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Hello!! I had a great day today! My team worked so hard today, and their hard work was certainly rewarded. They started off today working on my mechanisms to get them ready for more practice. They set up the chain and motor for my boulder intake, finalized details on my drive train, mounted and wired up the limit switch, finished setting up the pneumatics, and wrapped up some details. My team also discussed some details before the competition next weekend. By the evening, the programmers had a chance to work with me. They tested out their code and made sure that everything was running smoothly. I don't really know who they are, but I've been told that Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy were looking for a mind at work. Well, ladies, look no further. Here on my team, we have a bunch! I feel so special to be a robot who has such fabulous girls to work with. Until tomorrow, Nox  
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What's up, friends?! Today was a blast! It's only a week until Lumos starts competing, so my team has been working hard to beat the clock. Today, they got a lot done. They put the surgical tubing strips on my boulder intake, mounted some of my cameras, cleaned up my wiring, fixed my drive train, and got me closer to being ready to move around. Meanwhile, my programmers cleaned up the code and kept brainstorming. They were also able to get my camera toggles to work so that the drivers can switch from camera to camera. All afternoon, my team had footage from this week's competitions on. The robots that I saw were so cool! By the end of the day, the coolest thing happened. I finally started driving around! One of my drivers practiced driving me around with only the help of my cameras. While this was tricky, it was important because she will most likely not be able to see me through the defenses at competitions. I can't wait to practice more tomorrow! XOXO Nox    Hey!!! It's never a dull day in the shop! Today, everyone was hard at work to get me functional. That meant wiring up more connections, building brackets, mounting pieces, and connecting pneumatics. Each step of the way, they are being careful to get it right. Everyone collaborated and shared ideas. Meanwhile, the programmers continued to figure out autonomous. As soon as I am ready to drive, they will spend a lot of time testing me out. A major event occurred today. Joanie, one of the senior team members, was declared the safety captain for the year! I am very excited for her! She is already working hard to make sure that everyone is being safe. I'm thankful for that because I would be heartbroken if one of my builders got hurt. She is getting everyone prepared for the competitions by ensuring that they know all about safety. I wish that I could go out and meet other robots. They seem so fun on the videos I've seen! Lumos is going to be so lucky at competitions! XOXO Nox  Hey!! My day was super duper cool! A lot happened. All of the girls who will be on the drive team at competitions met today to discuss everything from strategy to communications to expectations and responsibilities. It was interesting to hear them talk about competitions - I can't believe how soon they are! Meanwhile, the programmers and builders were working very hard. The programmers worked with the autonomous programs some more. They know how essential having that code perfect is going to be to the team's success, so they are trying to get it all cleaned up. The builders continued to wire me up, set up my boulder intake, and play around with my tape measure mechanism. Building me is allowing my team to realize ways that they can improve their original designs. I love spending every day with my team! To all my Firebirds - when I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be! XOXO Nox  Girls. While I'm only a young robot, I know one thing for sure. Girls, especially the ones on my team, are true stars. Robots and guys are great - don't get me wrong. However, I think it's super important to celebrate the women around us on a daily basis. Not just today, which is International Women's Day. I love that my team have an extra excuse to celebrate today, but we try to make this day last all year long. After all, we all rise by lifting others up with us. What better way is there for the girls to celebrate girl power than by using their fabulous skills in the shop? Today, they came in and worked on a variety of tasks. They learned a ton at the competition this weekend, so they started off by discussing what they learned. Some strategies were modified, other thoughts were reaffirmed. After that, they got down to business. The programmers thought about autonomous more. They also started configuring my electronics. I even drove a little today (on blocks, not on the ground)! The builders kept working on my boulder intake and tape measure mechanism. I'm getting so close to being fully functional - I can feel it! I feel so beyond lucky to have the opportunity to spend every day with my team. I know all robots think they have great teams, but I know I scored the jackpot! Until tomorrow, Nox   Hello, friends! Wow! The past two days have been so much fun for all of us here on team 433! This weekend, we sent a few girls and mentors to volunteer at the Hatboro-Horsham district competition. If you were there, you might have seen us - we were the ones with blue and orange