ok so from here on we just started placing the robots at different places trying to show what they could do if the washboard didnt always destroy their runs

Exhibition 1: Team Big Fish and THE HILL…

for our first exhibition, the other team set up the robot before the hill and took some stabs and speeding their way over it. in the end, none of the attempts made it, but i have video of the third one where they got so close that one of the wheels drove onto the other side of the hill and kept the robot there, until their driver let go of the throttle and let it down. it was super cool!!

Exhibition 2: Team 10 and THE HOOK

finally it was time for my teammates magnum opus of the past two weeks to be revealed and truly tested, and that of course was THE CLIMB!!!! and by the climb i mean a big pink plastic hook on the end of a measuring tape roll taken out of its case that we lovingly call “the bomb” (because it WILL explode if not handled properly). like i said a while ago though, the climb didnt have enough force to pull up the robot, but thats fine! theres still partial points for hooking, so all this exhibition really was was the hook rising at an almost comedically slow pace, before i carefully drove the robot over to the bar (as to not fold over the tape from the velocity) and gingerly brought the hook down on it. and everybody clapped!

Exhibition 3: Team Big Fish and THE DUNK

aka they used their shooter. it was super cool actually! they have a whole system with conveyor belt squeezing balls forward from above a slanted metal sheet, with flywheels at the end that can block balls for storage purposes until the gate is opened and the conveyor belts are forwarded to shoot them! it was suprisingly good and consistent, shooting from behind the second-to-last line. i wish we could do that…
its okay they dont have a climb so we’re better

and that was pretty much it! this experience has been so incredibly helpful for my learning and for me in general, and it really was(😢) one of the most fun times of my life. i dont even think i could near catalogue how much fun i had and how many things i learned. i really cant put it into words. thank you lucas, carlos, jade, maanya, patrick, alfonso, and trina for making this what it was, and of course thank you big zrl for sponsoring my attendance.

if you’re reviewing this project, i recommend looking at devlogs further down if you’re missing context. the photos should hopefully help see the progression as well (if i can get those uploaded…)

i leave you with 3 photos: the state of the robot right before i turned it off for the last time, the absolute state of our whiteboard after we used for brainstorming, and a last minute photo of the hallway i knew i would never walk again.

happy hack clubbing!