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“Making Humans Obsolete since 1996”

Paly Robotics Student Info Day

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“Making Humans Obsolete since 1996”

Paly Robotics Parent Info Night

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Agenda

Info Presentation

Team Introduction
Subteams
Application Information
Important Dates
Questions

Lab Tour

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Our Mission

Empower high school students to explore STEAM
Foster leadership, communication, and teamwork skills
Learning propelled by and focused on student-driven initiatives

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FIRST

Founded in 1992 by Dean Kamen
Global organization dedicated to propelling students into science and technology
Programs for students of all ages (4 leagues)

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FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)

Competitive high school robotics league
3200+ teams across the world
Roughly 8-week build season
Tournament-style competitions

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Timeline of the Year

Off Season (September - December)

Training and classes
Fall competitions
Build season preparation

Competitions (March - April)

Continued iteration
Two regional competitions
Possibility to travel to Houston for Championships

Build Season (January - March)

Game challenge revealed on kickoff day
~8 weeks to design and build a fully functioning robot

Summer (May - August)

Summer outreach events
Off-Season robot
Training and classes

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More than Robots

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A Team For You

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Subteams

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Design

Arunav

I’m a junior who originally joined the design subteam as a freshman
When you see a robot on the field, every part of it came from the brain of a designer.

Designers will come up with a design for the robot using prior knowledge whether that be learnt individually or gotten from previous game challenges
Before this can be done however, the designers need this prior knowledge, and as such our first year on the team is largely spent on the Build subteam.

First year is spent with Build

Learn about machines and tools in our lab
Learn the capabilities of our build team → create a base for future designs
Designers will study previous game challenges and learn what distinguishes different mechanisms from one another.
Get machine certified (CNC(Computer numerical control machine), lathes, mills, and many other tools). Learn what we are capable of, which thanks to our equipment is a lot.
Although designers are able to learn CAD(Computer Aided Design) intermittently throughout their first year, it is during their second year on the team that design specific learning begins

Design work during the Build Season
Work with other team members to decide on our planned strategy.

Decide on robot capabilities
Ex: shooting balls into a target, lifting items, or climbing on a structure

Construct prototypes with Build members

Rough designs (mechanisms) out of wood using laser cutter
Test how well they perform

Designing phase - core Design work

CAD (Computer Aided Design)
Macro sketch (incorporates goals for robot)
Create elaborate 2D designs incorporating all the parts of the bot (gears, belts, motors, & more)
Using 2D sketches we then turn it into 3D.
See how mechanisms fit together/interact
Create fault-checked 3D models of robot before it is machined

Assembly

Putting machined parts together by following the CAD

5. Testing and Iteration

Work with Software to optimize robot performance
Ex: increasing shooting accuracy, shortening climbing times
Iterate designs when areas for improvement are found

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Design

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Why Design?

Encapsulates build skills
Applicable outside of FRC
Influence on robot hardware
Personal Projects

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Art

Graphic Design

Branding, merch store, aesthetics of the team
Laser cutting, button making, apparel design

Animation

3D animation & modeling

Hi, I’m Rena. I’m the art captain, I joined Paly Robotics in my freshman year, and I am currently a senior.
The two main things that art team does are Graphic Design and Animation:
If you see any Paly Robotics member walking around with a green hoodie or t-shirt, that’s designed by us! We design the merchandise and apparel for Team 8, including hoodies, t-shirts, buttons or pins, and more, using the software Adobe Illustrator.
Another cool thing we do is create 3D animations using Blender. If you’re ever watching an animated Pixar movie and have wondered how they do it, that’s what your kid will learn to do on art team. We create 2 animations during the season and submit them to FIRST Robotics for different award challenges.
We also do other fun projects throughout the year like making storybooks and dyeing peoples’ hair!
If your child chooses to try out for art team, they’ll get to learn how to use really cool software that can become lasting skills that continue to be useful in the future past robotics, like if you want to 3D print something or design a t-shirt. It’s also very satisfying when the final product of their efforts is displayed as merch or in a finalized animation video.

