some of the tools names that we didn't know about.

Our robot, hanging out upside down while we tighten up some screws

Robot Work!

Goals:

• Continue working on the robot

If all goes according to plan, then by the end of this week we will have the basic structure done! This is exciting! We work well (if not a bit slowly) as a team. I consider myself lucky to be part of this team.

 Sammyr, happily working

Week Recap: Organization

Accomplished this week:

• Finished our organizing of the nuts and screws
• Began working on the actual robot!

Here is where the real work begins! It'll be a challenge, of that I'm certain. Still, there isn't anything we can't do if we do our best and work hard. But let's see how next week goes...

A peek into our messy toolbox

Organizing?

Goals for this week:

• Do whatever organizational tasks Mr. Martin has for us

That seems to include sorting and putting things together. It might be easy and a bit monotonous. Still, any work is better than no work at all. And do we really want to do hard work? I don't, at least, so these small jobs are looking better and better by the minute. 

A photo of what our work entails

WE ARE DONE~!

Accomplished:

• Finished the Solidworks Robot

Woohoo! I'm so glad we are done! This is amazing :D We all worked really hard. It turned out that we had been building a more complicated version of the robot the entire time... at least now we know why we were so behind. Hopefully next week will not be as frustrating as these past weeks.

The finished product! 

Well...

Goal for this week:

• FINISH THE YOU-KNOW-WHAT.
• It will remain nameless, because I am frustrated.

Extra thoughts:

UGH. Ugh. UUUUUGH. We need to finish this! What will become of us if we don't?! And we have been doing our best the entire time but can't complete it! What is wrong with us?? Ugh. UGHHHH. I am understandably annoyed and terrified, as you can see.

About where we are, currently.
(Also known as "UGH.png")

WHOOP WHOOP

Please ignore the title, it is irrelevant.

Accomplished this week:

• progress on the solidworks robot

I am still very, very worried because at the time of writing this post, we have not finished. I am also frustrated. We have been working so hard, but are chugging along at a snail's pace! What in the world?! In what kind of logic-defying world have we been thrown?? Forgive me for the drama, it's Friday and I am weary of school already...

One of the pieces we will be using in the final assembly

Semana Nova

Our biggest goal for the moment:

• Finish Squarebot!

We're working towards this goal as fast as possible. Our skills with SolidWorks are limited, and I think our lagging behind isn't due to lazing off, but that we haven't built up speed in using SolidWorks. It isn't easy to work when you're sick either, as is my case. This week we are once again tentatively hopeful...

Screenshot of the SolidWorks website, which we might need to look back on for tips

Less Excitement, More Panic

My earlier estimate seems to have been....off, to say the least. I'm not sure we'll be able to finish in time. Frankly, I'm a little nervous, but also resigned. If we get an F, I'll be consoled by the fact that we worked hard the entire time and did our best. There is nothing much we can do at this point except keep working and hope for a miracle.

2/3 of the group working, because I am writing this post

What we have so far; includes the bottom photo

(Also, did anyone notice this post's title references the one for Monday, January 12?)

This Week for Sure

We are very close to finishing! Our only goal so far this week is to be finally (FINALLY) done with the Solidworks Squarebot. I can't tell you how glad I'll be when this part is over. This turned out to be more arsenic than cake, it seems. And of course, hardly anyone will get my reference. Siigh. That's what the life of a person without cable is like: constantly watching old movies and shows nobody cares about anymore.

The amount of parts we have is a little excessive...

Squarebot...

Once again the weeks come to an end. The assembly has proved to be harder than expected and finding some of the parts was even harder. We did find all of the parts needed in the assembly and finished a good 70% of the squarebot. We expect to have it completed 2/2/15.

Still Working on it...

The goal for this week is to finish building the infamous squarebot and attempt to not be the last team to do it. So far we're behind, but with a little time we can make exponential progress. So far this what we have.

and

Getting our blogs up to date by this week.

Tedious Task

It's the end of our third week and we've luckily been able to keep up and continue progressing towards creating the square bot in Solidworks. Although proving to be a tedious task we've started to isolate the parts needed to begin it's creation in Solidworks. Hopefully we'll manage to have it ready by the very least next Tuesday.

Some of the Solidworks parts we will be using

Arsenic Cake?

The goals for this week are to:

• Finish learning the necessary information for the robot
• Begin work on the Solidsworks square-bot

It looks like next week we'll be able to start taking apart some robots. It might be a little tedious but the learning experience will be priceless. Building the square-bot in Solidsworks could end up being easy, though. I do believe that their is a step-by-step guide available somewhere. Will this week be a piece of cake? Or will it be laced with arsenic? Only time can tell.

A VEX robot similar to what we are building, to give an idea of what the completed one will look like. 

End of the Week

This is the end of the week, and we finally found the vex starters kit for usage in Solidworks We can use this to experiment on how we should build our robot in the future. And now that we have these references such as the links shown in this blog.

Additionally, we also learned the basics for programming the robots using robot C.

The program we will be using to program the robot, RobotC

Excited!

We have one goal for this week:

• Receive resources and information from Mr. Martin to build the robot

I have to say, I'm looking forward to the end results of this project! Even though I'm a level 10 Bot Builder in The Sims, it never crossed my mind I'd end up a robot builder in real life. Part of me is bouncing off the walls with excitement, but the other? It's trembling in its boots. 

My teammates and I will be working hard this week, and I'm sure that they are excited too!

Vex's Inventor's Guide will be an invaluable source of information for us

New Knowledge!

We've now reached the end of the week. Now the entire team is familiar with the basics of Blogger and have an idea of what to expect once we begin our team project of creating a robot. We've developed a decent understanding on what a platform is and how our choice in platform will affect our project and even some insight on the parts that we'll use or might use such as a servo and rack gear. With this new knowledge, we've begun to think as to what we'd maybe prefer or like to use in our project.

A website the teacher directed us to that will be helpful to our project

In the Beginning, There was one Post...

This week, we will learn more about the making and management of blogs through "Blogger" and also gain insight on robotics. Additionally, we will also think about and research during after school hours about robotics and on what lies ahead for us.

Our goals include:

• Learning the basics of Blogger to accurately document the project
• Learn about the different robot parts available to us for usage

We are very excited (and maybe a little intimidated) to be finally starting this project. I can honestly say that each member of our team wants to do the best possible.

A screenshot of when we were setting up our blog