Newsletter: Peninsula STEM Gym seeks new home

Menchville High School’s competitive robotics team Triple Helix competes in a STEM sport where the shape and structure of the official playing field changes each year.  Prior to establishing the Peninsula STEM Gym in fall 2018, the team’s first opportunity each season to see & touch the playing field was when the team arrived at their first tournament of the year.  (Imagine playing an athletic sport competitively without the benefit of practicing on a court!)

Since that time, the Peninsula STEM Gym in central Newport News has offered local student robotics teams a 2,500 square foot practice area for testing robot functionality and improving their game. The facility has enabled teams to gain driving practice, discover ways to iterate and improve their robot designs, and better prepare to compete against other top Virginia teams as well as on the world stage.

A place for student robotics teams to develop competition robots and have real-world engineering experiences that will inspire a lifelong interest in science and math, the STEM Gym provides an indispensable service for the students of the Peninsula.

Triple Helix Robotics and our supporting nonprofit organization Intentional Innovation Foundation is now seeking a new home for the STEM Gym, and we ask for your help in identifying suitable locations.

STEM Gym location requirements

  • Situated on the Peninsula
  • 30×75 FT flat and level open space without columns or other interruptions
  • 12 FT minimum ceiling height, ideally higher
  • Accessible by any local youth STEM team who would like to use it for practice
  • Accessible at all hours (especially evenings and weekends) with little advance notice
  • Availability of 110VAC power & internet

Nice-to-haves, that would be an improvement over the STEM Gym’s current location, include:

  • Heat
  • Parking
  • Standard dock-height loading dock 

STEM Gym highlights
In addition to serving as the main practice space for Triple Helix Robotics, the STEM Gym provided a gathering and testing location for Newport News and Hampton City Schools competitive robotics teams on more than 27 occasions in calendar year 2019.

During summer 2019, the STEM Gym served as the home base for a unique collaboration between local teams who met weekly to prototype a mobile target robot for the Newport News Police Department shooting range.

The STEM Gym is itself collaborative project, too. A Community Knights GIFT Grant amplified Triple Helix’s existing funding and enabled the team to establish the facility. Newport News Shipbuilding generously donated the full-size FTC field border and the first set of FRC game elements. The NASA Knights, FRC team 122, contributed much of the lumber that was used to fashion full-scale wooden mockups of the FRC game elements for the past two seasons.

The STEM Gym also hosted an FLL Kick-off event, which provided local teams an opportunity to review the playing field, discuss game rules and robot design options, and speak to three local professionals about their areas of expertise relevant to the FLL research project.

Thank you,
Nate Laverdure
President, Intentional Innovation Foundation
Head coach, Triple Helix Robotics

Beyond Chairman’s: teaming up to build assistive tech

People with disabilities are often challenged to resume the activities of their everyday lives. Assistive technology (AT) helps people resume independent participation, however commercial devices are often expensive and unsuited for individual use. Occupational Therapists (OT) increase client access to AT, but may lack skills, material and equipment needed to make individualized solutions. In this presentation, we discuss the collaboration between our FIRST team and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Occupational Therapy program and present a model for establishing similarly unique and mutually advantageous partnerships to increase the skills of health practitioners, introduce real-world application opportunities to STEM students, and address community AT needs.

Video presentation

Genome Mu (2020) pre-match checklist

Triple Helix’s pit crew ensured that our 2020 robot, Genome Mu, was ready for each match by working through the following checklist.

