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.
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.

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.

As highlighted in our previous communications, 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.

After analyzing all of the challenges we faced during our last competition, we have made numerous tweaks and improvement 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quickstrike Niagara had an eventful weekend! Saturday was Kickoff, which is when the new game is revealed for competition season. During our meeting on Saturday, we reviewed the game manual and examined it carefully. We divided the manual into sections, assigned a group to work on each section, and then each group presented their section to the entire team. This ensured everyone understood the game. Afterwards, we talked about the different ways to play the game and different strategies we could use to play at competitions.