Red Storm sadly did not make it to the Michigan State FRC competition in Ypsilanti at Eastern Michigan University in 2012. Although we were financially better-equipped than in the 2011 season, our performance at past competitions was not good enough to reach this competition from April 12th through April 14th.
4th of July Parade
Kickoff at GVSU College of Engineering
Our Robot
Fabrication Team
Our Middle School FTC Team
GE Aviation Systems of Grand Rapids
JC Penney
The West Michigan Regional FIRST Robotics Competition was our second competition of 2012, on March 16th and 17th. It was be hosted in the GVSU Allendale Campus gymnasium. Although the team performed well, and made it relatively high in the initial rankings, we did not make it to the competition finals. Despite our functional autonomous mode and generally well-made robot, which allowed us to reach third place at one point, problems with the robot’s balance led to it frequently tipping over, and that and similar mechanical problems cost us our success at the competition. However, we learned from the experience, and the team had a good time. It was a very busy competition, and we are pleased with its overall results.
Their website is located at www.westmichiganfirst.org.
The Gull Lake FIRST competition was our first competition of the year. It was held on March 2nd and 3rd at Gull Lake High School in Richland, Michigan.
The opening ceremony began at 10:30 am and ended with an award ceremony at 5:00 pm on March 3.
For further information about the competition at Gull Lake Community School, visit Gull Lake High School
Unfortunately, we did not win any awards at this competition, or make it to the finals. Better luck next time.
Time for Competition:
The robot in the arena!
Behind the driver’s station.
Being taken out on the cart.
A quick inspection while waiting for another round.
It wasn’t always a clear shot.
More fierce competition!
Everybody gather round!
Watching from the sidelines.
Being inspected by the volunteers at the competition.
After the kickoff at Grand Valley State University, we met as a team to discuss strategy and key requirements for our robot. Some key points:
The resulting robot was tentatively named Nado II.
We split into sub-teams, who worked on different parts of the robot. The main teams were for the chassis, loader, shooter, and bridge-tipper. All of the teams made CAD drawings and built simple prototypes out of wood before work on the final robot began.
The wooden chassis model, with the six-wheel design we chose.
Building the launcher prototype.
More assembly of the robot prototype.
Once the prototypes were finalized, work on the robot proper could begin.
Assembling the metal chassis.
The early frame, completed.
Assembling the wires and motors before final assembly.
Bumpers are robot parts, too!
Soon, we were able to begin assembling the various parts.
Working to assemble the final robot.
The “firing tower” added to the base.
Adding wires and motors to the completed frame.
Wire work continues.
So many wires, so little time.
A close-up of our diligent electrical workers.
Meanwhile in the shop…
Assembling the launcher mechanism.
We need bumpers, too!
Kickoff:
Eagerly waiting for the 2012 game challenge.
Waiting at the kickoff.
Busily planning after the kickoff!
Week One (January 9th-15th):
Initial planning at the first in-season meeting.
Early ideas for the robot.
Week Two (January 16th-22nd):
An early wooden model of the robot.
Week Three (January 23rd-29th):
Hard at work building the robot parts.
Assembling the frame.
Week Four (January 30th-February 5th):
Testing the ball launcher.
The frame is almost complete!
Week 5 (February 6th-February 12th)
The current state of our robot.
The wiring team assembled.
Working with wires.
The robot can’t just build itself!
Working together on the computer.
This is the Mentors page for 2011-2012.
A group photo of all the mentors for 2011-2012.
 Wendy LjungrenGE Aviation Systems Grand Rapids |
 Randy SmithEast Kentwood High School |
 Mr. MannabergEast Kentwood High School |
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Adam |
 Rob MeyerGE Aviation Systems Grand Rapids |
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This is the students page for 2011-2012.
A group photo of all our students this year.
Name: Ajene |
Name: Abe |
Name: Alex |
Name: Andrew |
|
Name: Andy |
Name: Angela |
Name: Anhdao |
Name: AJ |
Name: AJ |
Name: Caitlin |
Name:Chad |
Name: Ciaran |
Name: Colin |
|
Name: Danny |
Name: Demier |
Name: Denis |
Name: Dylan |
Name: Dylan |
Name: Jean |
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Name: Kayla |
Name: Matt |
Name: Mello |
Name: Nick |
Name: Olga |
Name: Rudy |