  • Close pneumatic vent valve
  • Inspect IR Sensors
    • Firmly in place
    • Check operation of upper and lower sensors
  • Reset Climbing Mechanism
    • Rewind cord
    • Set tension of cord when stowed
  • Clean yellow “Lemon Zest”
    • Shooter wheels
    • IR Sensors
  • Check Tires
  • Every 3 matches
    • Inflation
    • Snap-rings
  • Check Belts
    • Intake
    • Magazine
  • Review Driver Station Log (if reported problems)
    • Compare commanded DS state with Robot State
    • Check connectivity to robot
    • Review current & voltage graphs
    • Look for reported errors
  • Charge pneumatic system
  • System function check (Intake, Magazine, Shooter (dump))
  • Log new battery and swap
  • Visually inspect connections to RoboRIO.
    • I2C (color sensor)
    • 5x DIO AUtoswitch, 1x Flashlight
  • Visually inspect wires and pneumatic tubing
    • Check interference with crank
  • Swap bumper
  • Determine alliance color and make appropriate selections on Autonomous switches

How lead mentor transitions happen

One of the most critical existential risks for sustainable-minded teams (and the biggest single reason that teams “retire”) is the loss of their champion– the 1 or 2 key lead individuals who hold the whole thing together. In this presentation, head coach Nate Laverdure discusses how the outgoing lead mentors, the incoming lead mentors, the rest of the team, and the team’s stakeholder community can plan and execute a successful leadership change.

Video presentation

Question 309

Triple Helix’s 2019 robot used vision systems to target the retroflectors which were attached to various scoring locations around the field. Throughout that season, we struggled to find a way to use these vision systems without triggering the objection of nearby field volunteers, who found them to be too bright.

In February 2020, Triple Helix mentors posed a question in the official Q&A seeking a definition of the word “brief” as it appeared in the blue box below rule R8:

The question was deleted from the Q&A system soon after it was posted.

Our question, the original text of which is lost, was a non sequitur. We proposed the fanciful idea that since the manual describes the January-March build season as “brief” in a completely separate discussion of Vendor qualifications, then it must be acceptable to illuminate a high-intensity light for no longer than 3 months at a time.

The following email conversation tells the story of that deleted question. We share this conversation here because we think it remains an informative look into the thought processes of both the game designers and the players.

Hello Team 2363!

My name is Jamee Luce, and I am the Team Advocate for FIRST Robotics Competition. I’m writing to you today in regards to Question 309, one of the questions your team submitted to the official Q&A system.

Writing the FIRST Robotics Competition Manual is one of the most important, but most difficult, things we do as the Game Design Team. We try to balance its readability with the necessity to be very specific. This gets very challenging for us at times. As such, there are times when we use the same words to mean very different things.

In your question, the word “brief” is used in this way. In one instance of “brief”, we wanted to provide guidance to teams about how to appropriately use their vision tracking system, and in another, we used “brief” to describe the length of the build season.

We find the comparison of these two situations to be inappropriate, since most users will understand that we didn’t mean the same time frame in both instances. As authors of the manual, we need to be able to express ourselves in different ways, depending on the situation. In some cases, it’s imperative that we are very specific (how long can a team be pinned), but in others, we don’t believe our community needs that kind of specifics (have your light on for a brief period of time).

We have deleted your question, and we ask that your team please think about your questions and how it reflects on our community before your team posts again. Please remember that we are all members of this community together. Most of us are coaches and mentors ourselves, so we really do think about the manual in its entirety before we publish.

Thanks!

Jamee Luce, Team Advocate, FIRST ® Robotics Competition

Jamee, I appreciate your note and understand the group’s decision to delete the question. Thank you for personally reaching out to explain things.

I’m sorry the question was received as being inappropriate and caused you to see our team as not having a respect for the hard work of the team of manual writers. We think the GDC is doing a stellar job crafting FRC rulesets that are both clear and internally consistent. We do appreciate how exceedingly hard this is to do! Triple Helix has a deep love of high-quality documentation. We can point to the fact that there have been only a very small number of significant rule changes made this year in the Team Updates as evidence that the 2020 rules are largely well done. We also especially appreciated the decision to pre-release some limited rules sections prior to the start of the season, as this gave us time during the offseason to ponder over the implications of the 2020 bag day changes.

