2000 Archive

James Ford Rhodes High School 2000 FIRST Team

Technical

At this present time, the technical division of the Rhodes Robotics team is familiarizing themselves with their various responsibilities. They have weighed all the parts, recorded their densities, and like most teenagers, the technical team is practicing their driving skills. But fortunately for our city’s pedestrians, they aren’t sitting behind the wheel of a two-ton Ford Expedition. ? They are practicing the manipulation of our robot’s base, while the human players brush up their basketball skills by throwing the 13-inch by 14-inch balls into the trough at the end of the playing field.

Part of the technical teams’ job is to discuss the new rule changes daily, so that they always know what’s going on. To further their ‘robot education,’ they watched a computer-generated model of our robot in action. They have been learning how to program our robot’s separate functions. Right now, they are discussing the creation of a device to help the alliance robot off of the floor but shhh it’s TOP SECRET!!!

Systems Team

The systems team is responsible for keeping up-to-date with the changes that occur in the game. They have to be able to address all concerns that other team members may have regarding the games’ rules and regulations. This team is keeping records of the parts being used so that our robot does not exceed the weight and dimension limitations. Spreadsheets are used to tally the data. They also have to be able to identify each part of the robot as well as its function.

Animation Team

The animation team has been working hard to familiarize themselves with the software that they will be using. To do this, they programmed a basketball to bounce on a court and through a hoop. They created a seesaw with a chicken on one side and a duck on the other side. One frame consists of a snow- capped mountain that had Gary’s name revolving around it. They made a kidney shaped table with cups, silverware, napkins and a dish. They will be using this program to animate the actions of our robot. The final animation product will be no more then thirty seconds long and will look like a mini cartoon.

Communications Team

Spirit Team

James Ford Rhodes Teachers

NASA Glenn Research Center