Keeping the work area clean was always a struggle. We dedicated a day to cleaning last week. This doesn’t actually help us as far as this year, since the build season is already over, but it’s ready for next year in addition to any work that we have during the off season. I can honestly say that this team has grown significantly in their consideration of safety. Everyone is responsible for safety.

Sam Scharles has been committed to FIRST since 2003 when she joined FLL and told her coach she was a natural-born leader. Since then, her life has revolved around FIRST, as a FLL member, a FRC Team 930 member and a FLL mentor to children who are beginning the same journey she started years ago.

As a junior on Team 930, Sam is laying groundwork for a comfortable transition within the team, preparing new members to step forward in leadership roles within the team. As the electrical lead for Team 930, she is helping underclassmen absorb the electrical concepts she eagerly inhaled during her first years on the team. When new concepts are presented, Sam always has a front row seat for the lesson at hand. She is one of few people who admittedly gets excited when mathematical concepts she learned in school are applied to her work in robotics. She will spend hours researching concepts to better understand them or to solve a problem presented to the team. One of the most refreshing things about Sam is the initiative she takes on the team, seeing what needs to be done and handling it whenever possible.

Her dedication extends to the longevity and continuity of Team 930. She contributes endless hours helping market the team and spreading the word of FIRST in whatever venue the team can find. As part of a new generation of Team 930 members, she’s worked hard over the past couple of years to create a framework for the team that models the values of FIRST and will support the team for many years. Sam was the impetus behind creating a new team handbook and redefining team expectations and requirements.

She has worked hard creating promotional material for the team and speaking to community groups and students about robotics and FIRST to promote the team and FRC. Sam has spoken in front of the school board, the Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club and school parent groups. She traveled to Ohio with a small group of Team 930 members to participate in a festival in Cleveland where she talked to other FRC teams and talked to teachers from a local high school about starting a FRC team. She needs little preparation for speaking engagements since everything about FIRST is second nature to her. She has come up with new ideas for creating awareness about our team and thus FIRST, including this year’s Team 930 Superfan shirts, which the team sold to family and friends, as well as helping organize our first Robotics Open House last spring, which was successful especially for a first-time effort.

When it comes to commitment and contribution to the team, Sam is one team member who can always be relied on to be responsible, reliable, punctual and dedicated to the task at hand. When a job has to be done, Sam is at the front of the pack pulling the rest of the team to reach the goal. She is relentless in her desire to excel and have the team perform to the best of its ability. Her personal expectations are high and that is reflected in her expectations of the team.

Sam is a proud spokesperson for women in engineering. For years she has told anyone who asks that she wants to be an electrical engineer and has never strayed from that path. She attends workshops and presentations for women in engineering whenever possible, spending several days at a camp at the University of Wisconsin – Madison one summer. She has attended leadership and citizenship camps through 4-H and has served as a camp counselor. In school, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA since middle school, has received numerous academic recognition including Kiwanis Student of the Year.

Sam exemplifies FIRST. She embraces and models FIRST values. She is proud to be a Team 930 member and proud to represent FIRST. She is eager to share her excitement about engineering with those around her and welcomes other young ladies who venture into the engineering world. Team 930 proudly nominates Sam Scharles as a FIRST Dean’s List Semi-Finalist.

If you would like to follow us, here are some twitter profiles you can keep an eye on:

@team930 — The official Team 930 account, run by @jdhartley
@jdhartley — Team 930 Webmaster
@joshholat — Josh Holat, 2010 Firmware Lead

Thanks–hope you follow us.

Everything they learned during this build season reinforces concepts introduced in school and probably many they won’t learn for a year or two. The biggest benefit however comes in the hands-on experience they gain as they learn from engineers. This is like a field trip every time the team meets because at every meeting there is a professional to answer questions, teach concepts and guide the team through whatever engineering or technical challenge they face.

