41
2014-2015 Vex Robotics Season Kickoff September 2 & 3 2014
We are a 501c non-profit to house our Vex and Lego programs
The Vexmen build and program robots in a competitive program called the Vex Robotics Competition run by RECF.
Only parts from IFI’s Vex system can be used
Competitions run from Dec - March
Your kids will be exposed to Vex robotics in school this year via Project Lead The Way
However, We Are Different: We are a robotics club outside the school
100% Parent Organized and Run
We will compete in an International Competition
We Provide a More In Depth Program With More Hands On Time With The Robots and Programming
Educate and inspire roboteers
Build confidence & competitive drive
Teach critical thinking
Problem solving skills and persistence
Expose students to STEM professionals
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
4 5 6 7
2013-14 FLL Teams PM
SE
CBA
HE
WCF
TEM
StJo
BW
SM
CCS
WB
LMS
UH
EW
KDM
PV
LE 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
6 7 8 9 10 11
2013-2104 Vexmen
LMS
STEM
DMS
East
GVM
West
St Elizabeth
PierceM
ST PPJ
Home School
Grew to 22 teams last year
Vexmen Cover Grades 6 Through 11
We are one of the largest robotics clubs in the country (maybe the world)
Attended world championships in the past 5 years
Won awards at world championships past 4 years
Run additional spring educational classes after main season to learn advanced concepts
Middle School Teams 80A Archangel 80C Colossus 80H Havoc 80I Iceman 80M Mercury 80N Nightcrawler 80P Pyro
High School Teams 81A Apocalypse 81B Banshee 81D Darwin 81G Gambit 81J Juggernaut
80R Rogue 80T Thunderbolt 80W Warpath 80X X-23 80Y Cypher 90C Cyclops
81M Mystique 81S Sabretooth 81W Wolverine 91S Stuff
Chief Roboteer: Glenn McMillen
Treasurer: Steve Lubeck
Secretary: Chris Hallahan
FLL Scott Featherman
Science Motion, forces, gear ratios, speed, energy
Technology Programming & computational thinking
Engineering Design, mechanics, problem solving, constraints
Math Ratios, control systems, trigonometry, estimation
We Are A 100% Parent Run Organization Each Team Needs 1-2 Parent Mentors (min)
5 roboteers maximum Parents help guide the kids as project managers We will offer help teaching and guiding mentors
We need other parental help at events & running the club
Judges & referees at events Website, photography publishing Parts Czar/Quartermasters
All Day Events, January - March On a Saturday 8am – 5pm
Expect to stay until the end to pack up
Most are January – first week of March
Tournament Style Paired with another robot, random in qualifying
Additional Judged Awards Design, programming, amaze, build construction
Separate Middle & High School Divisions However, many are open competitions
This year, all World Championship spots will be awarded at the PA State Championships
Earn 1 of 50 spots to qualify from season events Only teams from PA may participate at PA States
High School & Middle School Divisions This Year! 9 Spots Allocated to Pennsylvania For Worlds
7 High School Spots, 2 Middle School Spots 1 Excellence Award 1 Excellence Award 1 Design Award 1 Design Award 3 Tournament Champs 1 Programming Skills 1 Robot Skills Champ
PA States Held at Norristown on 2/28/2015
Meeting at 6th Grade Center Clean up requirements increased
Looking at additional space Weekend availability
Additional storage
Permanent field Set Up
This year’s price is higher due to rent $375 per child
Every effort is made to keep costs down
Checks made payable to Brandywine Robotics
Your $375 covers…. Parts
Competition entry fees
Team registration fees
Space rental
Utilities, insurance & other club expenses
Tuesday or Wednesday Build Nights Limit to max 12 teams per night
o Wednesday night was at capacity last year
Night selection process
o 2013 Wednesday night teams have first selection
o FLL graduating teams have next selection
o New members after that
Really tall robots required Tipping over robots a risk
Grip & lift 1.5 lb cubes
Skyrise section building
No more handling robots on field
Email Blasts #1 Mechanism Group emails come from [email protected]
Please also add [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] to avoid spam filters
Vexmen Website www.vexmen.com Calendar of next events on side bar Next event details on home page
Each team will have an email group E.g. [email protected] goes to all 81J
Additional Tools We Use Sign Up Genius – sign up for jobs at events, food, tours Survey Monkey – surveys and various forms
2013 Vexmen P&L Summary:
$37k Income o$11k donations and fundraising,
$23k from regular season dues, $3k spring session dues
$34.5k expenses o $8k Utilities,
$15k Vex parts, $8k event fees, $3.5k other supplies
Year 1
Build basics, learn the tools
Iterate your design, find what works
Interview practice, team building
Start to learn programming
Year 2
More solid designs, a competitive robot
More “stick time” - drive skills increase
Better at planning and iterating
Design notebook starts to look good
Year 3 Great, solid designs Design process & independent thinking Position & speed control using Trigonometry, velocity, acceleration, and sensors Good driving techniques, better programming
Year 4+ Programming skills increase Innovative builds Better communication skills Better planning skills – agile development Control systems, sensor use, coding strucutres
New people stay here to learn more
Existing teams register with Chris
Then new teams register afterwards
In a 2006 assessment American students ranked
21st out of 30 in science literacy among students
from developed countries, and 25th out of 30 in
math literacy.
On a 2009 assessment, 4th graders showed no
signs of progress for the first time in many years,
and 8th graders tallied only modest evidence of
progress. We are not advancing as we must.
The average salary for a 25-34yr old STEM worker is 24% higher than non-STEM workers
We are here to play a game
Iterative improvement each week
A collaborative team, group and community
Righty tighty lefty loosey
Build basic drive systems & mechanisms
Programing & sensors
Team skills
Learn more advanced programming as your skills increase
Learn about engineering and mechanics as your creations complexity rises
Robot
Mechanical
Control
Gear Box
Wheels
Power Transmission
Drive
Chain/Sprocket
Electrical Programmin
g Manipulator
Chassis
Component Level
System Level
Product Level
Hardware Level
Sub-System Level
Omni wheels – two sizes 4” & 2.75”
Unlike a car we don’t typically move the front wheels to steer Either up front or all around Holonomic
4” High grip wheels
2.75” Small grip wheels
5” Low traction wheels
Mechanum wheels Allows strafing in a normal wheel set up, but slow
Motors drive the robot and power the arms and feeders
High strength “393”
Low power “269”
Gears create more power or more speed
Vex Cortex: The brain of the operation Controls up to 10 motors, and 20 sensors Powered by a 7V battery with a 9v backup
Joysticks: X-Box like controls Up to two together drive the robot Communicates via VexNet (802.11g)
Year 1
Build basics, learn the tools
Iterate your design, find what works
Interview practice, team building
Start to learn programming
Year 2
More solid designs, a competitive robot
More “stick time” - drive skills increase
Better at planning and iterating
Design notebook starts to look good
Year 3 Great, solid designs Design process & independent thinking Position & speed control using Trigonometry, velocity, acceleration, and sensors Good driving techniques, better programming
Year 4+ Programming skills increase Innovative builds Better communication skills Better planning skills – agile development Control systems, sensor use, coding strucutres
