Friday, September 30, 2016

Week Five - Friday: Doing What Engineers Do Best (Finding Solutions)

Last week we had many technical difficulties with the robot, one of our motors wasn't functioning properly, so we replaced it, but now the issue persists. For some reason, only one side of the robot was functioning properly. At first we believed it to be our coding, but then we made a simple test by using one of the default sample programs to move forward and as we expected, only one side worked. Some of us doubted that it could be the motor, because the chances of having two faulty motors in a row is extremely slim. After finally swallowing our pride, we went to ask Mr. Martin for his assistance. Mr. Martin helped us to conclude that, despite our doubts, the motor was indeed a problem yet again. So today we replaced the motor and reverted the robot back to joystick controls, as instructed by Mr. Martin.


Monday, September 26, 2016

Week Five - Monday: Coding Conundrum

Through trial and error, we are slowly inching towards our final goal of getting our square bot to go around two chairs set up back to back autonomously. We're currently modifying our coding and we plan to complete the challenge by next week. Through complications with one of our past motors, we've been set back majorly, however, with our combined efforts and teamwork we'll be able to persevere and live up to Mr. Martin's expectations of us.



Friday, September 23, 2016

Week Four - Friday: Minor Setbacks

This week we have continued our work on the coding. We had some major complications with our motor, it wasn't functioning properly. After confirming that the motor was the issue with the robot and not the ports or motor connectors, we exchanged it with a new motor. Monday, we will continue working on the code and hopefully our new motor will be efficient so that we can complete the autonomous chair challenge.


Monday, September 19, 2016

Week Four - Monday: Progression & Procession

As the weeks go on, our group continues to strive forward towards success. In an effort to catch up to the other groups and join the Vex Starstruck competition, we must speed up our training and advancement. There's no time for us to slack off, we have to put our blood, sweat, and tears into a combined effort to complete this task.



Friday, September 16, 2016

SolidWorks Robot Prototype






Week Three - Friday: We're in Business

KA CHOW!!!!

After a multitude of days filled with trials and errors, we've finally succeeded in remotely controlling the robot. Our next goal is to autonomously control the robot to complete certain tasks, such as circling around a chair. It will prove to be a challenge, but I think the Diamond Dogs Squad will be more than capable of accomplishing any task.


Monday, September 12, 2016

Week Three - Monday: A Tortoise in a Hare's Race

Today we finally completed the SolidWorks 3D model of our robot. Our next goal is to control the robot with the joystick controller and program our robot to be able to move about autonomously. After this, we will complete various challenges and then advance to the competition that the other groups are partaking in.


Friday, September 9, 2016

Week Two - Friday: Confidence and Completion

It's common knowledge that hard work always pays off in the end. We finished the construction of our square bot, and we've finished our training in basic coding. As of now, we're sorting out issues related to updating the firmware of our robot and successfully connecting it to the PC. Our current issue is that the Vex programming software isn't recognizing the USB connection between our robot's cortex & remote controller and the PC. We're remaining confident, this is just one more obstacle that we'll overcome and learn from.


Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Week Two - Tuesday: Still Putting in Work

This week, our plans consist of the completion of the square bot within the next two days and after completing the construction of the square bot, everyone on our team will learn and become proficient in coding. There will be challenges and hardships along the way, but we all have the confidence and willpower to overcome them.


Friday, September 2, 2016

Week One - Friday: Putting in That Work

This week, we have stripped away parts from other robots to build our square bot. Roberto has joined the crew. If the crew works together they can successfully build the robot that they desperately need for the upcoming Starstruck Vex Robotics competition. However, it will be no easy feat, and it will take the combined efforts of every member of the team in order to be successful.