Ian – Quickstrike Niagara

February Update

Week 5 • February 2025

Quickstrike Niagara

Team 6978

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.

February Newsletter

Over the past month, our team has been actively brainstorming and prototyping our robot design to tackle the game's required tasks. Using Onshape, students have been developing these prototypes, while the students on the build team refine the design to maximize efficiency and performance. With just five weeks remaining until our first competition at Niagara College in Welland, we are focused on finalizing and optimizing our robot.

Robot Weight

FIRST has updated the robot specifications this year, setting the maximum weight limit at 115 lbs. Currently, our robot exceeds this limit by 15 lbs without the battery, bumpers, and arm. To address this, our build team is diligently working to reduce weight by replacing certain metal components with thinner, lighter materials. While this requires disassembling and modifying parts of the robot, our team is efficiently tackling the challenge to ensure compliance with the new regulations.

New Parts

Our team has collaborated effectively to develop three new components to help us achieve our game objectives. Over the past few weeks, we have designed and fabricated an algae manipulator, enabling us to pick up and transport algae to the designated goal—either the algae processor or the barge—to earn points. Additionally, we have built a coral intake system, allowing our robot to collect coral and bring it onboard. This system feeds into the coral gripper, which is currently under construction, and will enable us to strategically place coral onto the reef to score points.

Extra Swerve Drives

For the 2024 season, we upgraded from a tank drive system to advanced swerve drives, significantly improving our robot’s performance. Based on their success, the team ordered an additional set for this year’s robot, along with spare units for unexpected situations during competition. Swerve drives are a vital part of our robot’s success, providing increased speed, precise maneuverability, and adaptability to obstacles and other teams' robots on the field.

PAsta Dinner

Join us for a pasta dinner fundraiser at Club Capri on February 12th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, with takeout available from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Tickets are $25. Enjoy a delicious meal featuring pasta, meatballs, salad, and dinner rolls while we showcase our 2023-2024 season robot. A 50/50 raffle will run from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, along with additional raffle prizes. Our LEGO robotics team will also be present, demonstrating their skills. Don't miss this exciting evening of great food and robotics!

2025 Kickoff Newsletter

Week 1 • January 2025

Quickstrike Niagara

Team 6978

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.

2025 Kickoff

Welcome to Quickstrike Niagara’s 2025 season kickoff! We began the season on Saturday January 4th with the exciting reveal of this year’s game. Just like last year, we divided into groups to analyze the game manual. Each student focused on a specific section, then shared their findings with the rest of the team. This collaborative approach allowed us to quickly understand the game’s requirements and jumpstart the design process for our robot. Following the manual review, we brainstormed ideas for how our robot could tackle the tasks needed to maximize points during matches.

Designing the Robot

After the robot is built, we’ll need to test it extensively. Each build season, we construct field objects and game pieces to practice with. This year is no different, as we’ve been busy assembling and experimenting with components for the 2025 game. One crucial element we’re working on is The Barge, which will allow us to test our robot’s climbing capabilities. Without these practice elements, we wouldn’t know how well our robot performs until competition, which could make troubleshooting a challenge. These preparations are key to ensuring our robot is ready for the season.

Preparing Materials

Creating a high-performing robot requires careful planning and strategic decision-making. To maximize our performance within the constraints of time and resources, we’re carefully evaluating which features to include. Challenges this season include adapting to new devices and game pieces. For instance, we need to figure out how to properly mount and use the new radio. Another significant challenge is designing a mechanism to maneuver Coral pieces and place them on The Reef both quickly and accurately. Solving these problems is essential to building a robot capable of excelling in competition.

Next Steps

Looking ahead, our focus will shift to prototyping key functions for the robot. We plan to develop a 3-axis arm for picking up Coral and an algae pickup mechanism, similar to the note collector we used last season. Additionally, our robot will need to climb, so we’ll be tackling the challenge of navigating this year’s complex climbing elements. These prototypes will be critical as we move closer to finalizing our design and ensuring that our robot is competition-ready.

