The following is our support and sponsorship letter, written by Nathan Langford, Head Programmer.
Feel free to contact either of the following for more information:
Nathan Langford
nathanlangford.4@gmail.com
Feel free to contact either of the following for more information:
Nathan Langford
nathanlangford.4@gmail.com
(970) 903-6635
or
David Heerschap, Animas High School Robotics Coach/Physics Teacher
dave.heerschap@animashighschool.com
(970)903-7613
or
David Heerschap, Animas High School Robotics Coach/Physics Teacher
dave.heerschap@animashighschool.com
(970)903-7613
To Whom It May Concern;
Hello, my name is Nathan Langford. I am in 9th grade and am currently attending Animas High School in Durango, Colorado. This is the second year in which Animas High School has conducted school. This year our school began a robotics team of which I am a member. I am here representing our robotics team, Pandemonium Robotix, in full. To start the robotics team, the school used a portion of its grant money to register for the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics FTC (First Tech Challenge) Competition and to purchase the standard base kit for the competition.
Every year the FTC competition challenge is different. This year’s challenge is named “Get Over It”. Each match consists of two randomly paired teams which form an alliance. This random alliance faces another alliance. The match consists of a 30 second autonomous period in which the robot operates without human input, and a 2 minute teleop period in which the robot is remotely driven by a designated driver. The goal of the match is for your alliance to have more points than the other alliance. Robots can gain points many ways. Points can be gained by dispensing batons during the autonomous period, scoring these batons in the rolling or stationary goals, balancing the robot on the “bridge”, and identifying and scoring the magnet baton. After a number of qualifying matches where teams are randomly paired in to alliances there is a selection for the elimination matches. Your team must either be invited in to an alliance or have someone accept your team in to their alliance. If your team is rejected and not invited than they do not continue. The remaining alliances then complete a tournament which names the champion alliance. The playing field is a 12’x12’ space with obstacles such as the “bridge”, the “cliff”, and the “mountain”. Each alliance has three baton dispensers, two rolling goals, one stationary goal, and one bridge designated for their alliance.
You can find extremely detailed descriptions and images of the competition here:
Immediately after the formation of our team we were informed that our first competition would be in January and we immediately began planning, building, and programming our first robot. One of the major obstacles we faced was our lack of resources but we worked with the materials we had and continued to produce. After months of work we finalized our first robot.
Our design utilized two rear wheel drive 12V Tetrix Motors for the power and used a Lego Mindstorms motor to change the direction of the wheels using a method similar to the steering in a car. To dispense the batons we chose to use Lego Mindstorms parts to fabricate an arm which would be capable of dispensing batons, carrying them to the goal, and placing them in either a two inch rolling goal, four inch rolling goal, or stationary goal. Our robot was also equipped with autonomous capabilities allowing it to operate without human input.
The file available at the following link is an article published by the Durango Herald about our robotics team.
Our design utilized two rear wheel drive 12V Tetrix Motors for the power and used a Lego Mindstorms motor to change the direction of the wheels using a method similar to the steering in a car. To dispense the batons we chose to use Lego Mindstorms parts to fabricate an arm which would be capable of dispensing batons, carrying them to the goal, and placing them in either a two inch rolling goal, four inch rolling goal, or stationary goal. Our robot was also equipped with autonomous capabilities allowing it to operate without human input.
The file available at the following link is an article published by the Durango Herald about our robotics team.
The following is a link to a video also published by the Durango Herald discussing our robotics team.
Several months after we first started the team we competed in Flagstaff, AZ and placed 8th out of 17 teams. Although we felt that we placed well for our first competition; we gained much more in knowledge than we did in physical awards. We realized the flaws in our own design and after much discussion came to the conclusion that our robot required a major overhaul. Below is the plan for our redesigned robot.
Our new design offers us the ability to traverse any obstacle on the playing field while maintaining speed and stability through a tank tread design. This design will prevent the robot from flipping on steep obstacles and give it the ability to drive over the “cliff” which about three inches tall. Our new robot will also have a conveyer belt type baton dispensing system which will give an improved dispensing rate and allow us to more reliably dispense batons in both autonomous and teleop mode. The new method of delivering the batons to the goals uses a dump truck style system which allows us to back up to either the rolling goals or the stationary goal and dump the stored batons. With the dump truck style delivery system we can also carry more batons. The new robot design has multiple encoders (encoders are devices which allow us to travel precise distances as opposed to general distances) placed on several of the motors allowing us to be extremely accurate in our movement. In addition to the encoders our robot will have enhanced sensing capabilities offering additional capabilities and opportunities for scoring for our robot during the autonomous period. The final upgrade to our robot allows our robot detect, signal, and score the magnetic batons through an arm attached to the side of the conveyer belt baton dispenser.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE PARTS LIST PAGE TO VIEW THE PARTS WE WOULD LIKE TO ORDER.
After breaking down the parts, draining our schools limited robotics budget, and dividing the cost of some parts among the team, we feel that without the support of others we will not be able to complete our goal. I represent Pandemonium Robotix as we ask for your support of us in this competition in any way possible.
As a team we believe that to show our respect to our sponsors and to thank them for their contribution to our team we would strive to prominently display their company name or logo wherever possible.
We sincerely hope that you will choose to sponsor our team and support our goal.
Thank you for your time,
Nathan Langford
We sincerely hope that you will choose to sponsor our team and support our goal.
Thank you for your time,
Nathan Langford
Lead Programmer
Lead Financial Manager
Pandemonium Robotix
Animas High School
Pandemonium Robotix
Animas High School
10 Town Plaza #440
nathanlangford.4@gmail.com
nathanlangford.4@gmail.com
(970) 903-6635
This proposal is downloadable as a PDF at the following address:
