Robotics
I have been part of the FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Team and the Skills Robotics Team throughout high school.
I competed in the 2023 and 2024 Skills Alberta Robotics competitions, earning the Safety Award with my partner in 2023. From competing in these competitions, my design thinking skills have improved and I have developed my ability to adapt to problems and creatively think of solutions. In Skills 2024, our robot was leading in first place on the first day. On the second day, the belt chain that lifted a linear slide and allowed us to score snapped and unfortunately we could not continue.
While competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge, we built our robot with a large group of 15 teammates rather than only a partner. This allowed me to work effectively in a group and take the lead in designing the robot. In the 2023-2024 FTC Centerstage game, my team, Corax Machina, placed third in our region.
Design Theory
Competing in the Centerstage FTC event helped me understand design theory as I approached problems with many solutions. One challeng was to pick up a hollow hexagonal brick, which I approached three different ways.
The first way was to have a single post push into the middle of the pixel then spin, protruding 3 scoops out the bottom to grab the pixel from underneath and hold it in place. This failed because the scoops could not get under the pixel properly.
The next design was similar in that 4 prongs would extend out of a post in the center and hold the pixel in place using friction. The parts were too small and the pixel did not have enough friction to be steadily held by the extrusions.
Our final design included two prongs with rubber tips separating to hold the pixel in place. This allowed for no small parts and enough friction to hold the pixel effectively.
