Mid-Season Newsletter
Build Update
By Allison Rabbani
Since the season started on January 5th, the Gatorbotics Build team has been hard at work on the robot. In the recent lab days, the team has focused on panels and cargo.
Cargo Mechanism
The cargo catapult, dumper, shooter, and puncher have all been prototyped, and all have specific uses to score points during the competition. The catapult throws the cargo in a swing-like motion with the cargo in constant contact with the catapult. The dumper uses a ramp to allow the cargo to roll into the cargo bay. The shooter, living up to its name, propels the cargo towards the scoring locations. The puncher directly and linearly propels the cargo towards the target. The next steps for the cargo mechanism will be to work on the cargo scorer, which will deposit cargo into the cargo ship, the rocketship, and to make a static and deployable intake.
Panels
In addition to cargo, the build team has been working on creating a panel mechanism to pick up and score panels around the field. The team has made an arm prototype and a velcro pick up a prototype from the loading station and the ground. The next step in the panel mechanism process will be to create a “beak” to center the panel on the robot. We're excited for the rest of the season!
Team Member Spotlight: Emily Chan
By Grace Kim
Emily Chan is one of the freshmen who joined Gatorbotics in the Fall of 2018. She is part of the Entrepreneurship branch and has been working hard on our social media, specifically the Instagram (@gatorbotics1700). So far, she has helped the social media team establish a consistent theme, reach a wider audience, and update our followers more regularly. By working in collaboration with the photography/video team, the social media group has brought their A game to Instagram. Emily is also a very active team player, and she is always brainstorming new ideas to engage our audience and reach our community, whether it be through using Instagram stories or the way we edit pictures. She says that she has learned a lot from her first semester working on the team, and is excited for the rest of the season.
