Red Hook Robotics

RoboraidersTeam Handbook

FIRST Tech Challenge Team # 6567

Version 1

2014-15

Purpose

This Handbook is a guide book for Red Hook Robotics Team members and parents/guardians. It contains team rules and expectations, and other essential information for all Red Hook Robotics Team members. All team members and their parents/guardians are expected to review and understand this material, and sign the acknowledgement page the end of this document. Most robotics teams have similar Handbooks, and this one has been modelled after the Pope John XXIII Regional High School Robotics Team Handbook, Sparta, New Jersey, Version 2a, 2011.

Red Hook Central School District participates in two levels of FIRST Robotics competition:

  • For 6th-8th graders at the Linden Avenue Middle School we offer an after-school FIRST Lego League (FLL) as well as host a Qualifier Tournament for FLL in January. This program is run by technology teacher Steven Hughes. FLL robots are small and made entirely of Lego pieces.
  • For 9th-12th graders at Red Hook High School we offer a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team. FTC robots are typically 20-30 pounds, fit in an 18” cube, and are made of metal Tetrixmaterials or custom built parts. Some Lego sensors are also used. Robots are programmed usingRobotC language.

Participation in Red Hook Robotics programs is restricted to Red Hook Central School District students.

Goals

Our goal is to provide high school students with the opportunity to experience realistic science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) challenges in a fun, self-directed, hands-on learning environment. Students will be guided by mentors who have both technical and nontechnical backgrounds, andparticipate in independent study and hands-on experimentation, in order to experience all aspects of robot design, construction, programming and friendly competition. We also seek to instill FIRST’s ideal of Gracious Professionalism, which holds that even in competition every student will be courteous and even help opponents overcome technical difficulties. This ideal includes participating in community outreach activities and “giving back” to the community and other students. Our goals are summarized below:

  • Challenge students and promote education and hands-on experience in STEM
  • Promote Gracious Professionalism and the ideals of FIRST
  • Provide opportunity to build leadership and teamwork skills
  • Use and expand on each student’s unique talents and interests
  • Improve awareness of STEM education and opportunities in our community through outreach projects.

Team Organization

Red Hook Robotics is advised by a high school science faculty member, Yvonne Pierce, and guided by volunteer mentors who have engineering or computer science industry backgrounds, as well as parents and otherswho help organize fundraising, pit decorations, and other important functions. In all cases the purpose of the mentors is to teach, guide, make suggestions, and help organize, but it is the students who design, build, program, and drive the robots in competitions. As required for all high school club activities, students will elect a team president and treasurer at the beginning of each school year. The team president and treasurer will work together with the adviser and mentors to manage the team, conduct team meetings, and to delegate specific roles and responsibilities to other team members.

Safety

The responsibility of safety lies with each and every member of Red Hook Robotics. Each team member is required to abide by safety rules at all times. It is important to display a positive image to our community, sponsors, and FIRST, and this begins with SAFETY. Team members must know and demonstrate safe and professional behavior wherever the team conducts its business. Important safety rules include (but are not limited to):

  • Students much purchase their own pair of safety glasses and wear these glasses at all times during build sessions. Students who wear prescription glasses may purchase and use clip on safety side guards in lieu of safety glasses. Regular glasses without side guards are NOT safety glasses. Students should label their safety glasses with their initials and leave them in the safety bin in room 164.
  • No open-toed shoes are allowed during build sessions. Shoes provide important protection in case of dropped tools or materials.
  • No loose fitting clothing, dangling jewelry, or other items that present an entanglement hazard around equipment and moving parts.
  • No “horsing around”. Work with tools and sensitive electronics equipment, especially in small spaces, does not mix with this kind of behavior.
  • Always disable the robot’s “kill switch” or remove the battery before undertaking repairs or modifications.
  • Report any injuries, however minor, to the advisor or mentor immediately.
  • Use common sense and be aware of what is going on around you.

Work Area

Team meetings take placein room 164, and robot construction is conducted primarily in the lab area in the back of the room. Students must sign into the attendance book each time they come. Students will not work in room 164 unless at least one adult mentor is present. The work area must be kept clean and organized, and students are expected to clean up after themselves before they leave for the day.

Transportation

Transportation to and from all meetings, work and build sessions, and community outreach activities is the responsibility of each individual student, although carpooling or use of the high school late bus is encouraged. School bus transportation to competition events will be provided by Red Hook Central School District, or students may choose to ride with their parents. Students may not drive themselves to competitions. In the event that the team qualifies for the World Championships (typically in St. Louis), the cost of food, transportation, and lodging is the responsibility of each student’s parents, unless other funding sources are obtained by the team.

