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.

Compared to the intensity of build season, (Which kicks off on Saturday, January 7th, 2012) not nearly as much.

But for our many new members this year, there have been an abundance of activities and learning opportunities occurring.  Here is a quick summary describing what the team has done in the past couple weeks.

On October 15th, we hosted a Middle School Robotics workshop for 7th and 8th graders in our surrounding communities. Students had a great time learning about robots, how to design and manufacture them, and what it takes to program one. It fun a fun experience for both students and the leaders running the workshop.

Animations

• The animations committee has been hard at work bringing together the key elements of a successful safety animation. These include the plot for the animation, character and background design, and teaching members how to efficiently use the provided Autodesk software for the actual animating.

Awards

• The awards committee has been busy making a list of, and organizing, key shots that should be incorporated into the upcoming Chairman’s Award video.

CAD/Design

• The newer members of the CAD/Design committee have been learning about how Computer Aided Design is incorporated into robotics, and how to make simple objects in the editor. More experienced members have been refining their skills and exploring the advanced features of the editor.

Fundraising

• The fundraising committee has been focused on discovering tactics to gain funds for this year’s season. These tactics include recycling and an extended outreach to supportive companies in our community.

Public Relations

• The PR committee has been discovering unique tactics for reaching out to foreign Servite, Rosary, and Connelly liaisons.

Programming

• The Programming committee has been busy teaching members Java concepts, how the code is implemented into the robot, and basic programming exercises for coding at home. Advanced members have also been brainstorming exciting new implementations with the Microsoft Kinect systems.

The schedule of meetings can be viewed on the Calendar page.  Remember to check often for the newest information, and feel free to add it to your own Google Calendar.