The STEMley Cup is held annually by MakeShift 4039 and Celt-X 5406, and this year the Youth Council conducted interviews with a few of the participating teams. The STEMley Cup offers FRC teams the chance to play the match from the previous year once again in a friendly and enjoyable setting. Teams may take advantage of this chance to put system improvements to the test, train team members for new responsibilities, or expose brand-new team members to the excitement of competition. We interviewed a few teams from the competition and would love to share them with you!
Let’s start with team 4476, WAFFLES robotics. This year the WAFFLES robot was designed to be as versatile as possible, starting with its drive base. They used a swerve drivetrain for the first time this year, where they have four wheels that all independently drive and steer. This allows them to perform complicated maneuvers and get around the defense much easier. Their intake is designed to pick up balls in as little time as possible, ensuring that all they have to do is touch a ball with the intake to pick it up. Their shooter uses a limelight camera to auto-target the goal, so lining up for a shot is as simple as pressing a button. This, combined with an adjustable hood for different shot angles and accurate speed control of the shooter wheels, allows them to shoot from anywhere on the field with the press of a button. Their climber was designed to be fast and reliable – by having separate telescoping and rotating arms, they ensure that they can climb even if the complicated rotating arms fail. Now moving onto the WAFFLES strategy for this event, they were going offensive trying to score more points than the other alliance! “But seriously, we aim to play solid offense and be a reliable scorer, but also get in the way of the opposing alliance should the opportunity present itself.” -WAFFLES Driver. Finally, when it came to their objectives for the event, their main objective was to do their best and have fun. They were also taking this opportunity to introduce some of their newer students to the excitement of competitions without the stress that in-season events bring. “Of course, it would be nice to win, but our main objective is to simply do our best and make sure the entire team has a fun, positive experience”.
Next up was team 2056, OP robotics. When it came to the design of their robot they went with a cool intake that can suck the ball in as long as it was in their robot’s frame perimeter. One of the most impressive things about their robot though was their turret shooter that not only is very accurate but has the ability to shoot while driving, giving 2056 a great competitive advantage by being able to dodge defenders and not worry about having to line up. When it came to their climber, they went with a ratcheting system that was quick and efficient. Last, but not least their robot was using tank drive this year which came with advantages like being more simple. Compact, a lot of traction to the field, and a tank drive robot are particularly resistant to being forced in a direction it does not want to travel. Finally, their main objective for the event was to have fun, try out new drive team rotations, and bonus if they win!
After that, we interviewed team 1114, Simbotics. This year due to time restrictions caused by COVID, they had to simplify their design but that doesn’t mean they weren’t effective as ever. They had a wide intake to allow them to suck in balls as long as it was in front of their robot. When it came to their hood, it could shoot from almost anywhere on the field but also came with some failsafe’s. One example of that is that if the limelight goes out, they can shoot high goals from against the net consistently. When it came to their climb team 1114 was consistently reaching traversal! While their electrical may have been, “a giant mess”, that doesn’t mean things weren’t getting done. Simbotics were using swerve drive this year to really give them that maneuvering advantage that has proven so useful for this year’s game. When it came to their strategy, it was shoot shoot shoot. With their efficient scoring and flexibility with swerve, Simbotics was very focused on the offensive play. Finally, their objective for STEMley was to train new people for next year, and once again just have fun!
Last but not least was team 2903, the Mustangs! This year the mustangs took a protective approach to the game, building their robot around strength and resilience. They had colourful shielding all around their robot which was 3D printed with PLA plastic! When it comes to shooting, they had a shooter design that went for low goals and held two balls at a time. Their climber was made up of ratcheting hooks that could get them all the way up to traversal. The mustang’s strategy for this event was to play defence and climb, really helping their alliance by being that strong defensive presence. Finally, their objective for this event was just to practice. They want everyone to stay sharp for this upcoming year and STEMley was the perfect place to get this done.
