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Our team writes a weekly article for our local newspaper, the Miami County Republic. Below is a copy of our latest article and and update on our team's build season progress.

Panther Robotics Continuing Progress
By: Lea Hauldren and Katherine Kennedy
        
The past week was spent finalizing prototypes as the Panther Robotics team begins to construct their robot.The team has been continuously discussing ideas for their ball launching mechanism.

The build team has begun building the chassis and drive train for the robot. The team has started to put together wheels and motors from the kit of parts that they received on kickoff day at the beginning of the build season. The team has decided on using a catapult to launch the balls over the 6.5 foot overpass.

The audio visual committee has begun to upload photos and videos from this season in hopes of being more organized. They will compile these photos and videos into a scrapbook and video documentary of the teams process. This documentary will be displayed in the team’s pit at regionals.

This year the team has chosen a 60’s theme, “Peace, Love and FIRST.” The team will use this slogan in every aspect; from the shirts they wear to the website. It will even be the basis of their Chairman’s Award essay submission.

The team’s website is currently under construction. The website committee continues to work daily on the site in hopes of having it online soon.

The scouting committee has been keeping track of other teams and their progress from our regional competitions. This information will keep us informed on what other teams are doing and how their robot is coming along.
           
Team members are still selling raffle tickets for free car washes for a year at Zarco 66. Tickets are 1 for $5. The drawing will be during the during the senior night basketball game at the high school.

Follow the teams progress with weekly updates in the Republic.

The article can also be viewed at the Miami County Republic website HERE. A special thanks to the Republic for their continual support of team 1108.

 

Panther Robotics: Kick It Into Overdrive
By: Lea Hauldren and Katherine Kennedy

The Paola Panther Robotics Team is off and running after the first week of the six week build season comes to an end. They will spend the remaining five weeks finalizing prototypes and building their robot. This time will also be spent writing up their Chairman’s Award essay, designing a new website, and creating an animation, all to be submitted for judging at the competitions.

At the kickoff, they learned the 2008 game, Overdrive. FIRST Overdrive is a game played on an oblong track. Two alliances, one red and one blue, composed of three teams each, compete in each match. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by making counter-clockwise laps around the track while moving large trackballs over and/or under an overpass that bisects the track. For a more complete description of the game, visit www.usfirst.org.

As week one comes to an end, so does their time for brainstorming and prototyping. Lots of hours and brain power were spent pondering possible ideas for this year's robot. Ideas ranged from a catapult to a track car to a suction cup.

For the final stage of the brainstorming process, the team used a decision matrix to help them decide on a final design. A decision matrix is similar to a spread sheet using specific solutions along with specific criteria to see which solution will work the best for the year's game. Some examples of criteria the team looked for were high speed, good stability, and strong durability. "It has been a long tedious process. But, it will have been worth it when we have an awesome robot." said senior team member Bridget Kennedy.
           
Fundraising is always a very important aspect to the team. The team will be selling raffle tickets for a free car wash each day for one year at the Zarco Phillips 66 in Paola. Tickets can be purchased from any team member and also at home basketball games. Tickets are 1 for $5. The raffle drawing will be on February 22 during the senior night basketball game at the high school. The team will also be selling spirit beads at the home basketball games.
           
The team will be attending the Greater KC Regional on March 6-8 as well as the Lonestar Regional in Katy, Texas, March 18-23. For more information on these regionals, visit www.kcfirst.org and txfirst.org.
            Follow the teams’ progress through the coming weeks in the Republic.

 

 
©2008 Panther Robotics