April 1-3: District Competition at Auburn Senior High School; A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY; Record Team Attendance Features 35th Rep.Dan Griffey, North Mason School District Board Member Dinah Griffey, 4-H Youth Development Coordinator Kathy Fuller, and Shelton Realtor Keith Fuller

SUMMARY:
For the first time ever, Aldernating Current brought thirty people to a district competition.  The eight new 7" pneumatic wheels allowed our competition robot "Ironwood" to overcome challenges Drawbridge, Moat, Portcullis, Rock Wall, and Rough Terrain. "Ironwood" scored one Low Goal.  During the match, the team added an autonomous program. Unfortunately, communication problems between the drive station and motor controllers frequently prevented the desired operation of the robot. The team came up with many ways to improve (see Learning Opportunity at the end of this post).

EVENT RESULTS: AUBURN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
http://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2016/WAAHS/rankings

RECORD ATTENDANCE (30):
This is the most people that have ever attended an Aldernating Current competition. Students (10): Brayden, Brooklyn, Guy, Hunter, Isaac, Jaeden, Juan, Kayleigh, Kiery, and Tyler. Mentors (6): A.Hansen, A.Hospador, A.Walker, G.Inman, K.Hansen, and Coach Wright. Visitors (14): D.Rankin (both days; new SolidWorks recruit); D. & F. Hansen (grandparents); the Ordonez'; A.Estrada, N.Vasquez and daughter Brielle; Kathy Fuller (4-H Mason County Youth Development Program Coordinator) and husband Keith (real estate sales); 35th Legislative District Representative Dan Griffey, wife Dinah Griffey (North Mason School District Board of Education), and their grandson William. Zander, brother to one of our students, learned how to solder.

KIERY TOURS REP. DAN GRIFFEY and
NORTH MASON SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER GRIFFEY:
Ambassador Kiery toured 35th Legislative District Representative Dan Griffey, wife Dinah Griffey (Board of Education member), and grandson William through our competition. The Griffeys delighted seeing all the wild team uniforms. The energy of all the students amazed them. The matches in the arena impressed them. The pits gave them a good understanding of the hands-on learning process. Both added graffiti to the safety kits. Dinah Griffey shared some fundraising ideas with A.Walker. "Why don't you do outreach and fundraising at the same time?" she asked. She felt that a visual thermometer best communicates your fundraising goal.

4-H PROGRAM MANAGER KATHY FULLER VISITS:
Our Mason County 4-H focal and her husband Keith visited the pits and watched the quarter-final matches. On Monday, she wrote "I would like to extend a huge thank you to you and the rest of Team 5295 for a job well done in putting together an awesome group of youth and adults and making the robotics program a reality in Mason County. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Auburn yesterday! The youth were wonderful to speak with and watch – their pride in their project and team is very evident. The adults are all wonderful, caring people who see the big picture and the positive impact they are having on these young lives. Kudos to all, please pass on my message to the group."  

TEAM 4450 REFERRAL GIVES US A NEW MENTOR:
At our March 26 visit to Team 4450's practice field in Tumwater, 4450 training mentor T.Farrell knew of a hydraulic systems designer who might be interested in helping us out. D.Rankin attended both days and is now officially a mentor for Team 5295. SolidWorks, our biggest donor, drew him to "Aldernating Current". He has used SolidWorks for all his hydraulic designs in the last fifteen years and is excited to teach computer-aided-design and eventually pneumatics to our students. 

SAFETY:
Tyler (Safety Captain) created a safety display board on the left side of the pit facing the aisle. His display board included our first aid kit, fire extinguisher, battery spill kit, and eye wash station. He suggests that the team get a larger plastic bin to hold a broken battery with the bin lid on. A small fan will push fumes away from the solder tool.

UNIFORMS:
In January, our students decided on a uniform of red/plaid long sleeve shirt, suspenders, and a logger's retro safety helmet. We would be able to do this without the assistance of our many sponsors. We stand out as we are the only team wearing either or red plaid or suspenders.

ROBOT INSPECTION:
We passed robot inspection late Friday evening. The team added both a short arm and a long arm with spring. "Ironwood" weighed 118 lbs. versus 89 lbs. at the earlier competition. Students had some difficulty accessing our Google Drive where we stored our Bill of Materials (also called a Cost Accounting Template). On Friday while the rest of the team loaded the trailer, Jaeden and Kiery completed the Bill of Materials, documenting the parts used to build the robot.

