FIRST | Power Up
GRT 2017-2018
In 2018, GRT participated in the 2018 FRC game, FIRST Power Up. The season began early in the morning for the reveal of the 2018 game as the team gathered to watch the kick off live and followed up with a discussion about possible strategies for the game. Students then discussed the goals of the robot and what capabilities it should have to be successful in the upcoming competitions. In the following week, the team experimented with possible mechanisms in the Alpha prototyping stage and the designs were demonstrated in front of the team.
After a group meeting, the team decided upon an initial design and the season progressed into the Beta machining phase, where GRT created its first robot for testing. Testing this robot proved that the initial design, which involved a linkage arm to raise power cubes, was not ideal, so the team decided to modify the design. After designing a new mechanism in CAD, an elevator replaced the linkage. Following this change, Omega machining began and identical robots Omega 1 and 2 were created. One of these robots was sent to competition while the other remained at the shop for continued testing.
GRT 2017-2018
Design
For FIRST Power Up, GRT elected to use a swerve drivetrain, which allowed the robot to spin while moving in the same direction. This more complex drivetrain required the drivetrain and controls subgroups to work extremely hard, but in the end the results were worth it. The robot also featured an outer pickup mechanism to bring power cubes into the robot, and then an inner pickup to hold the power cubes while the elevator lifted the cubes into the air. Both pickup mechanisms used flywheels, which allowed the blocks to be spun out of the robot and onto the switches and scale during the game.
The controls teams this year converted the code from past years from Python to Java. The subgroup also experimented with virtual reality this year, attempting to allow the driver to have a first person view of the game. In addition, controls wrote code for vision tracking, allowing the robot to use reflective tape in the game to both orient and guide the robot. Finally, the group created the code for the autonomous period of the game, allowing the robot to cross the auto line and place a cube on the switch.
Competition
GRT went to three competitions this past year, beginning with the Week 1 Utah Regional, then the Lone Star Central Regional in Houston in Week 3, and finally the Silicon Valley Regional in Week 5. In both the Utah and Lone Star Central competitions, GRT was an alliance captain, but both times lost in the quarterfinals. At the Silicon Valley Regional, GRT was picked to be on the fourth alliance but lost in the opening round. Though GRT did not win any competitions, the team won numerous awards, including the Creativity Award and Safety Award from the Silicon Valley Regional and the Innovation in Controls Award from the Lone Star Central Regional.
The robot depositing a power cube at Lone Star Regional.
Outreach
After build season concluded at the end of March, the team participated in the May Fete Parade in Palo Alto, where students rolled the robot through the parade and demonstrated it to the public afterwards. Gunn High School graduation was on May 31, and the GRT seniors, some of whom had been members of the team for three years, officially finished high school. As per GRT tradition, the seniors wore red metal chains throughout the ceremony. This summer, GRT held its first Summer Camp from June 11 through June 15, where GRT students served as counselors and taught campers about VEX IQ Robotics and ran a few small competitions at the GRT shop. A few GRT students also went to the Apricot STEM Fair on June 24, where they ran the 2018 robot.
