What Are We Working On?

In addition to working on our bots and programming, some of our team members have been learning how to use Creo, a digital modeling program, by watching YouTube tutorials.  One of our goals with the program is to design a part that both of our teams can use on their robot and get it 3-D printed.

Team members working on Creo

After completely stripping their robot of wiring two meetings ago, team 452, PHI Alpha, was struggling to finish their robot so the software people could start programming.  

PHI Alpha team members wiring their robot

As for PHI Omega, currently we are building shielding for our robot, programming, and adding other finishing touches.

PHI Omega team members work on programming using a dummy bot.

Kickoff Meeting

We began the new robotics season last month with a kickoff meeting/potluck.  We demolished old prototypes, sorted parts, set up the foam field tiles, watched the game video, and discussed strategies for building this year's robots.  All said, we're excited for the new season!

New facebook Page!

Phi robotics is now updating the status of the team through a Facebook page! Don't freak out,  you can still view Phi's progress at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Phi-Robotics/184663908224113. this is where you can go in order to get the latest information about Phi Robotics. We will still write on the blog, but our latest, most consistent source of  information will be our Facebook page.

Summer Robotics Workshop

Have you successfully protected an eggstronaut from a painful Mars landing, using only straws and tape?  Do you know how to properly use an atlatl?  Can you build a successful robot out of limited materials in only five afternoons?

If so, you must have attended last year's Summer Robotics Workshop.  Along with other local FIRST teams, we host this workshop every year.  For us, it's a way to reach out to the community to promote science, technology, engineering, and math; for students who attend, it's a week of fun and a great introduction to robotics.

The first five days of the workshop are packed with fun activities (which just happen to be educational) and hands-on robot building.  Students are divided into teams of six and must collaboratively build a robot to complete a challenge; on Saturday, their designs are tested in an action-packed competition similar to those PHI competes in.

This year, the workshop runs June 24-29, and if you're a student entering fifth through ninth grade, you won't want to miss it.  Only sixty spots are available, so sign up now!

For more information or to register, visit https://sites.google.com/site/summerroboticsworkshop/home.

What are we doing now?

     Now that our season is over, neither team made it to Worlds. We now had the tough decision of what to do with the rest of our year. We have decided to continue meeting to train newer members in software, and to work on new designs to prepare for the next season's competitions. We are also preparing for our outreach season. We will be in the Antelope Valley Poppy Festival on April 21-22. We will also be at a week long Vex workshop this summer along with several other local teams. This workshop is to teach junior highers about robotics, and allow them to build their own robots. They will also be able to compete in a special challenge, just like a FTC competition, only on a smaller scale.

Compass Award

Here is PHI's FTC Compass Award submission for the 2012-13 season. We nominated the Stinson family (Jon, Kathy, and Dylan) for their generous support over the past 5+ years. Thank you, Stinsons!

Robot Photos

Here are a few of our latest robot photos, taken at competitions.


PHI members work on Murphy in the pit area.


Shelob prepares to score in a match.


Shelob scores on the top peg.


Murphy scores on the top peg.


Shelob in a match.

Las Vegas Hardware & Software Support

At the Las Vegas tournament, one team couldn't pass inspection, since they had incorrect wiring and no software. We provided parts and helped them wire the robot, then wrote teleop and autonomous programs. Throughout the day, we continued to aid them with software and hardware. Here are a few pictures of the event.


PHI members help with hardware and software.


A PHI member teaches the team how to set up pragmas in RobotC.


Judges take notes on robot design as PHI looks on.

Walter Bracken STEAM Academy

The day before the Las Vegas tournament, we (PHI Alpha and PHI Omega) visited Walter Bracken STEAM Academy in Las Vegas.  We invited all other FTC teams from the Las Vegas tournament, and two (PHOENXTRIX from Folsom, CA, and FIX IT from BC, Canada) came to help.  We demonstrated our robots and talked about FTC with third- through fifth-graders.  The FLL team also got to demonstrate their robot for us, which made them feel really special.  We hope to come back next year!

Here are some pictures from our Las Vegas outreach.



PHI members show off their robot's arm.


We set up software to drive the robot.


PHI members respond to kids' questions about robot design.


A team member illustrates how the robot arm works.


Kids get excited as a robot scores rings!

Hello, I Am Only 6 Hours Old

At our tournament, we helped out the Downtown Magnet High School team by building and programming a robot so they could compete.  Enjoy these pictures of our exciting emergency bot build.






















PHI volunteers help build the Downtown Magnet team a robot.






















The just-finished robot continues to software inspection. 
















































A PHI member helps set up for field inspection.

















































The Suitbots lift the little robot 17 inches for a regional high score!



Downtown Magnets competing in a match, coached by a PHI member.






















The robot's sign displayed its age throughout the day: "I Am 6 Hours Old."

Tournament photos

Finally, we have the photos from the January qualifying tournament we hosted!  Here are some of the ones from the competition area, with more to come later.


