NewsletterBy Nate Laverdure

Newsletter: Triple Helix starts the competition season with a win in Blacksburg!

This weekend, Triple Helix Robotics traveled to Blacksburg for our first district qualifier event of the 2023 FIRST Robotics Competition season, and WON THE EVENT alongside partner teams 401, 1915, and 3373 against a field of 30 other contenders from VA, MD, and DC.

[The winning alliance of four teams. Courtesy of 401.]

Our robot “Genome Xi” demonstrated reliable autonomous routines and highly polished teleoperated (student-driven) scoring throughout the event. In the qualification rounds, Triple Helix claimed an early lead and held onto our #1 ranking throughout the event, locking in our position as the captains of the #1 seed alliance.

[Average points scored in auto + endgame (Y axis) and teleop (X axis) by all FRC teams worldwide as of the end of Week 1 of competition season. Via statbotics.io/teams]

Triple Helix was also awarded the Autonomous Award for our technical leadership in translating advanced control techniques into points scored on the playing field during real matches. The judges said:

The Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford celebrates the team that has demonstrated consistent, reliable, high-performance robot operation during autonomously managed actions. Evaluation is based on the robot’s ability to sense its surroundings, position itself or onboard mechanisms appropriately, and execute tasks. Their triple-performing play impressed the judges. This team consistently scored two cones in autonomous. Control theory is in their genes!

Our stunning performance in this qualifier event means that we are very likely to punch a ticket to the FIRST Chesapeake District Championship at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA on April 6-8.

Fans of Triple Helix Robotics are invited to cheer us on at our next qualifier, at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, VA on March 18-19. The event is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. You can also watch the event steaming live at watch.team2363.org, and dive into our stats at thebluealliance.com/team/2363.

Thanks to FIRST Chesapeake, the host team FRC 401 Copperhead Robotics, a really stellar crew of Triple Helix parents, and all our wonderful sponsors for making this weekend’s experience possible! We could not do this without your steadfast support.

–
Nate Laverdure
Head coach, Triple Helix Robotics

AwardsBy Triple Helix

Woodie Flowers submission 2023

Triple Helix students are proud to publish this Woodie Flowers Award nominating essay for our mentor Bill Bretton.

Bill Bretton, a Triple Helix mentor and parent since 2014, is a true inspiration to students who are interested in STEM. Armed with his technical skills and magnetic personality, he has inspired our entire team and sparked a passion for science and technology in countless students.

Bill ingrains a valuable sense of confidence in students that has helped propel many into careers in STEM. From the moment a new member walks in the door, Bill puts them to work on a project learning new skills. The tasks may be as simple as ferrule crimping, but these small efforts make every new student want to come back to the next meeting. He breaks down complex problems into simple language, so students always come away having learned something new and ready to solve new problems.

As the electrical subteam mentor, Bill helps our student team revolutionize our approach to electronics. When we identified a critical problem of batteries failing during matches, Bill taught students electrical engineering to develop an innovative battery logging system which could identify bad units before competitions even happened. In 2019, Bill spent the fall teaching the electrical subteam data analytics, which we used to develop a system for tracking what machining tools all team members were trained on.

As the leader of our pit crew, Bill helps students diagnose and repair mechanical and electrical failures quickly. At every competition, Bill writes key match and inspection information on our whiteboard, ensuring everyone in the pit is on the same page. Encouraging students to take time to assess the situation first and work around other issues students are fixing, he teaches teamwork and problem solving skills even in the heat of the moment.

Bill taught students how to give back to the community using their technical skills. In 2019 and 2020, Triple Helix took on the ambitious challenge of developing low-cost assistive technology for disabled children who were economically disadvantaged. Bill taught students how to rewire children’s ride-on cars, motorized toys, and buttons to produce assistive mobility and educational devices for kids in our local community.

When Bill’s own kids were in middle school he started an FLL team at a local middle school. This inspired many students to later join FTC and FRC teams and even pursue STEM in college. Bill has inspired us to be leaders, as said by our team captain: “I went from knowing little about electronics and programming to leading innovative projects in the FIRST community because Mr. Bretton has supported me from day one.”

If Triple Helix were a circuit, Bill Bretton would be the battery, providing the energy to power up his students and the spark to light up their futures in STEM. Bill’s memorable personality, charisma, empathy, and humorous approach to mentoring have changed all of our lives for the better. Our experiences with him will stay with us long after our journey as FRC students comes to an end.

NewsletterBy Nate Laverdure

Newsletter: Triple Helix Robotics is playing CHARGED UP

Happy new year!

Triple Helix is playing CHARGED UP
This FIRST Robotics Competition season, Triple Helix is playing “CHARGED UP”, a pick & place-style game featuring two different game pieces (perfectly colored– purple and yellow!!) which must be scored in a large array at the near end of the field. For bonus points, we must balance our robot on a teeter-totter… both autonomously and while under driver control.

Today the team met for Part I of our game analysis and strategic design discussion. This year’s game looks challenging, with several new shapes of objects to manipulate, some tricky strategic tradeoffs, and a nailbiting endgame. It should be a fun game to watch and play.

Field construction at the Peninsula STEM Gym is underway
At our shared robotics practice facility, we are preparing to build full-scale wooden mockups of the field elements. We can still use additional construction help, which requires only basic woodworking skills. Please join us in the #stemgym channel on our team Slack to learn more.

We’ve locked in our event schedule
Triple Helix aims to compete at up to four FRC events this spring. Hope to see you there as a spectator or a volunteer!

– March 3-5: FIRST Chesapeake District Blacksburg VA event
– March 17-19: FIRST Chesapeake District Portsmouth VA event
– April 6-8: FIRST Chesapeake District Championship, EagleBank Arena, George Mason University, Fairfax VA
– April 19-22: FIRST Championship, Houston TX

Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors!
The team greatly appreciates your support!
https://team2363.org/partners/

CAD, MechanicalBy Nate Laverdure

REV MAXSwerve wheel tread jig

In fall 2022, Triple Helix created a working drilling & marking jig to prepare replacement strips of treads for the aluminum 3″ MAXSwerve Wheel used on the 3″ REV MAXSwerve module.

This jig produces treads with the correct hole spacing for 3-ply black neoprene tread material (McMaster-Carr p/n 5994K1) such that the tread installs tightly on the 3″ diameter x 7/8″ wide billet wheel. Triple Helix found this working hole pattern through four rounds of guess-and-check iteration, and also by drawing on our past experience with the similar tread jigs we made for SDS wheels.

Drill bushings (McMaster-Carr p/n 96511A666) can be pressed into the fixture to ensure that the jig will remain usable for a long time, however users should note that they will need to grind a flat into these bushings since the screw placement is very narrowly spaced.

Onshape document