Academics and Scholarships

Academic Standing. All students must be in good academic standing to participate in any extracurricular activity, including robotics. In all situations, academics come before robotics. However, studentswho commit to the robotics team are expected to manage their time in such a way as to be able to meet both their academic obligations and their team obligations. Students who are placed on the high school “Academic Ineligibility” list during any academic quarterwill not be able to participate in any team activities for two full weeks. After this time, studentsmust document that they have improved their academic standing and have been removed from the ineligible list before being allowed to return to team activities. Students should follow the documentation procedures established by Red Hook High School forineligible students in these circumstances. Students are encouraged to bring homework to meetings and competitions as needed so that they may work on assignments during any“down time” caused by the need to perform certain build tasks in sequence.

Scholarships. FIRST actively promotes monetary scholarships from major universities and engineering programs. Seniors applying to college should check the FIRST website for the latest listing of scholarship opportunities. While team mentors/advisers will gladly write letters of recommendations or fill out other forms required for scholarship applications,please allow two weeks for completion of these documents.

Courses. Students are encouraged to enroll in the many math, science, engineering, design, or technology courses offered by Red Hook High School to enhance and enrich their robotics experience. Please discuss your academic interests in engineering or robotics with your guidance counselor and/or team mentors when planning your high school academic course program. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the many online tutorials and resources available for Tetrix and RobotC. Students who are interested in learning programming are encouraged to purchase a RobotC with Virtual Worlds personal license to be able to practice and write code at home, on their personal computer or laptop. Red Hook Central School maintains a limited RobotC site license for student use in the classroom and at competitions.

Team Behavior

Conduct. Red Hook Robotics treats each student member as a young adult. Each student is expected to be respectful of all team members and mentors as well as other individuals the team comes in contact with. Learning professionalism is a must for each student. Students are required to adhere to all Red Hook High School Rules of Conduct at all times, whether on school grounds or off-campus at competitions, fundraising or community outreach events. See the Red Hook High School Student Handbook for more information.

Cell Phones. Personal cell phone use during team meetings, build sessions, and competitions should be only for serious purposes related to robotics, such as communicating with a parent about pick up times etc. Students who need to use their cell phones must do so in the hallway outside room 164. During team meetings or competitions, students should not be texting, talking socially on the phone, playing handheld games or other activities not related to the robotics team. If a student has “down time” waiting for another team member to complete a task, they should either work on team-related activities (fundraising, organizing tools and supplies, journal entries etc.) or homework.

Food.Food and drink consumption is allowed in room 164 within reason, but cleanup is the responsibility of each student, and food or drinks should not be consumed near equipment, computers, or other places where it may present a hazard or cause damage.

Uniform for Competition

Students will be expected to wear team t-shirts and other accessories as decided by the team to all competitions and outreach events. Other aspects of dress for tournaments should be appropriate and neat, and should adhere to safety rules. For build sessions, students should wear appropriate comfortable clothing that does not present a work hazard or distraction.

Communication and Email List

It is important for both students and parents to be on the team email list and to check email regularly to facilitate communication. The email list is used to inform team members of build session schedules, updates, competitions and other important information. In addition, team members and parents are encouraged to join the closed Red Hook Robotics Group on Facebook for sharing technical information and ideas, posting team photographs and helpful hints from other teams,updates from FIRST and other online resources.

Team Log/Engineering Journal

FIRST requires each team to create and maintain a detailed log book known as the Engineering Journal. The log will be kept in a three ring binder in the classroom. The journal is a group team effort that documents the progress of the team from beginning to end of the season, including community outreach and fundraising activities. The Engineering Journal is an important part of the Judge’s Interview, and there are several awards given to team for having exemplary Engineering Journals.

Each student is expected to contribute to the journal at every meeting. Each student should describe in writing and in sketches and technical drawings what they worked on at that meeting, what progress they made, what problems they encountered, and what they anticipate working on at the next meeting. Photographs are also encouraged. Students may type their entries into the journal, or write neatly by hand. Sketches should be done neatly by hand or using drawing or design software. Student should allow ample time at the end of each session to complete their journal entry before leaving for the day. Journal entries should be dated and signed by each student.

