The competition at Newmarket
Week 8-10 • March 2024
Thank you for all your support of our team! Without your sponsorship, this build season would not be possible. Here is what we have been working on over the past week.
Preparing for The competition
In preparation for the upcoming competition, there were some crucial tasks to complete on our robot. Just a week before the event, we integrated multi-camera support to enhance our vision system. Since we participate in both red and blue alliances during competitions, the final touches on the bumpers were also a priority.
A recent addition to our robot includes a strip of LED lights running across it! These lights serve a dual purpose during matches, signaling when we are either holding or shooting a note. When not in use for functional cues, they add a captivating visual element, making the robot truly stand out. Take a look!
This image is only to demonstrate the two colours. It will not have both colours during any match as we would be on either the Blue or Red Alliance.)
Day 1
Our inaugural competition day was on Saturday, as Friday primarily served for load-in and setup of our pits and to have the robot weighed and inspected. During the first day of the competition, a significant portion of our time was dedicated to resolving unforeseen issues with the robot. Engaging in extensive trial and error, we implemented on-the-fly problem-solving to enhance our robot's performance in the demanding environment. Through persistent efforts, we successfully implemented numerous improvements to both the hardware and software of the robot.
Day 2
On the second day, the investments made in refining our robot on the first day yielded positive results. We successfully fine-tuned our autoshot system, bringing it closer to its full potential and significantly improving the overall reliability of our robot. Throughout the matches on the second day, our robot established itself as a strong scorer, effortlessly delivering notes into the speaker.
After completing all 12 qualification matches, we secured the 17th position out of the 32 teams participating in the competition. During the alliance selection for the playoffs, we were chosen by the 8th seeded team to join their alliance. Our first playoff match pitted us against the 1st seeded alliance, resulting in a loss but with a respectable score. Following the loss, we entered the lower bracket of the playoffs, where we came close to victory but were ultimately eliminated.
In between matches, the media team was busy promoting our (somewhat new) mascot, Roady. Roady was a hit with the announcers and other teams, and we got plenty of pictures of students interacting with him.
Next Steps
In under a fortnight, we'll be participating in another competition at Waterloo University. Equipped with a substantial amount of data regarding our robot's performance, we are currently in the process of developing solutions to optimize both its hardware and software. This strategic approach aims to elevate our performance, considering the varying environmental conditions, particularly the distinctive lighting conditions observed between the practice field and the actual event. Our team of builders and programmers will be fully engaged in implementing these enhanced solutions to ensure improved performance and reliability.