The Warlocks are excited to begin the 2016 season! Week one started out strong with the reveal for this year’s game, Stronghold, and we have hit the ground running! After our crowd was informed of the basics with the game, we broke up into small groups. Each group focused on different aspects of competition, including strategy, field elements, and design. We even did a human play through of the game!
Throughout the school week, our build team has been working hard on prototyping different designs for our robot’s shooter. They have also been brainstorming and prototyping different ways to drive over different defenses.
Our CAD team has been very busy drawing up models of possible robot designs, drafting scenarios of different ways to get around the field and different types of shooters.
In the programming room, programmers can be found working diligently in LabView, designing a possible camera to place on our robot. In addition, they have been working on improving our program for driving straight.
The Warlocks rookie members have been very hands on, learning their respective field such as CAD and build, while also learning the ins and outs of how a robotics season works.
As a team, we continue to discuss strategy, breaking into teams trying to get the most points possible. So far the Warlocks have had a great and busy week one. Here’s to an even better week two!
On January 9th, 2016, FIRST released the new 2016 FRC game called FIRST Stronghold. FIRST Stronghold is played by 2 alliances of three teams each who compete against each other to breach their opponents defenses, weaken their castle, and capture their castle’s tower. For more information about this year’s game, make sure to check out or about the game page on our website
For six weeks following the release of the 2016 game, high school students will be working with one of thousands of teams across the globe to build a robot to play and compete in this years challenge. High school students, along with their fellow teachers and mentors, will be tasked with the challenge of designing, building, and programming a 120 pound robot to compete at regional and district competitions across the country and around the globe. To check on the progress of our team throughout the build season, check out our weekly build season updates on our blog.
Lockport Robotics FIRST team 1507 would like to thank Reid Petroleum and ExxonMobile for partnering with the WARLOCKS again in 2016! We are building a better future for today and tomorrow!
ExxonMobil is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. ExxonMobile is the world’s 5th largest company by revenue, and the third largest publicly traded company by market capitalization. Reid Petroleum is a family business, and a leading marketer of transportation fuels to customers throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Each and every year, FIRST releases a new game that requires each FRC team needs to design, build, and program a new robot to compete in. In addition to the human driver period, called the teleoperated period, each game has what is called an autonomous period. The autonomous period is a portion of a match where the robot is controlled via pre-programmed instructions. During this period, the robot is allowed to use its on board sensors to aid it in completing its tasks. One of the many different sensors that can be used is a simple network camera.
This network camera can be used for tracking different objects on the field, such as the tote pictured above. Each game provides opportunities for vision tracking, which usually involves detecting the location of retro-reflective tape on a game piece or around a goal. In the past, the Warlocks have experimented with vision tracking using an old network camera out of the kit of parts from ~2009. With the older style robot controllers in the past, it was difficult to implement vision tracking on the lower powered CPU.
This season, the warlocks plan on using a new IP camera obtained from CCTV Camera World and the newer robot controller to improve upon our vision tracking efforts of the past. With the new camera and faster on board processor in the RoboRio, we can now perform vision tracking on board rather than processing images on the driver station laptop. With the new camera, we will also be able to capture clearer and more accurate images for use in tracking objects as the robot is moving. We can also utilize its network connectivity for sending images back to the driver station laptop to help the drivers maneuver the robot during the teleoperated period.
The Warlocks will be participating in the 1st ever Mini Maker’s Faire at the Barnes and Noble Clarence store on Saturday Nov 7th. The Warlocks will be present from 12-6pm and will be demonstrating our robot and accomplishments with the public. We encourage everyone to stop by the Clarence Barnes & Noble to check it out. Students who are presenting the robot at the fair should arrive at 11am for setup.
If you wish to support the Warlocks at this event, please print and bring this voucher with you. If you use this voucher at the store or in the Cafe, a percentage of your purchase will go towards supporting Lockport Robotics! In addition, you will receive a discount on your purchase
Barnes & Noble stores across the country will be hosting a Mini Maker’s Faire between November 6-8. The Mini Maker’s Faire will allow technology enthusiasts to meet and collaborate with each other. More information on the Mini Maker’s Faire itself can be found here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/h/makerfaire
The Barnes and Noble in Clarence is located at:
4401 Transit Road Suite 800
Buffalo, NY 14221
The Rah Cha Cha Ruckus is an annual off season competition event held at the Main St. Armory in Rochester, NY. This event offers the look and feel of an in-season regional event, while allowing new and returning members a chance to practice driving the robot in a competition setting. The event takes place on Saturday, October 17th 2015 at the the Rochester Main Street Armory
Students interested in attending the event should contact Sue Vasko in order to be placed on the list of students attending. Students planning on traveling to the event MUST have turned in their travel consent and medical forms prior to Saturday the 17th. No exceptions!
The team is leaving the High School parking lot (outside the tech wing) at 6am. The driver’s meeting begins at 7:45am, and the building opens to teams at 7am. The event is scheduled to run until 6:30pm, so plan on being there until ~7pm. We should arrive at home at the high school around 9pm. Concession stands will be open throughout the event.
For more information on the event itself, visit their website at: ruckus.penfieldrobotics.com