It may seem overwhelming to new participants but FIRST is an exceptional program offering unparalleled opportunity. Not only do team members gain experience that few youth will ever be exposed to, they learn lifetime skills beyond engineering and technology that will help them succeed in school and life next year and many years beyond. At the top of that list of skills is time management, for nowhere is that more crucial than in FRC. With a huge task to complete in a limited amount of time, ineffective time management on the team leads to missed deadlines, which affects the end result.

Additionally, team members learn the importance of effective, clear communication and teamwork. At the regional event, team members’ public speaking skills will be tested as they share information about the team, and in some cases about FIRST, with other FRC teams, politicians, company executives, school administration and the general public. Scattered throughout the entire experience are lessons in marketing, public relations and community service.

While all these facets are important, one of the biggest benefits I have seen in my years as a mentor is the confidence members gain as they learn they can operate a drill, cut with a power saw, tap Item, design, build and program a robot. They have learned they are capable of setting and reaching a goal that may have seemed unattainable at one time. They have learned that even though they are young, they have much to offer and they can make a difference. They made friends who enjoy the same thing they enjoy and spend time in a positive atmosphere with people they trust.

In today’s age when news of youth drug use and suicide is way too common, FIRST positively impacts young people and helps shape their future. For some, it may give them a place to feel comfortable with their peers, which might not be available in the harsh, judgmental world of high school.

While Team 930 is a year-round team, the experience culminates next week with well-earned trip to regional competition. Thank you for allowing your child to join the team for three amazing days of excitement as they see the fruits of their labor come to life. We can hope there will be a possibility of national competition in April, but right now our focus will be at the US Cellular as we join 49 other teams in an unbelievable experience. Hopefully you will be able to join us for nothing compares to being part of the experience.

Sincerely,
Carol Bauer
Team 930 mentor

You see, the scrimmage Sunday taught us quite a few things about our own robot performance along with that of others. We learned that we were never as far behind as had been previously conceived. We learned that our robot was both very similar to nearly all the robots there, but also very unique. We found strengths and weaknesses to our robot and our strategy. The next two weeks will be very busy weeks.

As Sam, Josh, and I perused through the pits, checking out other robots, one thing stuck out in our minds. Everyone was sitting there, still assembling, working on, and making changes to their half-assembled robots. One team straight out told us that this was not their finished robot, that they had in fact just glued this one together just to compete. Through the season, we were worried about being behind; when in fact, we were more on schedule then 90% of the teams there.

Going down a different path, we noticed that each almost every robot fell into one of two classes; ones that had mecanum wheels and a kicker, or those that had traction wheels and a kicker. Along those lines, about half of the robots there had some form of ball control, but only three of them had a form of hanging. Of the three, only one had a nearly successful attempt. But every robot had a kicker, and every robot that hoped to use that kicker had some form of ball control. If you didn’t have ball control, you didn’t kick. And if you can’t kick, you can’t score.

We found that out the hard way… Our ball control had worked the night before, but something had gone awry. Now, every time a ball would approach our rollers, it would jam up everything. So, the nearly useless kicker before, was rendered completely useless after the fact. But luckily, we had options; and we used them. We found that we had tremendous success in playing defense, in blocking shots, in stopping hangers. We were the ultimate support robot. But that’s all we were, support. And we have set out to change that in the next two weeks.

With a kicker redesign and a pneumatic overhaul in the works, the Bears have a lot of work ahead of them. If you get a chance to see them Thursday morning, don’t expect to see them standing around. And the robot you see Thursday morning could be half of what we have by Thursday afternoon.

That was two years ago. Last year I tried again, this time spending more than just a few weeks on it—rather a few months. It turned out great. We didn’t end up winning the top website award, but my mentors said we were way up there. That meant a lot to me.

With that in mind, this past year I set out on a mission. Rather than waiting for Christmas break to start in on the new website, I started during the summer. I think the added few months really has made a difference.

I first started, as I always do, on paper. I love feeling a pen touch the paper and know that eventually it will be a bunch of tiny lights making a line of pixels. After about a dozen different ideas, I chose the one shown to the right.