Volunteers, referees, and judges have a great time at the tournament.


Volunteers prepare to reset the field as the referees tally the score.


Team members get dancing at the tournament.


A Bot Squad team member receives his medal.


Head judge Joe Pahle thanks tournament organizer Kathy Stinson.

Our Tournament

This is the first year the Los Angeles region has needed FTC qualifying tournaments, and PHI was honored to be asked to host one.  Last weekend, January 12, we did.  Thanks to all the volunteers who made it happen!

We had twenty teams attend, with nineteen competing.  Although we had a lot of amazing teams there, I think the most inspiring part of my day was seeing Team 6685 from Downtown Magnet High School compete.  A few days before the tournament, the team wanted to drop out, since they didn't have a robot yet, but we encouraged them to come and let us help them.

On tournament day, a lone student and mentor showed up with their kit of LEGO parts-- they hadn't unpacked the Tetrix yet.  Using one of our mentors' partially built robot and some parts borrowed from Bot Squad, we built a robot that managed to pass inspection.  We were thrilled when the 6-hour-old robot contributed to the LA region's record high-scoring match (236 points) by allowing Inspire award winner Suitbots to lift them 17 inches off the ground.  Team 6685 also won a special judged award, the Spirit of FIRST Award, and qualified for regionals.

I'd have to say that our tournament was a lot of fun, and hopefully all the teams that came would agree.  Let's make next time even better!

New Comic

Have you ever wanted to be an author?  Do you like to make people laugh?  Do you enjoy reading about the Doom Flowers' latest escapades in robotics?

Now you can join in the fun by making your own Doom Comic!  Our new comic, Doom Make a Book, will teach you how to make a book out of one sheet of paper so that you can create your own stories (of doom.)  The less ambitious can still enjoy our new comic-- you can learn how to fold one of our other comics into a book so that you can enjoy it anytime.

Note: Be sure to keep on the lookout for our next Doom Comic... it's in the works as we speak!

Hardware...Yay

 4322 (Murphy)

4322 is now designing a new arm that can hopefully reach the top peg without breaking anything. If you have seen earlier posts, we were designing an arm that used chain to move. Now, we are using a similar design to replicate the results but make it simpler and more effective. Our current ramp is on the prototype shelf, and gathering dust. We are working on autonomies and our new arm while the end game is on hold.

452 (Shelob)

452 is doing minor changes and re-gearing the arm so that it is easier to control and not as fast and jerky. We are also trying to fix the ramp deployment system and it is coming along beautifully. We are also working on making the ramp wider with flaps that fold out during deployment

Our Year in Photos

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's the story of our robotics year so far; most of these pictures were taken sometime between June 2012 and last week. Want to see more photos? You can see all the photos that have been featured on our blog (including those from past years) here.

Top row, left to right: Our most recent picture of our robot (4322); teaching kids about LEGO robots at a middle school outreach event; a previous version of this year's robot (4322).

Second row: Our robot's mustache, which detects weighted rings, says "hi"; interacting with kids at a YMCA summer outreach event.

Third row: Building custom parts with heat-forming plastic; giving kids some hands-on science experience at a summer robotics workshop; testing out this year's robot (452.)

Between rows: Working with other FIRST robotics teams to teach kids about programming.

Fourth row: Designing this year's robot (4322); making a claw using plastic; testing out prototypes; a plastic ring from this year's game; spare parts and metal waiting to be used.

Our Many Blog Updates

Hello, reader!  Have you seen all our changes to this blog?  Over the past few weeks and months, we've added several new pages, helpful documents, and things you'll enjoy.  Here's a list:

Fun Stuff: This page has all the random funny items that don't really go on our main blog.  Click here to check it out-- you'll be glad you did!

• Stop Robot Cruelty desktop backgrounds
• Word of the Day, which is a very unrealistic definition of a word
• Team Quotes, a page with interesting quotes from team members
• Doom Flower Comics about safety, the engineering process, and how to take over the world
• Lessons in field components, a commentary on this year's game

Videos: This page is for videos we've taken of our robots.  We hope to add some more soon.  Click here to view.

Meet the Bots: Want to meet the two PHI robots?  This page has everything you need to know, from stats to design history to photos.  Click here to see.

Need Help: We've compiled a list of information that new teams might find helpful for getting started with FTC, everything from what you'll need to how to survive your first tournament.  We hope to keep adding to our list as time goes on.  Click here to browse the Need Help page.

Suggestions?  If you have an idea of something you'd like to see on our blog-- more photos? new comics? more help for new teams? -- please let us know!  Post a comment or email us at phirobotics@yahoo.com.

Left! No wait, your other left! Wait, don't press that-- CRASH!!!

