Subteams
While all team members work towards a common goal on Team 141, subteams are organized to accomplish the numerous tasks.
Animation
The animation team constructs a 3D animation based on a theme given at the beginning of the season. We create a brief outline of what we want to create. Next, we flesh it out with a storyboard and put in more detail. Finally, we start constructing our animation using Autodesk's program, 3D Studio Max, to create our interpretation of this year's theme for Visualization Design Competition: Design an Invention for Your Community. Here is the situation: You have been hired by your city or town to develop an invention that will help your community. You were specifically selected because your designs are innovative, efficient, and timeless. You carefully consider budget, resources, materials, and how your project will affect the environment now and for future generations. Your work is of the highest quality and integrity and you are well respected in your community. To develop the 30-second animation for this year's competition, there are three creative options. Pick your favorite option and get started: 1. Show the design process of your invention; or 2. Show how your invention works; or 3. Show how your invention has affected your community.
View Animation Storyboard
Inventor
The Autodesk Inventor Award recognizes outstanding student achievement in mechanical design of the team robot using Autodesk Inventor software. The software gives teams the power to test designs and check for interferences in a virtual environment so issues can be resolved without creating a physical prototype. The judges look for quality of robot design, technical expertise, and presentation of the final design.
Build
When the game is announced every year, we don't go straight to design, but begin by determining what characteristics we'd like for our robot. We brainstorm robot designs and then consider speed, cost, time to build, robust... etc. These characteristics are prioritized using the "Pugh" analysis. The design is selected and the build team begins to turn ideas into a robot.
Chairman's Award
The Chairman's team coordinates our team's efforts for the Chairman's Award. They are responsible for documenting our efforts to spread the spirit of FIRST and our community involvement. The Chairman's submission highlights our team's efforts to be an effective role model to inspire interest in science and technology! Students present our Chairman's submission at a regional competition in an effort to win the prestigious, highest-ranking Chairman's Award.
Drive
The drive team consists of four students: coach, driver, "button monkey" and robocoach. Team 141 is unique because we have multiple drive teams, allowing many students the opportunity to have "on the field" experience. Team 141 also has all-student drive teams, which truly embodies the spirit of FIRST.
Electrical
The electrical team is responsible for the electrical design from concept to implementation. They learn circuit designs through block diagrams and schematics. Students use Microsoft's Visio program to determine functional requirements. Working with the build team, they determine what needs to be controlled, such as motors. They identify software requirements with the programming team and the best way to implement user interface controls with the drivers.
Marketing
The marketing team is the glue of Team 141. They work to keep the team on track by organizing paperwork, fund raising and designing buttons, t-shirts and give-aways. They are also involved in keeping track of the scouting paperwork at competitions.
Programming
Our programming team is a dedicated crew with a wide spread of responsibilities. From a Visual Basic application for in-game use, to a PID loop for easier driving, they do a quality job at making the 'bot move. Our programming team comes up with solutions to any problems. Our robot in 2006 was a four-wheel drive system. The problem? It would bounce and wobble when we tried to turn it. Our programming team asked for the build team to put in retractable casters, so when the robot was told to turn, they deployed, removing the bounce from the turn. They also do complex autonomous modes, and PID loops for ease of control.
Scouting
The scouting team works on finding out information on other robots. This is primarily for the use of the drive and strategy teams, who will use the information in deciding on what alliances to choose or what actions to take in a match. The two types of scouting that are used by Team 141 are Match Scouting and Pit Scouting. Pit Scouting is when the general information about the other team's robot is obtained. Match Scouting is when our team members in the stands select robots to monitor during the match, allowing accurate data of match effectiveness on each robot to be cataloged and kept in a portfolio. The scouting team's job of accurately recording all match information is significant because it allows the drive team to make more informed decisions about what strategies to use.
Strategy
The job of the strategy team is to be able to quickly and accurately determine the strategies that will most effectively help our alliance in each match.
Website
The website team works on developing a team website. They first put together a comprehensive outline to organize their site. Then they develop a comprehensive design for each page. This year the team has used XHTML, CSS and Javascript to create their site.