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STEMley Cup Newsletter

Offseason Preparation

Week 14 • October 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.

STEMLEY CUP

The STEMley Cup is an off-season competition that we participated in to gain experience on our new Swerve-Drive and for our new members to gain experience in FIRST Robotics Competitions.

Preparations

In the weeks prior to the competition we built new bumpers to protect the robot, reinforced the swerve drive and removed the robots ability to climb on the stage because it was not a necessity. We changed our programming language from Java to C++, which will make the robot more efficient and run code up to 200 times faster. We also traveled multiple times to our practice field to practice and teach driving to our more inexperienced drive team members.

Competition DAy

In our first match, we had a controller error that made our controls inverted, as well as a vision failure with our gyro sensor, but despite these issues we won the match thanks to our alliance partners. In between our first and second match we repaired these issues. In one of our matches we had to make last minute changes to our blue bumpers due to them being too low to the ground as we found the brackets were damaged. We successfully made it to finals with the help of our alliance, and earned second place overall, overcoming all the technical errors we encountered. Our drive team members gained experience through the competition that ultimately led to our teams success.

Next Steps

Our next steps for the off season are to teach programming, design, driving, and learning how to operate the machines at our disposal. We will also be fixing minor issues within the robot to ensure that the errors we experienced during the competition do not happen again.

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2024 Year End Newsletter

Ontario Provincial Championship &
year end update

Week 13 • July 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.

Before Provincials

During our competition in Waterloo, we encountered issues with notes getting stuck in a gap on the guarding on the robot. To address this, we modified our design. Additionally, to prevent our chain from slipping, we installed chain tensioners to ensure it stayed in place. With these adjustments, we felt confident in our preparation for the provincials.

Day 1

Upon arriving at the International Centre in Toronto for the competition, we were assigned to the Technology division. Alongside approximately 50 other teams, we set up our pit and participated in a few practice matches. During our qualification matches, we encountered minimal issues with our robot and won 4 out of 6 matches.

Day 2

Day 2 of the competition had a lot of really close matches, with some being a difference of as little as 2 points. We won 3 out of our 6 matches, and did not face many issues with our robot. Compared to the many amazing teams there, we were doing quite well. With our high ranking in the qualification matches, there was a high likelihood of an alliance captain picking us on day 3.

Day 3

Our third and final day of the competition began with alliance selection. After teams made tough decisions and compromises, we were picked for the third alliance. Despite the promising conditions so far, our first playoff match had us face a huge obstacle; our breaker shattering. Halfway through our first match, our breaker was destroyed and our robot rendered immobile. Even with the strict time constraints, we were able to replace the breaker before the next match. Unfortunately, our shooter accuracy was off and we weren’t able to secure a victory.

Next Steps

Since we are finished with our competitions for the season, we are now preparing students for the competitions next season. To start we are teaching some students how to make models in CAD programs, meaning they will be able to create designs for parts on our robot. Related to this, we are also attempting to redesign our robot to use a swerve drive instead of a tank base, meaning we will be able to navigate around the field quicker.

This year many of our students will be finishing high school, meaning they will no longer be eligible to be students on the team and some may be back with the team as mentors. Since we will need new programmers next year, we will be teaching some students to program in C++ for the robot. If we are able to accomplish all this, we will have the capacity to build amazing robots quite efficiently next year.

Off-season

Recently, during our off-season, we built a swerve drive for our robot, which we plan to use at this year's STEMley Cup. Compared to our old tank-based movement system, the swerve drive offers numerous improvements and enhanced capabilities.

The robot is holonomic, allowing it to move and rotate in any direction independently. Its movement direction is not influenced by its rotation, enabling precise navigation around objects. This characteristic also simplifies the autonomous system's maneuvering, making it more efficient and easier to control.

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Week 12 Newsletter

The competition at Waterloo

Week 12 • 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.