An early version of the new website, hand drawn by myself.

It was simple enough (minimalistic websites are quite sexy), and the drop down menus were a must, as the team had been requesting them for months.

I let the design sit for awhile. I knew that if I did that, I would find things that needed to be changed. I left it on my desk for the rest of the summer, while keeping the entire project in the back of my head.

Thanksgiving came. I spent an hour looking over my papers again, changing a few things (like adding a sidebar for the blog section) and writing some notes down about how the media section should be rearranged.

I let it sit again.

Christmas break. Boom. Time to work. A few all nighters came and went. Everything was going great. I was happy.

The season is almost over, and the website is almost due. The media section has been redone completely. The blog looks better than ever. The pages have all been rewritten and updated. Everything is as perfect as I could make it. I am proud of what I and the web team I trained have done.

From paper to pixels, this website has evolved. I have one more evolution in me before I graduate. I know it will be even better than anything that has happened before.

As if the title of this blog isn’t enough of a cliché, how about this – the problems that you experience are always those that you don’t plan for. Sounds simple and obvious, right?

Week Six (of six), Day Two (Tuesday):

The basics of the robot are in place. The drive train looks great, with a very impressive Mecanum-based drive system. The ‘bot can drive like a tank, or strafe like an omni-wheel system. A simple button click on the analog joystick allows the driver to select between the two modes. Everything has been considered – small enough to crawl under the tunnel with ease, yet rugged enough to overcome the 12″ high “bumps” as if they’re nothing more than a Wisconsin winter-induced pot hole. Multiple test driving opportunities have proven that everything is status quo.. nothing to be concerned about.. time to focus on the soccer game—gathering the ball, kicking it across the field, blocking opponents’ actions—the strategy couldn’t be more complete.

As the team puts the finishing touches on the “ball handling” features, I begin planning the obstacle course intended to challenge would-be drivers so we might select the critical four team members to ultimately represent Team 930 at the Wisconsin Regional, and—dare I say—National competitions. The course is laid out, rules established, and it’s time to experience the final adrenaline rush of the FRC season.

The first candidate sits in front of the joystick. With skill, Mr. San Miguel delicately maneuvers the robot forward and back, strafes left and right, and attempts to rotate the ‘bot on its central axis. But something isn’t quite right.. the wheels aren’t behaving as expected on the newly laid out carpet. But that’s not possible – the optical encoders used to sense the wheels’ motion, and the closed-loop control methods employed by the controls team, should guarantee that the wheels behave like a well-trained dog. What could be happening?

Perhaps we have a weak or dead battery…. “Let’s put in a fresh battery,” I suggest. Eagerly, a team member replaces the battery, commenting “Wow, the wires are really hot!!” With a newly-charged 12V battery in place, the ‘bot exhibits the same behavior. Mr. Josh Holat (Firmware Team Lead) announces that the system is reporting 8V on our fully-charged 12V battery.

End of case history. The next 1-2 hours might represent some of the best “real world” lessons possible, and yet, none of this timeframe required a single volt or amp from a battery, rotation of a motor, or stutter of robot movement, to arrive at a conclusion.

The conclusion was simple – the wires were overheating, and the motors were overheating. This could only happen if the forces on the wheels are so strong, the motor cannot overcome them, even with a 12.75 to 1 gear ratio. The motors were stalling out! This causes not only a lot of heat, but a lot of current in the stall condition. Result: sudden drop in battery voltage, lack of response from the motors, and very hot parts! And yet, how could such a cohesive team, with many experienced engineering mentors, not recognize a design flaw of this magnitude until the final week?

