After just a few days of work, we have an automatic balancing proof-of-concept working. Using a gyro to measure the degree offset, corrections are made autonomously to balance the bridge with different amounts of weights on it.

Our Drive System, Obstacle crossing, Balancing, Shooting, and Ball Retrieval subcommittees continued to work hard on putting design proposals together and testing out different concepts. It was a great day!

We tested Mecanum wheels on a test chassis going over the bridge and barrier. While it’s viable, we are still evaluating these and other options for our drivetrain.

Building the field elements & test chassis, working on vision tracking, lots more!

Team 3309 hosted a 2012 beta test control system seminar for all teams in the Orange County area on December 10, 2011. At this seminar we explained and demonstrated the new features of the 2012 control system to teams who were not involved in the beta testing. It was a great opportunity to get up to speed with the new system before kickoff. Vice President of Engineering Vinnie Magro, Programming Chairman Vincente Ciancio, and mentor Mr. Mike Mason did a great job leading the presentation and everyone got a lot of hands-on time with the robot and got their questions answered.

Update: the Beta Test Seminar Live Stream is now complete. See the full webcast below!

The Animation Committee, led by Adriano Bianchini, has just finished work on the Safety Animation contest submission! Friarbots team members have learned a great deal from FIRST Robotics, but nothing more crucial than safety. We all understand that working on an expensive and complex robot requires utmost attention, nourished minds, and a good night’s sleep. Check it out below, and pass it on to your friends and family to spread the message about safety and FIRST.

The Safety Animation for Team 3309 was made with Autodesk 3ds Max 2012. The footage was assembled with sound using Adobe Premiere.