Robot Adjustments

As highlighted in our previous newsletters, our robot encountered unforeseen challenges during the Newmarket competition. In preparation for our upcoming event at Waterloo, significant adjustments were necessary. We incorporated automatic speaker and amplifier functionalities, enhanced the precision of our tracking system, installed new wheels, and bolstered the frame. With these modifications implemented, we are fully prepared for our forthcoming competition.

Day 1

Our initial day at Waterloo proved highly successful. Our robot showcased significant improvement compared to the previous competition, even securing 1st place in several matches. With fewer adjustments needed, we could devote more attention to optimizing our match performance. Notably, our autonomous capabilities matched those of top-tier teams, and our shooting accuracy was exceptional.

Day 2

As the second day of the competition unfolded, we concluded our qualification matches and transitioned into the alliance selections phase. It was with great excitement that we secured the esteemed position of alliance captain for alliance 5. Following thorough deliberation, we extended invitations to teams 4903 and 4617 to join us, which they graciously accepted. With our alliance solidified, we are poised to approach the playoff matches with unwavering confidence and determination.

We won our first playoff match with a score of 77, but unfortunately were not able to secure a victory in our second and third match.

Next Steps

Following our commendable performance at Waterloo, it appears we may advance to provincials in less than a week. Currently positioned 71st, it's unlikely we'll drop low enough to be ineligible. With limited time for robot adjustments, our focus is solely on tournament preparation. During Waterloo, our supply of nearly 100 buttons depleted before the opening ceremonies. This week, we aim to print at least 150 buttons, hopefully sustaining us until noon. As team 1114 wraps up their second competition, accessing the practice field may prove challenging. Nonetheless, buoyed by our strong showing at Waterloo, we approach provincials with optimism, recognizing that a robust performance there could propel us to the world stage.

We ended up in 79th place overall and received our invitation to Provincials!!

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Week 11 Newsletter

Preparing for Waterloo

Week 11 • 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.

Tweaking the Robot

After analyzing all of the challenges we faced during our last competition, we have made numerous tweaks and improvements to the robot, ensuring its reliability and performance. First, we have added automatic speaker and amp capabilities, making travelling to both stations much easier. Next, we improved the accuracy of our tracking system and improved our sensor fusion algorithm. The robot also needed a durability improvement, so we put on new wheels and reinforced the climb frame and wheel base.

During the week when we’re not refining our robot, we’re hard at work practicing for our competition, only a few days away. Today we’ll be packing up our robot and getting it ready to be taken to Waterloo on Thursday.

Next Steps

On Thursday, March 21 we are going to attend a competition at Waterloo. This competition is quite important because if we earn enough district points, we may be able to attend provincials. We currently have 21 points and we will need about 50 points to qualify for provincials.

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Week 8-10 Newsletter

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.

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Week 7 Newsletter

Team 6978 Week 7 Update

Week 7 • February 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.

The Practice Field

Over the past weekend, we visited the practice field of Team 1114. Within just an hour, we managed to exhaust one of the motors on the practice robot. On the brighter side, our testing of the competition robot showed some progress, although there is still ample room for improvement.

This video is a demonstration of our autonomous program

Media Team Update

In the upcoming weeks, we'll embark on the task of revamping our website. We plan to update pages with outdated or missing information and give the entire site a more appealing look.

When participating in competitions, it's crucial to present ourselves effectively. To enhance our team's visibility, we've crafted a banner design that we aim to have printed soon.

Next Steps

In the upcoming week, we're focused on enhancing the competition robot by installing LEDs and additional cameras. The completion of the practice robot takes precedence, as it provides a platform for refining our offensive capabilities. For the competition robot, we still need to connect a router, for which we've 3D printed the holder, and finalize both sets of bumpers. Our strategic plan involves making extensive use of the practice field in the meetings leading up to the competitions.

