Finishing Moonbots Phase 1

It was so much fun making our video! Going over the video segments was a lot of fun, too! I'm really glad we planned it all out in advance though! I never would have guessed 3 minutes would fill up so fast!! I hope we get to move on to Phase 2 so we can use our bloopers in our Team Documentary! :P

I really hope we move on to Phase 2 mostly because I am really looking forward to programming our robot for the whole Challenge! I am totally excited about the camera and the compass! I have never programmed those components before and I think our newest build is totally ready for The Challenge!

I'm having a lot of fun! Thanks for inviting me to do Moonbots with you! Go Microbots!

Gala

Moving Forward With Moonbots

We are moving forward with our work on the LEGO robot design and video presentation. The script is now completed and we start video today. Gala has done an awesome job in getting all of this together. We may go shoot it over at the Turtle Nest or at my house. I am installing Adobe Premiere on my laptop to get ready to edit all of the parts. I have been thinking about whether to add animation or compose the music behind the credits. We will see how much time that we have.

The robot is just about done. Our original design just didn't get over the ridge in the center of the map so we changed it up a bit.We now have the camera attached and will do some programming today as well. We still have a lot to do and not much time left. It always seems like our meetings fly by.

The team is having a really great time and is really working hard. Zack and I have known each other for four years and really like building LEGO robots. Gala was part of our FRC team and is an awesome programmer, researcher, and brings everything together. I feel like we have all worked together for a long time!

Microbots to do Moonbots

A subset of the Microbots team is planning to do the Moonbots challenge.Right now, Tad, Zach, and Gala are signing up to build a robot to explore the moon's surface. This challenge is very similar to FLL.

We know that there is at least one other team from North Carolina. It should be fun to complete with them. Over the next couple of days, we will post our progress as we sign up for this marvelous challenge.

Tad (below) has begun to design the robot and all indications are that it will run on the rough surface that we will need to run on. There are no autonomous programs yet but using a bluetooth controller, we layed out a basic course for the robot. It can easier make its way through the obstacles.

Good luck to our fellow teams and we can't wait to compete with you (virtually) in stage 2 if we are invited.

First Lego League Expo at Crabtree Valley Mall

Tom Settle is amazing when it comes to organizing First Lego League events. For those of you who don't know Tom, he teaches classes around the triangle for new First Lego League team members. To recruit new FLL teams in NC, Tom held a mock tournament at the Crabtree Valley Mall on Sunday 9/13. Hundreds of people showed up to watch and Tom explained how FLL works for five hours.

Tom asked several people from area teams to participate in this event, including members of the Microbots, Spacebots, Megallan Mariners, Metalic Waves, Tie-Died Tangerines, and others. Tom interviewed the teams and the coaches. Additionally, several team members from Team Awkward Turtle FRC showed up to referee the mock tournament. Several Microbots brought their robot and attachments, but boy, we really had no idea what to expect!

Early morning setup

The kids had a blast! It was not about winning and losing but just about having a good time. The Lego Store set up a booth and gave out information about the NXT. Several folks committed to forming new teams. Joe Meno took pictures for the upcoming Brick Journal. It was fantastic!

Afterwards, we went to the Kanki steakhouse with Al Childers, coach of the Magellian Mariners and Kyle Brown, coach of the Spacebots. I believe that these teams may be favored to win the NC FLL State Championship this year (but this should serve to motivate your team to knock them off :-)). Both coaches are veterans with wonderful teams.

Chris Childers had dinner with us and we finally got the opportunity to thank him for all that he had done to inspire us our first year. Chris has video of the young Microbots working with the 2006 NC FLL State Champion Magellian Mariners. I look forward to possibly posting it soon.

Mastering First Lego League Part 2: Calibrating the Robot

This is the second in a series of articles about both basic and advanced techniques that can help your FIRST LEGO League team achieve mastery of the robot and the game. This article discusses the calibration of your robot as you prepare to solve this year’s challenges. It examines several aspects of robotics including the languages, drivers, motors, turns, and some of the elements that influence accuracy. In Part III of this on-going series, we will discuss the program framework, a necessary component for optimal robot running.

We finishing up the second installment of Mastering First Lego League for Brick Journal. This article also looks at things like batteries. We conducted a series of tests using Energizer Lithium Batteries. This article talks briefly about these tests and more tests will be forthcoming.

Mastering First Lego League

This month's Brick Journal features the first part of a series of articles about First Lego League. Part I starts with the expected "What is First Lego League?" However, instead of the dry, marketing information that this sort article generally solicits, we talk about some of the intrinsic values that make an FLL team successful. We also talk about setting expectations properly in your first year.



Next issue's article in this same series talks about "Calibrating the Robot" which will be released just in time for competition. Look for articles in future Brick Journal magazines about practical techniques for YAMs (Young Adult Mentors), programming, building robots, and how to get ready for competition.

Crabtree Valley Mall Lego Store

What does Raleigh, North Carolina have in common with Honolulu, Hawaii? They both have Lego Stores of course. If you have been following the Microbots, you'll see that they have been involved with the Crabtree Valley Mall Lego Store from its announcement. This month, we have a new announcement with respect to the Lego Store in Raleigh.

This month's community window features a First Lego Display that we put together. Among the displayed items is last year's North Carolina State Championship trophy. Additionally, you'll see our unique robot as well (trust me, it is one of a kind and way cool!). Stop by and check out the window in the back of the store.


By the way, we got the Smart Move challenge in the mail. It is too cool! Good luck to all of the teams this year! The Microbots are probably not going to compete. Some members seem to be moving on to FTC while others are moving on to FIRST with Team Awkward Turtle. But who knows, many a rock band has said that they are broken up only to have a reunion tour. Some of the team members are pursuing Smart Move just in case. We'll be at the Regional and State Championships either as competitors or volunteers.

Oh, and that is a gold NXT Brick! It was one of the things that made us stand out at the National Championship.