Today we made progress on our robot. We sawed some parts….some of us tried sawing left handed to keep muscles balanced. It’s harder than it looks!
Sawing with her left hand, to keep her muscles balanced
After sawing, the parts had to be filed. We’re getting very good at filing! There will be no sharp edges on our robot. 
We’re making supports for the pneumatic systems and for the battery. It’s quite a riveting experience.
Programmers worked hard today getting robots ready for driver tryouts.
thumbs up!
Our 2012 robot now has bumpers fully mounted onto the frame. We’re glad we made reversible bumpers. It would take up a lot of space to keep two sets in the pit!
At lunch brunch we had pancakes and eggs and BACON! In total we ate 10 pounds of bacon, and 5 dozen eggs. Thanks so much to the Tavares family for the feast.
BACON!! To die for!!
Our electrical crew worked hard on various electrical boxes. The apron of doom was a very good shield–aluminum shavings in the electrical components is never good.
Jags are now mounted….
So are the victors…
And the wires are all being put in place
We’ve had lots of helpers working on our electrical system. Thanks to Richard from Transformix for lending a hand today.
We took a break to de-stress today. Bubble wrap is a wonderful toy!
In the afternoon we set up the gym for driver/operator/human player tryouts.
We practiced throwing long distances. Some of us scored on the basket–some came close. Our mentor, James, scored twice!
The tryouts consisted of driving an old robot around the gym, through an obstacle course, over the bridge and back, and balancing. We had a defense robot to deal with too!
All interested drive team members then took a test to see how well they knew the rules of the game.
Any interested drivers/operators/human players who did not get to try out today can do so tomorrow after 5PM.
Even though there was snow, many K-bots showed up bright and early. As they say, “The early bird catches the worm.” During exam weeks, room 107 is open starting at 8:30 a.m, so drop by whenever you can!
…with greater or lesser success…
The wool will be used for team hats and for Kare-bots
We love it when people bring us snacks. Parents sometimes bring us left overs from work. Today we got some interesting treats from Stacey.
We were also very happy to have some friends of friends come to check out what we are doing.
We received a call from the Cyberfalcons, team 3710, asking some software questions. Our lead programming mentor was unavailable, so our student lead took his turn being tech support.
…more than the 
The test chassis got used again by our programmers to test some code.
4. Tweedles can knit!
Our new task today was to take the 3D CAD and produce 2D drawings which will be used when we need to manufacture some of our parts. We ran into a 
We decided to suspend a weight from a meter above our robot to mimic anything we might build up there, and then give it a try. We installed plywood chain guards to keep us all safe.
Some of us spent a great deal of time doing calculations, doing research and gathering our materials.
We discussed the plans for the 
Our group split up for rotations of CAD tutorial work–some of us are getting really good at the practical applications of CAD.
We held a brainstorming rotation for Chairman’s report ideas, and activities we should engage in over the year to help our community and build up our team. We also walked everyone through the 
The remaining station was a super top secret design challenge. Groups had 30 minutes and a variety of materials (wheels, newspaper, straws, plastecine, skewers, cardboard, wood, screws, saws, measuring devices, and lots of tape) to construct a vehicle that was powered by a balloon that could travel the farthest down the school hallway.
Many thanks to Jeff, from 
It’s especially fun when little ones join us. The innertubes are EVERYONE’s favourite toy!
Our mentors are working hard to keep everyone motivated, productive, and friendly. They help us solve our problems…
…we also had a barbeque! We had no idea what was in store for us until we opened the door and saw a remarkable sight. There were two BBQs set up, and also a kitchen stove (converted to run on propane). Many thanks to the Calligaris family for the feast!