Our banner to be used at competitions

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Week 6 Newsletter

Team 6978 Week 6 Update

Week 6 • February 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.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

We initiated the robot-painting procedure last week, and it proved to be a more intricate task than one might think. The initial phase involved dismantling the robot and subjecting its components to sandblasting for thorough cleaning. Subsequently, we applied paint using electrostatic powder coating. Following this, we placed the parts in an oven, allowing it to reach a temperature of 400°F, a process that typically takes up to an hour. Once the oven attains the desired temperature, we leave the components inside for 5 minutes to complete the coating process. After cooling, we reassemble the robot.

Robot before being painted

Robot after being painted

Testing

Next Steps

During this week, our efforts were directed towards minimizing the workload on the driver and operator through increased automation of various robot functions. A notable addition was the Autoshot system, leveraging our enhanced vision program to determine the robot's position. This system calculates the optimal angle and velocity for shooting a note. Utilizing these upgraded tools, we engaged in extensive practice sessions aimed at successfully shooting into the Amp and Speaker. Ultimately, our hard work paid off as we accomplished a three-note autonomous run.

In the upcoming week, our plan is to explore the possibility of utilizing Team 1114's practice field to enhance our driving and operating skills. As the competition dates draw near, the majority of our focus for the next week will be dedicated to improving the reliability of our robot and finalizing the autonomous functions.

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Week 2-5 Newsletter

Team 6978 Week 5 Update

Week 2-5 • February 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.

A visit from the MPP

On Saturday, February 10th, Quickstrike welcomed a visit from Sam Oosterhoff, MPP of Niagara West. During his visit, students provided an overview of this year's game and conducted a demonstration of the robot. The discussion delved into the intricacies of the robot's construction and assembly process, exploring the diverse skills necessary to accomplish these tasks.

We explored the potential skills and abilities that students can acquire through robotics, emphasizing teamwork and confidence-building. A notable aspect is that many students who may not have a typical interest in sports find a valuable avenue in robotics teams. Within this environment, they develop hands-on building experience and enhance their self-confidence in their abilities.

Testing

This week, we concluded testing on our four-wheel shooter. Our upcoming objectives involve incorporating vision technology to autonomously adjust the shooter's angle, allowing precise shooting from any location on the field. Additionally, we successfully completed testing on our climbing mechanism, a strategic move that promises valuable points towards the end of the game.

Our focus persists on refining our two-note autonomous program, with the ultimate goal of expanding its capabilities to collect three or four notes. A significant aspect of this effort involves the implementation of a path-following system. Leveraging encoder sensors on the drive motors for the drive train, we employ odometry tracking and differential drive kinematics to precisely monitor the robot's position on the field. To execute this, we utilize a closed-loop feedback controller, ensuring accurate path following during gameplay.

Here's a video of our autonomous program:

Next Steps

In the week ahead, our agenda includes the disassembly of the robot for sandblasting, followed by a fresh coat of paint in our team colours. Once the reassembly is finished, we'll proceed with extensive testing and programming, complemented by visits to the practice field for additional driving tests.

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February Update

Week 5 • February 2025

Quickstrike Niagara

Team 6978

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.

February Newsletter

Robot Weight

New Parts

Extra Swerve Drives

PAsta Dinner

2025 Kickoff Newsletter

Week 1 • January 2025

Quickstrike Niagara

Team 6978

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.

2025 Kickoff

Designing the Robot

Preparing Materials

Next Steps

Offseason Preparation

Week 14 • October 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.

STEMLEY CUP

Preparations

Competition DAy

Next Steps

Ontario Provincial Championship & year end update

Week 13 • July 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.

Before Provincials

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Next Steps

Off-season

The competition at Waterloo

Week 12 • 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.

Robot Adjustments

Day 1

Day 2

Next Steps

Preparing for Waterloo

Week 11 • 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.

Tweaking the Robot

Next Steps

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

Day 1

Day 2

Next Steps

Team 6978 Week 7 Update

Week 7 • February 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.

The Practice Field

Media Team Update

Next Steps

Team 6978 Week 6 Update

Week 6 • February 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.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Testing

Next Steps

Team 6978 Week 5 Update

Week 2-5 • February 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.

A visit from the MPP

Testing

Next Steps

Ontario Provincial Championship &
year end update