Blog Posts

Hello! Today, January 20th, 2024 Q Branch logs back in to tell YOU about our second week of the build season; this week was all about making our robot come to life. Our Mechanics Subteam has built the final chassis, and has started building the arms and intake. Alongside the Mechanics subteam, is the CAD Subteam, they work with Mechanics to provide measurements as needed, and design the elevator. Meanwhile, our Controls Subteam works on perfecting the auton for this year’s challenge. In sync. our Business Subteam has planned out their agenda for the rest of the season and designed and ordered our swag. We’re also getting more active on our social media so, if you want more updates throughout the season, be sure to keep up with us as we post frequently on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you at districts, and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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Hello! Today, January 14th, 2024 Q Branch logs back in to tell YOU about our first week of the build season; this week was all about generating our robot idea and bringing it to life. The Mechanics and CAD subteams work together to prototype the robot to get accurate measurements and visual representation of what the components are going to look like separately before CAD puts it all together. Meanwhile, the Controls subteam uses last year’s robot chassis to go over the code and revise/practice with it as needed. In addition, the Business subteam is hard at work, revising documents and going over the essay and essay questions as needed. We’re also getting more active on our social media so, if you want more updates throughout the season, be sure to keep up with us as we post frequently on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you at districts, and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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The Second Skills Camp of 2023 and 2024 Kickoff

1/6/2024

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Hello! Today, January 6th, 2024 Q Branch logs back in to tell YOU about our second skills camp and our kickoff day. Our second skills camp is all about preparing new and old members for the work we do during the build season as each of the captains takes the lead in getting their new members accustomed to the tools and resources used. This ensures that the new members can participate and keep up with the subteam they’re assigned to.
Then comes kickoff day, which is when the team gathers together to watch the newly released game video and go over game rules with the manual. We then play a mock version of the game using human players to decide the most important scoring and mechanical aspects. We give a special thanks to team 3658, the Robo-Beavers, for joining us this year; and, as always, thank you for tuning in. Be sure to keep up with our social media as we post frequent updates on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you at districts, and remember, “This is How We Robot.

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Hello! Today, November 18th 2023, Q Branch logs back in to tell YOU about our first skills camp of the year. Today is all about introducing newer members to the work we do here in the different subteams and getting to know them. Each of the captains work with their corresponding mentors to create a presentation and a hands on activity that embodies the subteam they’re in. This ensures that the new members are equipped with the basic knowledge that they need to choose a subteam to commit to. For the second half of Skills Camp, we participate in team bonding activities to build communication and collaboration skills. We then end the day with a debriefing from our coach, so that we know the rules and expectations of this team. Thank you for tuning in, and be sure to keep up with our social media as we post frequent updates on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you at Kick-Off, and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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Week 6 - We Made it to the Finish Line

2/18/2023

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Hello this is Q Branch logging in to tell YOU about our sixth and final week of build season! This week has been all about testing the program that our Controls team made while our Mechanics and CAD team have been on standby to fix any issues that come up. On the business side of things, the essay has been submitted, and our business subteam is working on any other documentation. This includes the Strategy and Development, the Business Plan, and even our presentation for the judges.
After this week, our drive team will spend time practicing and polishing their skills with the robot in preparation for the Chicago Regional event in March. Simultaneously our business subteam will spend time perfecting the presentation for the judges. Be sure to keep up with our social media as we post frequent updates on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you at the Chicago Regional and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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Build Season - Week 5, The Final Countdown!

2/11/2023

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Hello, this is Q Branch logging in to tell YOU about our fifth week of build season! Our Mechanics and CAD team have been polishing the small details on our robot, including the intake and bumpers. The Controls team have been hard at work finalizing our Auton Planning routines, swerve drive, and checking the consistencies in our tilt. The Business team finished editing the essay questions and continued to edit the essay. Through all of this, our wonderful Safety Captain gave a presentation on robotics safety.
In this final week, our goal is to have the robot and coding completely finished and have our drive team prepare for a busy competition season starting next month. The Business subteam will finish and submit the FIRST Impact Award essay and questions and start working on our presentation and other documentation like our business plan and Strategy & Development. Be sure to keep up with our social media as we post frequent updates on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you next week and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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Build Season - Week 4

2/4/2023

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Hello, this is Q Branch, logging in to tell YOU about our fourth week of build season. This week, our Mechanics and CAD subteam have completely finished our robot and are now making sure all electronics work. With the robot done, our Controls subteam have been working on testing their program and creating the Auton routine. We’ve also gotten our drive team chosen and have been working with them to help them practice with the robot. While this goes on, our Business subteam submitted their nomination for the Woodie Flowers Award and have finished drafting the essay and essay questions; they’re now working on the final editing.
Our goal for the end of next week is to have the robot and our drive team competition-ready. Mechanics and CAD will be at hand wherever they are needed while Controls takes the lead on working with their program. The Business subteam will finalize the essay and essay questions and have it ready for submission. Be sure to keep up with our social media as we post frequent updates on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you next week and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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Build Season - Week 3 - We're Halfway There

1/28/2023

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Hello, this is Q Branch, logging in to tell YOU about our third week of build season. This week we’ve been busy at work with our Mechanics subteam finalizing the parts for the robot. We’ve made our intake, bumpers, grabber, an elevator, our electronics and pneumatics boards, and our final chassis, and with all these parts made, our Controls subteam got straight to work. They’ve been working on our auton program, TeleOP controls, encoders, and programming everything while assigning the buttons. With our design coming to life, all our CAD subteam has to do is specify where the holes for support go. Along with this, our business subteam has been hard at work designing our pins and locker posters to showcase our team members, all the while interacting with our social media and continuing with our essay and essay questions.
Much progress has been made this week and we plan to do even more now that we’re halfway through the build season. Mechanics and Controls will continue finalizing all the programming, parts and working out any kinks along the way. CAD will work out the support holes then help with implementing the digital work onto the actual robot and Business will continue to work on the essay. Be sure to keep up with our social media as we post frequent updates on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. See you next week and remember, “This is How We Robot.”

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Build Season - Week 1 & 2

1/21/2023

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Hello, this is Q Branch logging in to tell YOU about our first and second week of build season. On Kick-Off Day, our team met to watch the challenge, model it with our human players, then utilize a QFD to determine our strategies and what parts to make for our robot. So far, our Mechanics and CAD team have been busy spending hours on prototyping and finalizing our elevator, intake and swerve drive. They are also currently constructing a base for the robot, along with bumpers. Our Controls team finished their swerve drive code and are working to modify it to fit our last year’s code. Now, what’s the Business team doing? Well, we’re documenting it all while working on the FIRST Impact essay and finishing drafting the essay questions.
We’ve made ample progress in these last two weeks, but there’s still a long way to go. We plan on finalizing construction on the elevator, grabber, and double arm rotation. The Controls will continue to work on Auton planning routines and Teleop controls, and the Business will move forth on the FIRST Impact essay. Do be sure to keep up with our social media as we post updates on our instagram and TikTok. We'll see you next week and remember, “This is How We Robot”.