Weekly Update 12/8

Lightning Robotics has been hard at work these past few weeks. Preseason will soon be coming to a close as build season draws near. Here’s a quick update as to what the team has been up to these past few weeks:

ENGINEERING

  

                                       

Electrical

The Electrical subgroup has been working on training its rookies in preparation for build season. They have made progress on creating a temporary electrical board for the robot and are now working on organizing storage items

Design

As a part of rookie training, the Design subgroup has been working on introducing its rookies to CAD software and getting teaching them about its uses in FRC. The veterans are working on testing out a new addition to the CAD software that helps with prototyping.

Fabrication

Fabrication has also been mainly focused on rookie training. They have been doing safety training and practicing parts that involve all of the tools and most commonly used stock. As of the last meeting, they have been working on reorganizing the workshop in preparation for build season.

Programming

The Programming subgroup has been working on rookie training as well, which involves introducing them to WPILib and having them tune autons.

Strategy

The Strategy subgroup has been working on driver training for the upcoming competition season. At this point, they have shortlisted their list of people for the position and are continuing to run trials to make the final selection. 

BUSINESS   

 

Marketing

The Marketing subgroup has been working on brainstorming and creating button designs on Adobe Illustrator to be distributed at this season’s upcoming events and competitions. There has also been talk about including stickers into the merchandise catalog along with brainstorming for those as well.

Outreach

In the last few weeks, Outreach has hosted two events: Girls Gear Up, an event for 4th and 5th grade girls within the Plymouth-Canton community to explore different areas of STEM, and the FLL (FIRST LEGO League) Explore Festival for 22 FLL robotics teams. These events encouraged young children to explore various ares of STEM and develop an interest. Now, they are working on planning more such outreach events such as the upcoming Diversity in STEM event and other donation drives for a cause.

Awards

The Awards subgroup has just finished this year’s Woodie Flowers nomination. Now, they are working towards brainstorming, interviewing team members/mentors, and writing the first draft for the award submission.

Animation

The Animation subgroup has recently finished their Safety Animation for this year, which was about promoting safety and how it can help solving a problem. Currently, they are working on their digital animation following the theme “Crescendo.”

2023 Spirit Store

 

Looking for some awesome ways to support Lighting? Well, you’re in luck! Our spirit store is open once again! From t-shirts and sweatshirts to hats and accessories, theres certainly something everyone can enjoy. Additionally, in honor of our 25th anniversary, we are selling merchandise with our new 25th anniversary art (which has been wonderfully designed by our marketing team)! Click on the link or scan the QR code above to check it out. Be sure to act fast, as it’s only open till November 1. 

As always…862, Orange and Blue! 🧡💙

https://lightningroboticsfall2023spiritwear.itemorder.com/shop/home/

2022 World Championship Recap

Through the week of April 18th, Lightning Robotics made the long drive to Houston, Texas to compete in the FIRST World Championship! On the Carver field, we dominated the Qualification matches and ended in rank 5. During alliance selection, we became the 4th alliance captain, choosing FRC696, Circuit Breakers; FRC5199, Robot Dolphins From Outer Space; and FRC2491, NoMythic. Through three brutal matches in the Quarterfinals, Alliance 4 suffered a harsh defeat in the tiebreaker. A huge congratulations to our Communications team, our Vice President of Business Operations, and our Treasurer for winning the Entrepreneurship Award, the first judged award Lightning has won at the World Championship! For all of us, that was our final competition of the season, but for some, that was their final competition on the team, so congratulations to our graduating seniors. Thank you for all that you’ve done for our team, and good luck! Another massive thank you to our drive team, who carried us through each and every competition, the technician team, who kept Void running between matches, our Pit Crew, who spoke to judges and every competition and allowed us to win awards at each one, RPM, who provided our students with food and lodging during our competitions, our alliance partners, our gracious sponsors, and every student and mentor on Lightning Robotics who put in the endless work to make this year a fantastic one. Thank you all for a wonderful season, and we’ll see you next year to play Charged Up presented by Haas!

2022 Michigan State Championship Recap

From April 13-16, Lightning Robotics competed at the FIRST in Michigan State Championship! We were assigned to the DTE Division and finished our qualifying matches in 22nd place. We were graciously chosen by Alliance 8, with alliance captain FRC3655, Tractor Technicians, and FRC4392, The Deceivers. During the Quarterfinal Showdown, our alliance brought a storm to the field and came out on top! Although Void and his drive team fought as hard as they could, we received a close defeat in the Semifinals. Congratulations to our Marketing team, along with our Pit Crew, for winning the Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen. Thank you to our drive team, technician team, Pit Crew, FRC3655 and FRC4392, as well as our gracious sponsors who allowed us to make it this far. On to World Championships!

2022 Districts Recap

Over the past 6 weeks, Lightning Robotics has been working hard at our two district competitions, Milford and Macomb! At our Milford District Competition (March 11-12), Void and our drive team worked relentlessly and we finished the Qualifying matches in rank 17. We got chosen by the 5th alliance with alliance captain FRC4382, GEMS, and FRC1502, Technical Difficulties. Void pushed his way valiantly through the playoffs, and our alliance came out on top and won the event! On top of being the District Event Winner, we also won the Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors. At our second competition, the Macomb District Competition (April 1-2), we finished the Qualification matches in 14th and were chosen by the 6th alliance, led by FRC469, Las Guerrillas, and together, we chose FRC5860, Full Metal Muskrats. Although we worked hard in the Quarterfinals, we were unfortunately knocked out in Quarterfinal 4 Match 3. We would like to congratulate our Business Operations for winning the Entrepreneurship Award for their outstanding work on our team’s Business Plan. We would also like to give a big thank you to the members of our Drive Team, Chairman’s Team, Pit Crew, Technician Team, and every single student on Lightning Robotics who made our accomplishments possible, along with our gracious sponsors and mentors.