We are dedicated members of this community and are committed to the program’s effectiveness, especially in our local area. When we ask questions about the program, it comes from a place of wanting the program to be even better. When it comes to the particular issue we asked about in Q309, please understand that:

  1. Our team has a history with the limitations posed by the current manual language, at least as interpreted by the LRIs at our events:
    https://www.chiefdelphi.com/t/limelights-work-great-but-are-a-little-bright/350766
  2. We find that the potential for harm comes from a multiplication of two factors: intensity * exposure. As we do not currently have a method of controlling the light intensity, our strategy for mitigating risk relies primarily on reducing the 2nd factor in this equation, exposure. Ideally we can reduce exposure across both the space and time axes, by both (1) pointing targeting lights away from the eyes of field bystanders and (2) only lighting up the targeting lights while targeting the retroreflective vision target.
    https://www.chiefdelphi.com/t/limelights-work-great-but-are-a-little-bright/350766/31
  3. Although this mitigation strategy was successful in 2019, we are concerned that it will not be enough in 2020, given that:
    a. The goal is located above the opposing alliance’s driver station, putting the opposing alliance directly in the field of view of targeting lights. This takes away our ability to mitigate exposure on the space axis, leaving the time axis as our sole focus.
    b. It is reasonable for an alliance to be attempting shots on goal throughout most of the match.
    c. Even if not attempting shots on goal, it is reasonable to use lights and computer vision to employ the retroreflective target as one element of a field-relative positioning system throughout the entire match.
    https://www.chiefdelphi.com/t/anti-limelight-glasses-for-drive-team/371265/35
  4. We only sought GDC feedback after engaging with our community to the best of our ability. The origins of Q309 were in a discussion with Kevin Genson, the Senior LRI for FIRST Chesapeake, who wrote yesterday in a space for FIRST Chesapeake mentors:
    Hey everyone, just a reminder that the output of the Limelight cameras is very bright and can potentially run afoul of R8. On a recent LRI call there were a few examples of teams using the Limelight at full power and running it constantly during the entire length of the match. Please do not do this, as the moment someone complains about the brightness inspectors will be obligated to examine the light and may require mitigation. The best approach is to control the light via software. Ideally the light should only be used when targeting is happening; when the robot is facing the goal and you’re in the process of seeking the reflective strips. The Limelight software includes a lot of options and flexibility.
  5. Even if Q309 had been answered, we think it is unlikely this issue would be completely resolved, and we have a number of remaining questions about how brightness of lights will be managed in the 2020 season. For example:
    a. How can we help inspectors & field volunteers distinguish low-intensity lights from high-intensity lights on our robot?
    b. Are high-intensity lights legal if they are used (however briefly) for the purpose of locating the robot in 2D space instead of aiming a shot on goal?

In the future, how can we seek answers to these questions in a way that will demonstrate both (1) our respect for the large community of staff, volunteers, and players who make FRC work in a way that provides stellar experiences for our students and (2) our desire to seek improvements to relatively narrow aspects of the program that we believe could be improved to create even better experiences for our students?

Maintaining the important core mindset that we are all in this community together, would you agree with the idea that “the moment someone complains about the brightness inspectors will be obligated to examine the light and may require mitigation”? Do all types of complaints carry equal weight? If so, do you think teams using bright targeting lights are at risk of drawing any bad-faith complaints from opponent teams who would like to see these lights be shut off, but do not have a safety concern?

Are there ways to improve the safety of our robot lighting that you recommend we should consider?

Thank you and have a good weekend,
Nate Laverdure
cc: Triple Helix mentors

Hi Nate and Team 2363.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. It is really helpful to understand that your question comes from a place of genuine question.

I will share this with our Game Design Team and I will get back to you next week. We have our Team Update meetings on Mondays, so it will be after that.

If you have any other questions or concerns before then (or about anything else), please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Jamee

Hi Nate.

I just wanted to follow up again on this email. With the suspension of the season, we will be reviewing the questions and suggestions below for future manuals.

I hope you and your team are doing okay in this very challenging time.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Jamee

Genome Mu (2020) controller maps

The Triple Helix software team documented the button map for the driver’s and operator’s controllers for Genome Mu, our robot for the 2020 FIRST Robotics Competition game, Infinite Recharge.