DRIVE TEAM:
Kiery (Drive Captain), Guy (Human Player), Hunter (Autonomous & Camera), and Jaeden (Joystick). Saturday (9 matches): In our first match #4, we moved very little. Repairs took a while and only Human Player Guy competed in our second match #7. In the pit, the communications worked fine. In match three #16, "Ironwood" climbed over the rock wall, hit the ground hard, and was then "dead on the field". Hunter said the the impact loosened the power connection to the radio, caused a voltage spike and a roboRIO (brain) brownout.  The RIO then went through a thirty second reboot/refresh. The pit team was able to repair the robot in time for our next match. In our fourth match #19, "Ironwood" pulled down and crossed the Drawbridge. We had difficulty navigating around a second boulder. In our fifth match #27, we crossed the Moat and froze. The solid yellow light indicated we had power and no communication. The pit team fixed this problem. Hunter added an autonomous program.  In our sixth match #36, the robot spun during autonomous, and in teleop we had no left side power. The left side chain became loose and ground into the aluminum plate. Industrial foreman G.Inman believes an idler pulley is needed, one each side.  Team 3787 "Wild Robotocats" felt that one CIM motor could only drive 3 pneumatic wheels and a chain. The pit team started to add another CIM motor to each side's drive train.  Electrical engineer A.Hospador advised that our wiring must have some curvature or flex near connections.  Impacts have caused tight wires to pull out. In match #41, the robot went backwards in autonomous. In teleop (human control), "Ironwood" crossed the Rock Wall, and parked at the tower. Match #48. In our last match of the day #51, the robot did not move at all. Although Saturday was full of disappointment, one student said they were glad for the many challenges the team faced, as the team learned a lot.
Sunday (3 matches): Based on our scouting Saturday, the team decided at their breakfast meeting to complete the communications repair, add the short arm to lift the Portcullis, score a Low Goal, and play hinder high scorers on the opposing alliance. Students felt this would best show off our abilities and get us selected on a playoff alliance. When the pit team has time, L.E.D. lights will be added. One student delayed the team leaving the motel. Thus the pit team did not have enough time to modify the robot and the team sent Guy as human player. In our second match of the day #64, the robot lifted the Portcullis but did not score a low goal. The team sent a human player for the final match #72. When the team was not selected to be on a playoff alliance, students ate a quick lunch, and headed back to Shelton High.

PIT TEAM:
Jaeden (Pit Chief), Brayden, Hunter, Isaac, Juan, Kiery, and Tyler. These heros made many quick changes to our robot. The decision to use pneumatic wheels agrees is a good one. At the Pacific Northwest Championship (best 64 Oregon & Washington teams), 7 out of 8 teams use pneumatic wheels.

SCOUTING:
Jaeden wrote a three page scouting data form.  Juan, Isaac, and Kayleigh on Friday asked teams in the pit what their robot could do. Fans in the stands, primarily the Ordonez' and A.Walker, documented robot performance on Saturday when nine qualification matches occurred. Our scouting revealed that Stronghold challenges were overcome frequently, average, or rarely.  The number of teams accomplishing the challenge is noted in parentheses (teleop, autonomous). Frequent: Low Bar (20,4); Rough Terrain (20,3); and Moat (18,3). Average: Rock Wall (15,4); Ramparts (14, 1); Sally Port (14, 0); Cheval de Frise (13, 0); High Goal (11,2); and Low Goal (10, 2). Rare: Portcullis (8,1), Draw Bridge (7,0); and Pull Up Bar or Climb (7,0). This influenced our Sunday plan to complete the communication repairs, and demonstrate we could lift the Portcullis and score Low Goals. Future scouting sheets should be on one page with team numbers on the short side and narrow columns for the challenges. Or even a [software] app[lication] with team drop down and challenge drop down. The minimum number of scouters watching the matches is two: one to observe, and another to mark.

ROBOT AS SURGEON:
In 2008 Dr. Kathy Hunter started using DaVinci robots in OB/GYN surgery.  At the conclusion of her talk at Sunday's opening ceremony, she invited students to skype with her. What questions do our students have? I know of one future bio-engineer and a future surgeon that may have some questions.

PHOTOS:
If you took pictures or video of the event, please add them to our Google Drive Photos.