Financial/Fundraising

Red Hook Robotics, like all high school clubs, is not financially supported Red Hook Central School District, and therefore all necessary funds must be raised by the team itself. Building a competitive robot is expensive. The team so far has been generously supported by education grants and donations from local businesses. Unfortunately, many of these sources of funding are not renewable each year. Therefore, beginning in 2014, each team member will be expected to pay an activity fee by December 1, which for the 2014-15 season is $100. This fee will cover team t-shirts, accessories, transportation to two local competitions, as well as contribute towards purchase of the robotics equipment and supplies. If students do not wish to pay or are unable to pay the activity fee, they may instead obtain an equivalent amount of sponsor donations by the December 1 deadline. Sponsor donation forms are made available to all team members at the beginning of the year.

In addition, team members will be expected to participate in group fundraising efforts or activities. These may include participating in community demonstration events such as Hardscrabble and Apple Blossom Days, soliciting donations from local businesses and other sponsors, writing thank you letters to sponsors etc.

Student Involvement

Commitment. The Red Hook Robotics FTC Team is a challenging activity that goes well beyond a typical high school club. There is a tremendous amount of information to learn and many skills our team members must quickly acquire in order to have a successful season. We participate in highly competitive tournaments with experienced teams from all over the state, and we may someday even qualify to compete at the regional championship or higher level. For this reason, significant commitment is required from all our students. Just showing up at team meetings is not enough to create a successful team. Students must have an excellent attendance record at meetings and competitions, but more than this, they must strive to achieve real results at each meeting, and constantly explore and research ways to improve the robot and the team itself in a proactive manner. Some independent work, practice, or research at home or outside the regular team meeting times may also be expected.

Leadership. Students will not necessarily be told what to do at each meeting; rather, they are expected to figure out together what needs to be done themselves, perhaps with guidance or teaching from the mentors, and prioritize and divide up the tasks amongst themselves. In keeping with the overall goal of all high school clubs, it is essential that the team be student-led and that each student develop leadership skills through participation in the team. Examples of leadership include: being a technical leader, such as lead programmer or robot driver, builder, or designer; taking the lead on organizing the engineering notebook or consistently making outstanding contributions to the notebook; designing a successful pit or costumes, promoting team spirit at competitions; coordinating the judge’s interview, ora fundraising effort or community outreach event; actively managing the team work flow at meetings and competitions; coordinating successful scouting efforts at competitions; finding ways to promote the team through publicity; and other important contributions to the overall success of the team. There are plenty of leadership opportunities for all students on the team.

Expectations for student involvement, at a minimum, are:

  • Team Membership: Students must officially register online for the team via the FTC website by the end of September. Registration instructions will be given to each student at the beginning of the season. FTC limits team membership to 15 students. While returning students will be given priority for team membership, new members will also be encouraged and recruited each year. A waiting list of new students will be maintained if all 15 team spots are full. More experienced team members are expected to help train and mentor the new students, so that there is a continuous sharing of team knowledge from one year to the next.
  • Attendance:Due to the short design and build season, it is essential that all students attend team meetings/build sessions at least twice a week (Monday-Thursday) on a regular basis from September- December from 2:15 – 3:45 pm (late bus dismissal). Students may also opt to stay beyond 3:45 pm if mentors are available to supervise, and if they can provide their own transportation. Ideally students will arrange their after-school schedules to allow for regular attendance on regular days. Students who are absent due to illness or other unavoidable conflicts should make every attempt to make up their missed attendance on other days. Poor attendance negatively affects the whole team’s progress, and students with poor attendance histories (less than 80%) will be ineligible to participate in the tournaments. In extreme circumstances, a student with chronically poor attendance may be replaced by new student who is on the waiting list. Students who have other significant after-school commitments in the Fall (varsity sports, jobs etc.) should see Ms. Pierce at the beginning of the season to discuss participation options.
  • Saturday Builds:All students are expected to attend at least one Saturday build party. These will be held as needed to construct the game field, and for additional practice as needed as the tournament dates approach.
  • Community Outreach:All students are expected to participate in at least two community outreach events during the season, such as helping the LAMS FLL team on a regular basis, helping at the LAMS FLL qualifying tournament, participating in community demonstrations, library programs etc. Community outreach time can be counted toward general community service requirements for other purposes, such as National Honor Society, International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma requirements, etc., and students are encouraged to keep track of their individual community service hours.
  • Fundraising:All students are expected to help out with team fundraising efforts by obtaining local sponsors and donations, participating in school-based fundraising like bake sales and raffles, and any other activities decided by the team.
  • Tournaments:All students are expected to attend at least one (and preferably two) competition tournaments during the season. These are typically all-day events on either Saturdays on Sundays in December and January. Every effort will be made to participate in the closest possible competitions, but some tournaments may require a 1-1.5 hour drive.

Parent Involvement