Chairman’s Award submission 2020

Triple Helix is proud to publish this essay as part of our submission for the 2020 FIRST Robotics Competition Chairman’s Award.

Triple Helix has evolved to be a STEM leader in the Hampton Roads (HR) community. As such, it is important to evaluate our environment and assess the most pressing needs to address. We determined that our goals should be team sustainability, supporting the larger FIRST community, and spreading the message of FIRST.

BUILDING OUR FOUNDATION – TEAM SUSTAINABILITY

We first tackled the need to develop a strategic plan for the team’s sustainability. Our approach includes an emphasis on student leadership, strong recruitment, an open door policy, and funding through our nonprofit organization, the Intentional Innovation Foundation (IIF)

To address financial sustainability, IIF was created to be a funding umbrella for Triple Helix and Rumble in the Roads. In March 2015, it became apparent that there was a need to give a corporate structure to Triple Helix’s efforts independent of our school. Triple Helix mentors and supporters established IIF to meet  the needs of the team and to enable the organization to serve a larger community by operating and sponsoring STEM education activities throughout HR. IIF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity and an all-volunteer organization. Establishing a nonprofit opened the door to funding opportunities only available to nonprofits.

We address the team’s need for a continuous influx of new students as we lose students who graduate by conducting a number of outreach events at local schools focusing on students who participate in FLL and FTC, hold multiple open houses, and participate in events at our school such as Back to School Night and the activities fair. Triple Helix is committed to providing an opportunity for all students to participate on an FRC team. We allow students to join who go to other schools that do not have a team and also those who attend private schools or are homeschooled.

To address the need to retain students and develop student’s leadership skills, we have developed a new student presentation and have a detailed training plan for learning team equipment. The team has developed a structure based on students taking on a number of leadership positions. There is an overall team captain and leaders for each of the subteams such as mechanical, programming, and scouting. Due to their experience on Triple Helix, 86% of our team members go on to pursue a degree in a STEM field from institutions such as Virginia Tech.

In order to address the need to recruit and retain mentors, we engage with local businesses and sponsors to raise awareness of Triple Helix and our strong program. Because we are a known leader in the STEM community, we attract FIRST alumni that want to return to the program as mentors. Over 40% of our current mentors participated in one or more FIRST programs as a student. We also maximize our use of the varied skill sets of the parents who fill roles from programming mentor to outreach and scouting mentor.

SUPPORTING FIRST PROGRAMS

The team evaluated how to best support the FIRST community with our given resources and skill sets and we determined that our efforts would be best spent in supporting and sustaining existing teams. Our widest reaching effort is sharing best practices and lessons learned with the worldwide community via videos and publications. We created a YouTube channel in 2013, where we began posting build season logs and match videos. We have expanded into videos for drive team development and mechanical video tutorials, like how to build bumpers or a drivetrain. Our goal is to help rookie teams with robot development, and to share videos of tested engineering and our team practices. For example, our 2018 Gripper Prototype video has had over 49,000 views. Our website has a plethora of publications for teams to utilize for team management and robot development. Our published budget provides insight on the inner administrative workings of an active FRC team.

Our primary regional effort is our annual off-season competition, Rumble in the Roads, which we host with partner teams 1610 and 5957. The event attracts over 30 teams from VA, NC, and MD. The pre-season event gives teams the opportunity to test new designs, provides practice for the drive team, as well as the opportunity to interact with other teams in a more relaxed competitive environment. This event is our largest outreach event, with over 300 visitors in 2019. It also provides an incredible opportunity to network with local community leaders and sponsors. Judges include high school teachers, university professors, professional engineers, and even the COO of NASA Langley Research Center. To make Rumble accessible to rookie teams, we often waive their competition fees.

To address the needs of our local FIRST teams, we have sponsored several HR FRC summits. These meetings were an opportunity for teams to come together to share ideas and updates. The team also sponsored a roundtable discussion at Christopher Newport University (CNU) where all levels of FIRST teams came together to discuss the expansion of FIRST teams in our community and the challenges that they were facing. 