...button.
Oh brother.  There goes the field again.
As you've probably guessed, we're beginning to get our bots driveable, but since the programs are still in the works, things don't always go as planned.
Our prototypes have begun to be combined into two different bots.  Some designs have been eliminated, and others have sprung up in their places.  And now that the bots are (semi-)driveable, we're starting to test them out.
So far there haven't been any casualties, but we have had a few... well... episodes in which the bot has whacked something or somebody.  Those include (but are not limited to):
-A team-member's hand
-The scoring rack
-Someone's foot
-The scoring rack
-Random objects and/or people's legs
-The scoring rack
-The field wall
Oh yeah, and did I mention the scoring rack?

Yup.  We're working on that...
Fortunately everything seems to be coming together well, and the programs are beginning to take shape.
We're hoping to enter our first competition on November 17th, and we're all hopeful that we'll have a good bot by then.
Well, I should get back to the field, so until next time, I'm signing out.

Left!  Go left!  No, no, go right!  BANG!  Not that right, the other right!  WHACK!  Wait, try scoring the ring now.  Hey wait, not that--- CRASH!!!
...fast.




Also pictures from our summer activities:

 

 

                                                
                                                 Free rides provided by Wyaat

                                               
                                                    Phi members helping kids build robots

                                              
                                                 Lecturing kids about engineering

                                                      Making team posters

 

Team Games

 

 

 

                                                  Building robots





                                    Helping team 399 teach kids about robotics at Columbia Middle School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing the game

 

                                                           Testing programming
       

Danger, Doom, and Deadly Peril: Prototyping 101

Sometimes prototyping can be a bit dangerous, as the team has been finding out.  This year's challenge requires extendable arms- something that, if done incorrectly, can lead to disastrous consequences.  We have three different prototypes in the works, some of which can be quite dangerous when they... er... misbehave.
Out of the three arms, one in particular has proved especially deadly.  That said, out of the three, one is untested, one isn't that dangerous (provided you don't point it at someone), and the third has been nicknamed "Psycho," among other things.




Psycho (A.K.A. Phil)

"Psycho," as we have been referring to him, began as a simple claw mechanism.  After the prototyping for the claw was complete, we moved on to making a wrist, which was, semi-accidentally geared for speed.  Almost immediately after its construction it tried to take off the heads of three of the team members.  Once we had it running more smoothly, we attempted to test its behavior while carrying a weighted ring (which weigh about 2.1 ounces).
Psycho threw it ten feet down the driveway and narrowly missed hitting one of our mentors.
Oops.
After re-gearing Psycho for strength (not speed!!!), he got a bit calmer, and we were able to successfully use the wrist mechanism without flinging random objects.  We then moved on to the arm itself.
We had decided to make a linear extension arm, which quickly turned dangerous- that is to say that it very nearly launched at team members' faces.
Not to worry, no humans have been harmed in the making of this robot.
(*Scream in background*)
Um...  Except that one.
Note: Psycho is NOT the official name of one of our robots!  It is the a nickname for our robot's arm.  Apparently it is also known as Phil. (Phil D. Psycho?)

The second arm (hereafter referred to as "Elastic" unless otherwise specified) is a lot less complex than Psycho/Phil.  Consisting of a chain system that raises the arm, it not made any attempts on team members' lives, however it did attack a team member's leg.

Elastic, as shown in its extended form.

The third arm, a telescoping mechanism, is known as Fishing Pole.  It remains the only resident invention that has made no attempts to injure team members.

Fishing Pole (the arm on the work table) 

As you can see, inventing and prototyping are dangerous jobs.  Do not attempt them at home unless you are prepared to face the possible consequences.

DISCLAIMER: I as the author of this post claim no responsibility for any confusion in regards to/concerning the names/potential names of our robots.  None of them currently have names.  The arms have nicknames.

This is a video of fishing pole arm in action.

United We Stand

Phi is going to try to become more unified this year. Team Phi is going to work together and try to help the other teams at all times. We are now unifying our meetings and blogs. We also have several new members and are proud that they are becomming involved in brainstorming. The team is currently brain storming about new ideas for how to score points in the new 2012-2013 year.

FLL Educator Workshop

Last Saturday at the FIRST Lego League Educator Workshop at Joe Walker Middle School, PHI Robotics team members helped local educators build their own Lego robots and learn about how to get started with FLL.

After a morning of presentations by Eagle Robotics on how to run a FLL team, workshop attendees constructed their 'bots from Lego parts and NXT brains.  Then, they programmed their robots to complete a challenge similar to the one assigned to FLL teams each robotics year.  By the end of the day, these new Lego coaches and mentors had gained valuable firsthand experience to share with their teams about how to build a robot.

We had a lot of fun partnering with the NASA AERO Institute and Eagle Robotics on this workshop.  If you'd like our support with other workshops and events, email us at phirobotics@yahoo.com, and we'll see what we can do!

Workshop attendees learn about robotics.

A PHI team member ponders on how to build a Lego robot.

Local educators watch their robot in action.