FIRST Robotics 2021 - Springing Back

After a Covid lockdown of 11 months we've been able to get the FIRST robotics team together for in person meetings beginning in February.  It's gone well.  New recruits have found us.  Old Hands have come back to work even though they are seniors and won't be around next year.  There is no competition this spring so it has all been development projects.

There was, is, and shall remain much to do.  With the move into the school we will not have the immediate shop access that has been so handy the last six years.  On the other hand we no longer have to figure out how to get students to our off site build HQ.

There will be changes.  Probably more "off the shelf" solutions.  But improvisation will continue to be a major force.  One crew for instance has been at work "designing the tools", and we will be 3D printing precise templates for drilling and riveting.

The best part of it all is that I don't know exactly what they are all up to.  There's a lot of them, we have other coaches on hand and more to the point the students are more self directed than in the past.  Maybe being in the school, which is home turf for them, has a subtle impact.

Anyway, we are standing down as of May 1st, giving members new and old a break.  Here's some pictures from our final spring session.

First order of business was sorting everything out.  We need to be able to find things when we start up again in a few months.

So many little widgets.  

We are also prepping our last competition robot for demos.  Here a brave volunteer is holding the target while the robot lines up its vision tracking on the reflective tape.  The ball shooter is not at full power.

They have worked hard enough, especially for spring time.  Snacks and a chance to relax.  The fancy hat has been handed down from the original team.  Tonight it got a new owner.  

Various game pieces and robot parts from previous seasons were available for anyone who wanted them.  Future dorm room decor perhaps.  Here an odd disc like game piece is being used as a hat.  With the hideous fluorescent lighting it does rather look like a halo....

Some work of course continues especially on the media/business side.  And we are gearing up for Robot School where we will break in a batch of new recruits.  Exciting times ahead.  

Addendum:  Because the students do many things better than I do, including photo/video work, here's a YouTube bit on our graduating seniors.  Some day I'll be bragging that I worked with them "way back when"...