ribbons working on field reset and refereeing! Volunteering was such a great opportunity for our team! We got to see how the game works before we compete. We also were able to give back to FIRST which was amazing. Best of all, we had a blast meeting new people, dancing, and cheering on teams! We would like to extend a congratulations to all of the teams who competed this weekend! You all did a fabulous job, and we wish you the best of luck during the rest of the competition season! Congratulations especially to all of the teams who won awards - you rock! We can't wait to compete at Springside-Chestnut Hill in less that two weeks! XOXO The Firebirds     What's up, everyone? Today was fabulous! The girls had a half day today, which meant that I got to spend more time with them! It was a special day for them - they called it "Charity Day". I don't really know much about it, except for that it involved singing, games, funny outfits, and face paint. Anyway, I was glad to see the girls so cheerful this afternoon! The girls accomplished a lot today! Everyone was working on a different type of task. Some girls worked on the Chairman's Award presentation materials. Others looked into autonomous code solutions. A few girls worked on cleaning up my wiring and adding a few more connections. My boulder intake was further developped today. During all of this, some footage from week 1 competitions was playing. The girls loved cheering on other robots and looking at their designs! Oh! I almost forgot one more thing that happened today! The girls completed their video from the Scala visit on Tuesday! It's part of a video series that they're calling "What's The Buzz, Birds?" Check it out at the bottom of this post! For the next few days, my team won't be hanging out with me. They're going to a local competition. Lumos isn't competing. They're going to help out and watch the other robots. I can't wait to hear how it goes! XOXO Nox  Hey everybody! Another day, another adventure! Today, my team worked hard to get me closer to being ready. They continued to wire me up and write my code. My pneumatics tank was mounted and more pieces for my boulder intake were set up. Now that we aren't in the crunch time of build season, girls are venturing out of their comfort zones more and learning new skills. Something really exciting happened today! Some of my team's friends from LaSalle came to visit. They had a meeting about scouting and strategy. Hopefully, the things that they discussed will help us out at competitions. I can't believe how much I am starting to look like Lumos. Soon, I will be driving around and hanging just like him! Until tomorrow, Nox  Hey everyone! Don't worry. My name may be Nox, but I'm definitely not obnoxious. My team has taught me to be a humble robot. I just am really loving my new name! Today was so much fun! I'm so excited about how I am getting closer and closer to becoming a full robot just like Lumos! Much progress was made today. Some girls worked on my wiring and electronics. They mounted my voltage regulator module, pneumatics control module, roborio, and power distribution board. Then, they began to wire those together. They also began to wire my drive motors. Meanwhile, some girls focused on reading over the game manual. They want to make sure that they don't break any rules when Lumos is on the field. Some other builders focused on mounting my compressor and building pieces for my boulder intake. A few girls worked on touching up and adjusting field elements so they are ready once I start practicing. I'm adoring all of the attention that I am getting! Don't get me wrong, I miss Lumos a bunch. However, it's nice to have everyone focusing on me! Until tomorrow, Nox    Hey everyone! We are so excited to share the adventure that we had today with all of you! We are so lucky to have sponsors who not only support our team financially, but who also go above and beyond to encourage us and reach out to us. Today, we had the opportunity to spend some time with one of our fabulous sponsors! Right after school today, Emma, Annie, Cianna, Hannah, and Mrs. Soley drove out to Malvern to represent our team and visit Scala's Americas headquarters. One of our mentors, Mr. Rossman, met us there. Once we walked into the office, we were blown away. Scala works with digital signage software, and examples of their work were all over the office walls. Mr. Nix, the CEO of Scala, greeted and welcomed us at the door. We were so thrilled to have the opportunity to thank him for all of the support he has given our team. Then, we went on a tour of the headquarters. Mr. Nix introduced us to many of the employees at Scala and demonstrated multiple of their latest technologies. We were so impressed by the solutions that we will be seeing in the world around us soon. We were even able to try out a few! We loved hearing stories from different professionals about what they do and why they love it. At the end of the tour, we had the privilege to interview Mr. Nix and hear some wonderful insights from him. We will share that footage with you all soon! Today was so amazing in so many ways! We appreciated the chance to thank one of our biggest supporters in person. We were reminded of the many doors that are opened through FIRST and STEM. And most importantly, we had so much fun learning about new technologies with everyone at Scala! Thanks a million to Scala and all of our sponsors! XOXO The Firebirds     |