FOOD:
A.Walker provided a picnic for the team Friday evening and Saturday lunch. His home baked chocolate chip cookies and banana nut bread disappeared quickly.  The team loved the ham, pastrami, and smoked Gouda for sandwiches.  Salami, cheddar, and Swiss cheese were less popular.  Full jars of dill and sweet pickles emptied.  Sour cream potato chips and pretzels were more liked than the blue corn chips (need salsa).  The team ate breakfast Saturday and Sunday at the motel.  Dinner Saturday was at the "incredible good" barbecue place next door to the motel.  The Sunday lunch was again on the outside picnic table. Some students purchased food from the high school concession stand. Big thank yous to A.Walker for providing food and A.Hospador for suggesting the purchase of a team ice chest.  

NEIGHBOR INSIGHTS:
Also staying at our motel were our sister 4-H Team 3787 "Wild Robotocats" from Westport in Grays Harbor county (lime colored shirts). 3787 was also positioned in the pits directly across from us and felt two CIM motors per side was essential for chain drives and playing solid defense. The only team from Oregon to attend, Team 1425 "Error Code Xero" (black shirts with flames) won the previous week's competition in Oregon and was on the winning alliance here at Auburn Senior High School. Their 45 student team decided to compete at Week 4 and Week 5 competitions and won both. Team 1425 typically meets in the motel lobby prior to a team departure. Student Beth helped A.Walker carry a food box to the picnic table Friday evening. Two pits down from us, Team 4579 "Robo-Eagles" from Federal Way High School used a modified Andy Mark tread system and finished tied for 32nd in qualification, four places better than 5295. Team 4579 broke three plastic sprockets Andy Mark included in their version 1.0 tread kit. One of their mentors D.Kon (whom A.Walker worked with at Boeing) visited our pit and invited 5295 mentors to check out the 4579 robot and the scrapes on the bottom of their robot dent plate. Team 4579 places all driver and safety captain buttons in the workbench at the end of the day.

OBSTACLES:
Hindering our success are: recruiting students, mentor/volunteers, and sponsors; communication between our communities (students, parents, volunteers, schools, sponsors, 4-H, other teams, robotic organizations, and the people who live here in Mason County); isolation (nearest FRC team is 30 minutes away); lack of testing; and technical communication between the drive station and motor controllers.

TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION:
In addition to the steps listed in the "Solutions to Communication Problems" post on our home page, we could implement these best practices. Build a practice suitcase with RIO and motor controllers to speed up programming.  Keep motors far from radios to eliminate interference. Insulate (for vibration and grounding) all electrical components by placing rubber between them and the frame. Let wires flex a bit near connections.  Check all connections prior to any operation. Practice frequently to let these problems surface prior to a match. At Sunday's opening ceremony, Kevin Ross (founder of Washington FIRST Robotics) suggested teams not unplug the Ethernet cable between the RIO and the radio.  Rather plug tethers directly into the radio.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:
Determine and focus on team goals. Goals drive plans.  Project plans define who does what when. Let team members work in pairs on tasks. Write a team handbook for students, parents, volunteers, and sponsors.  Streamline the part/tool ordering process.  Create a store of standard fasteners, collars, extrusions (Kline & 80/20), and wheels (plastic, pneumatic, mecanum, and tread) that allow the team to build any robot.  Teach students SolidWorks. Look online at FRC pictures of simple, elegant, wiring.  Build a simple robot in four weeks. Test in the last two weeks to make the robot competition ready. Find a sponsor to build a half-court. Practice more often. Complete the bill of materials by mid-week.  Improve the scouting form. Review best practices for overnight school field trips.Copy what successful teams do (i.e. knowledge sponsors 4450, 230 & 3574) and 1425 winners two weeks in a row. Team 4131 "Iron Patriots" (2nd place alliance) always has a student runner within eyesight of the drive team; just in case a battery or tool is needed. Mentors are meeting to come up with proposals to improve robot performance and team organization. Students will decide which proposals should be implemented, modified, or rejected. This conforms to our guiding principle "Mentor suggest; students decide".

DRIVE STATION IDEAS:
Jaeden felt the team would do well to design a drive station. Hunter thinks we should get ideas from other teams. Label all joystick buttons. A.Hospador thinks we should optimize the elevation of the joystick (hand height). Ease of transport is essential. Jaeden thinks Plexiglas would be helpful.  A.Walker suggested a lower shelf. Continue to use Velcro to attach everything.

ROBOT CART IDEAS:
The cart must carry the drive station. A.Hospador felt the robot cart + drive station should place the joystick at the proper height. The cart should also carry a backup classmate computer, backup joystick, and a backup battery. A place for loose nuts would be helpful.