As we looked at the challenges of our team and other local teams, it became clear that a practice facility was our next major goal. In 2018, we established the Peninsula STEM Gym. Attached to a community woodworking makerspace, it is a multifaceted collaborative workspace that caters to all levels of FIRST teams. We have an FRC playing field, an FTC playing field sponsored by Newport News Shipbuilding, and space available for FLL teams to set up and collaborate. Local FRC and FTC teams used the STEM gym as a workspace for a collaboration with the Newport News Police Department (NNPD) on a robot for their shooting range. Triple Helix recently hosted the FLL Kickoff at the STEM Gym. The kickoff gave local teams an opportunity to review the playing field, discuss robot design options, and talk to experts regarding their projects. Local FTC and FRC teams have used the space to test their robots and practice at least 30 times since its establishment.

Triple Helix also provides targeted support to local teams based on their needs. During local FRC team 122’s hiatus year, we took in students and mentors who still wanted to participate on a team, and helped 122 reestablish the following year. We started a partnership with Newport News Public Schools to expand opportunities for students to participate in FLL and FLL Jr. teams. On a weekly basis we have mentored two FLL teams. We held an FLL practice day at Rumble to allow teams an opportunity to practice both judging and running their robot on the field. We started and coached an FLL Jr. team at BC Charles Elementary School. We also run an FLL Jr. Expo to give local teams an opportunity to compete. On multiple occasions, we have hosted FLL teams at our shop and have provided them with tours and information. For the past two years, we have invited The Waffle Bunnies to come to a meeting and practice their project presentation. This practice helped the team to earn a spot at the 2020 FIRST Championship.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Our next focus was on our sponsors and local community. We wanted to address how to best expand the awareness of STEM and FIRST in our community, support our sponsors, and give back. Triple Helix plays an active role in the local FIRST community. In the last five years alone, we have attended over 125 community demonstrations and sponsor-hosted events. The events vary from large such as the CNU Community STEM Day, showcasing our team and robot to over 4,000 visitors, to small such as Mad Science Night at Baron Elementary School. We  regularly provide laptops and FLL mats for STEM events in the community, such as summer programming workshops for ESL, Refugee children, and a homeless shelter. 

Triple Helix values our sponsor relationships. In 2016, we partnered with sponsor Jefferson Lab to host the HR FRC Kickoff. We later worked with them to 3D print parts that were needed for their GlueX Experiment. In 2017, team members had an opportunity to tour Continental Corporation’s Newport News facility and to demonstrate the robot to their staff. They later became a team sponsor. In 2017, NASA and Boeing invited us to the NASA Langley Centennial Gala. Student leaders mingled with industry officials, made professional connections, and participated in a milestone event. We have presented to AFCEA’s HR chapter at Langley AFB on our team’s strategies and structure. Team members lend manpower to support such activities of sponsors like the Junior Woman’s Club of Hilton Village and Community Knights.

Giving back is an important part of the mission of Triple Helix. Triple Helix is a certifying organization of the President’s Volunteer Service Award to reward students who volunteer in support of our sponsors and community. This year, the team assisted the NNPD by weaving mats for the homeless out of plastic bags.

Last year, we also began a partnership with the VCU Occupational Therapy (OT) program. Each year, a doctoral student will work as a mentor on the team in an effort to intersect the engineering skills of our team members with the therapy skills of the student. The three goals of the partnership are to produce a novel assistive technology (AT) project each year, develop the team as a resource for local AT agencies, and disseminate knowledge learned via a FIRST conference and OT publications. The first year, we worked with the Children’s Assistive Technology Service (CATS) program to adapt a toy car for a child with mobility impairments. The goal is to allow children too young for an electric wheelchair to have the ability to explore. Currently, we have two more cars that we will be adapting after build season, and students are adapting Nerf guns to enable play for children with a variety of limiting conditions.

IT’S IN OUR GENES

Our efforts have truly been impactful on the team and our FIRST community. We really are “more than just robots.”