Inspiring The Next Generation Of Scientists And Engineers


Over Thanksgiving break, we were able to get quite a few changes implemented on the robot. Perhaps the most important one was the change from the normal motors to the new high-strength motors. We were also able to perfect some of the little things that have been slowing our robot down, and making it less effective.

We were able to fix how the arm works, and we placed two of our high-strength motors as the drive motors. This allows it to go up and down much more faster, which in turns allows us to operate faster. We took the remaining two new motors and placed them on the front two wheels of the robot. This caused the back wheels to become close to useless. We determined the gearing, and we geared up the normal motor, so the back wheels will be the same speed as the new ones. We are able to move much faster, and we are hoping this will make us more competitive on the field.

We also changed the location of the batteries, so the weight would be more distributed when we have a load. We put the new motors on it, and it moves much faster, which means it will be more susceptible to tipping over. We also placed a mechanical stop on the arm, to keep it from going down too far when it comes down to the floor.

The last major change we made was to move the location of the elastic for the arm. This made it so it goes up faster, as well as come down slower. We were able to make a lot of improvements over the weekend, and we have a robot that moves around the field a lot faster, which we are hoping will give us the competitive edge we didn’t have at the last competition.