Enter “Welcome to the Real World.” New product design teams, especially constrained by limited timelines, funding, and human resources (i.e, FRC season), always take risks. One must anticipate or predict the greatest risks, and focus on mitigating those risks. Speaking for myself, I would never have predicted that torque would come into question – and as a result, some signs of the problem (obvious in hindsight) were either ignored, or attributed to other root causes. Case in point:

• Wheels didn’t always behave as expected when trying to “spin” … but the battery voltage reading often indicated a weak battery. Solution: replace the battery!!
• Closed-loop wheel control system creates inherent stability challenges. If “requested” wheel movement doesn’t match “actual” wheel movement, one might assume that the control system is to blame.

Hiding behind these seemingly logical root causes might have cost Team 930 two weeks of productive design improvements.

Sounds so simple, right?
Hindsight is 20/20?

Welcome to the Real World.

The FRC community is dominated by men, a place where the minority of girls is usually few and far in-between. On Team 930 alone, there are only six girls, including two mentors. I believe that being a girl on the team isn’t just beneficial to the team, but to myself also. I have not only learned many new concepts and skills, but I have learned about myself. I have learned how to be more confident in myself and do things to challenge myself instead of shy away from things I normally might not attempt. I have raised my self esteem and independence by joining this team and doing things I’ve never thought I would be able to do. I’ve learned about things I enjoy doing on the team and more about the way I think. It’s amazing to see that being a part of FRC is doing this for me. I’m also surprised at the comradery and friendship I’ve gained by being on the team. I value everything I’ve learned and accomplished so far and cannot wait for the rest of my FRC career.

I think subconsciously, that is part of the reason I joined the team in the first place. I am the type of girl that loves to learn and I already knew that I liked working with my hands and building things, so why not a robot? As an incoming freshman, I was also looking for ways to integrate myself into the high school life too. Joining the high school’s robotics team seemed like a good way to do just that and I have to say, I wasn’t quite sure of what I expected when the season actually started. I had a ton of fun fund-raising throughout the summer and the occasional team meeting. When the season did start, I was excited as can be for kickoff and couldn’t wait to find out what the FIRST Robotics Competition was about. I think the only thing I had expected that was different was the passing of the time. I had no clue that it would pass so quickly, and was rather surprised whenever the time frame for our work was updated. Our time with the robot is gradually becoming shorter, meaning shipping is right around the corner. I’ll hate to see the robot get shipped off, but I am looking forward to regionals and competition time.

Overall, I am really glad that I have joined my high school’s robotics team, and I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. The experiences robotics has given me are amazing and I don’t think I would trade them for anything else. As a new person, and a girl, FRC has given me quite the experience, and that’s only so far. I look forward to the future and I most definitely see FIRST and FRC in it.

The doors open.
I walk in and
hear the noises

Saws cutting.
Drills drilling,
wrenches turning

I look around
and see the place
that I know
so well

People typing
People working
People thinking

I sit down
at the table
and look at
the screens

Running programs
Writing websites
Code deploying

To our robot
which is more
than just metal
and wires

It is hard work
It is team work
It is the product

Of six weeks at
this place we
have come to know

Drawing, Planning
Cutting, Wiring
Typing, Testing

Is what goes on
in this place
called robotics

Joysticks moving,
Motors spinning,
A robot moving

This is what we
want. Why we
start early, and late
All for

(continued from other column)

The fans
The mentors
The members

Of our team at
competition

For two and
a half minutes
of fame. With

Lights flashing
Music playing
Fans cheering

For our robot
to win. To take
first place with some
help from our friends
on other teams

The trophy
The awards
The glory

Is what every
team strives for
This is why we
put up with

The anger
The stress
The sadness

When things don’t
work out right
’cause it’s all
worth it for

The happiness
The fun
The achievement

That comes when
we all work
together for
our common goal

Through all of the problems including, but not limited to, ground clearance, space constraints, mounting designs, motor designs, and material incompatibility, I think the team has learned a lot as a whole and will do even better in the future now that they have the knowledge. Although there have been disputes on design and placement of certain things on our bot this year, we have always come together as a team and decided what we see as the best course of action. As we set our sights on the Wisconsin Regional and hopefully Nationals, we have high hopes for what we can accomplish this year and I feel we have the tools to do so.