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Art

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Business

Funding

Grants & sponsorships

Awards

Writing & speaking

Community

Outreach

Katie

introduction: i’m Katie, our business subteam captain
…project manager
entrepreneurship, writing, speaking, marketing, engaging w community.
business team overview: creating and maintaining relationships with sponsors and greater community through grants and outreach initiatives (which are largely team-wide projects), through these grants/sponsors we’re able to fund our team, write/submit awards materials in the spring during our ~6-week build season and talk to judges during competitions, maintain social media presence (follow us lolz) on facebook, twitter, and instagram (our most active page) where we post updates on any events we’re participating in/hosting + anything else
not traditionally STEM but we and FIRST prioritize STEAM education + business provides a unique experience and mode of engaging with the robotics community and is an overall wonderful experience
good life skills to apply to a grant or cold calling and reaching out to different sponsors (not many high schoolers have experience with this)

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Business Captain: kkim@palyrobotics.com

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Build

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Assembly

Prototyping

Fabrication

Iteration

Nathan

BUILD SEASON

We start off the season with
Prototyping

collaborate with design
test out different materials and find the ideal mechanism to interact with game elements.

Field building out of wood for new recruits.
Next when the design has been completed, we begin Subsystem fabrication which involves machining with a variety of machines and materials which i discussed earlier
Assembly

get to put all the parts together. like a more complicated legos.
also do Electronics, wire the robot during this stage.

Iteration

Solve issues, make improvements
Software → real-time feedback and collaborate in order to ensure we have a working bot by competitions.

Competitions:

we get to be very involved at competitions because there are often unexpected problems, things break all the time, and we have to come up with quick solutions and fix the robot in time to complete in the next match.
very stressful but also incredibly rewarding when you see your solution actually work in the next match.

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Personal Projects

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Software and Scouting

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Software & Scouting

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Beyond Subteams

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Leadership

Team Co-Captain

Technical Director

Design Captain

Business Captain

Build Captain

Art Captain

Software & Scouting Captain

Lab Management

Competition Management

Pit Management & Safety

Treasurer

Webmaster

Media Director

FTC

FLL

LRSP

Summer Camp

Demos

Brazil FIRST

Townley

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Outreach

Summer Camp
Lego Robotics Program
Mentoring FLL and FTC teams
Presenting workshops (abroad) + global partnerships
Demos at elementary and middle schools
Chairman’s Team

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Driveteam

Four-person team to drive and operate the robot during matches at competition

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Boosters

501c(3) org for helping the team:

Financial management

Approve overall budget and larger expenses
Accept donations (personal and corporate)
Process fees (summer camp)
Make payments (purchases, insurance etc.)

Organize trip logistics (and payments)
Coordinate with District accounting department
File IRS and State paperwork as needed
Help students with their voices with Admin & PAUSD

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Application Process

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Application Form

Contact Information
Student Commitment and Participation Contract
Parent/Guardian Participation Contract
Media Waiver
Subteam Selection
Survey Questions
Personal Statement
Short Answer Questions (optional)

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What do we look for?

Commitment, enthusiasm, and attitude are more important than prior knowledge and experience
People who will make robotics an integral part of their high school experience

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Expected Commitment

Off Season (September - December)

6 hours/week

Build Season (January - March)

120 hours total (over 12 weeks)

Post Competition Season (March - May)

6 hours/week

Summer (May - August)

None required

Outreach

10 hours (entire year)

Parent Supervision

2 lab days (become fingerprinted supervisor)

OR

Competition chaperoning

OR�Mentorship

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Communication and Contact Information

Remind will be used to communicate with applicants
Contact information on the application form
Brooke Chandler (Co-Captain)

bchandler@palyrobotics.com

Yuna Jeong(Co-Captain)

yjeong@palyrobotics.com

Keith Worrell (Coach)

kworrell@palyrobotics.com

Website: palyrobotics.com

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How to Apply?

The application form opens today (8/27)
Attend Pick-A-Subteam Days

Tues 9/2(4:30-6:30pm)
Thurs 9/4 (4:30-6:30pm)

Application due by Wednesday 9/10 @ 11:59 PM
Work with subteam of choice for the next three weeks

Yuna

Key dates:

We have our two Pick-A-Subteam Days next Tuesday and Weds

Because we only allow recruits to apply to one subteam, pick a subteam days are an opportunity for recruits to learn more about the two sub teams they are most interested in and help you decide which one you want to apply to.
Please only go to one sub team per day, and do not repeat sub teams since they will be running through the same curriculum both days

Applications via the form open today and are due on Weds the 9/7th
The form is also on the recruitment page of the paly robotics website
After that you will be working with the sub team you are applying to for the next three weeks
The official team roster will be finalized and posted online Monday on September 26
Here’s a qr code to the form - we’ll give you all a minute to glance over it

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Important Dates

Questions?

Parent Info Session: Today @ 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Pick-A-Subteam Days:

Tues 9/2 (4:30 - 6:30 PM)
Thurs 9/4 (4:30 - 6:30 PM)

Applications Due: Wednesday 9/10
Contact Info:

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Lab Tour