In this document, we answer some great questions recently posed to us about hosting an FRC offseason competition. Triple Helix Robotics co-hosts the Rumble in the Roads, an annual FRC offseason tournament. The event has been held at a high school in Newport News, VA from 2014 to 2019.
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.
This spring, Triple Helix once again partnered with a Virginia Commonwealth University occupational therapy doctoral student to develop assistive devices for people in the Hampton Roads region. The team created this accessible bow mount for Camp Bruce McCoy, a residential summer camp for adults with a brain injury in Chesapeake, Virginia. This device will enable single-arm operation of a recurve bow which will be mounted in the shooting gallery at the camp. The team provided both right-handed and left-handed versions of the bow mount to the camp.
The bow mount is fabricated from laminated sheets of 1/4″ clear polycarbonate. Triple Helix cuts this material on our 80-watt laser cutter, but these parts can alternatively be fabricated with more common shop tools (e.g. jigsaw, hand drill). The bow mount enables the user to aim the bow in both the azimuth and elevation directions before shooting an arrow. The bow can be installed at any height, enabling archery practice for both standing and seated users.
Arcade pushbuttons normally use standard miniature snap action microswitches to provide momentary input to an electrical device. When latching push-on/push-off switch functionality is desired, use this adapter to install a low-cost latching pushbutton switch in place of the microswitch.
Triple Helix logs each of our community outreach engagements, as well as the ways we’ve shared our team resources.
Triple Helix Robotics mentor Nate Laverdure details the history and future of the FIRST Robotics Competition in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.
This spring, Triple Helix partnered with an occupational therapy doctoral student from Virginia Commonwealth University to develop assistive devices for people in the Hampton Roads region. Through communication with the Children’s Assistive Technology Service (CATS) a need was identified for a modified ride-on toy car, based on the University of Delaware’s GoBabyGo project. This project aims to provide access to low-cost mobility devices for young children without other means of exploring their environment. In this case, the recipient was a young girl who does not have the ability to move her lower extremities as a result of a birth defect.
To provide access to the car’s controls, a 5-inch switch was mounted on the steering column and wired via a relay switch to the car’s motor to replace the foot pedal function. Additionally, PVC handles were added on each side of the center switch for more ergonomic steering control. To also allow for simultaneous propulsion and steering, the handles fit over a laser-cut Lexan frame which, when flexed, activate an additional limit switch on each side of the steering column. This design concept can be applied to other ride-on cars, depending on a particular child’s needs and functional abilities.
One of the topics which has come up repeatedly in 2363’s after-competition lessons learned meetings is how confusing it is for non-FIRSTers to attend FRC events. Triple Helix has produced a simple tri-fold brochure that can be handed to your non-FIRSTer visitors, team parents, grandparents, sponsors, etc. It doesn’t answer every question they will have. But, hopefully you will get fewer “I had no idea what was happening” comments from your visitors.
One side has general info that’s common to all FRC events. The other side has game specific info. Feel free to print these up, hand them out, and make FRC events more enjoyable for your guests.
Triple Helix presented at the Virginia Occupational Therapy Association’s 2018 School System Symposium. The focus of our presentation was how therapy professionals can use skills and tools of “makers,” including 3d printing, to make customized products for interventions with their patients. Our partner in this presentation was Maryland FTC team Green Machine Reloaded; this team presented on their work with the Go Baby Go program.
Abstract: “Makers” use the engineering problem solving process, and their hands, to bring their ideas to life. The competitive high school FIRST robotics teams Triple Helix Robotics and Green Machine Reloaded share the makerspace techniques to rapidly design and create assistive devices. The two teams will demonstrate the tools and technical skills used to 3D print small plastic objects as well as how to modify ride-on toy cars to create low-cost adapted mobility equipment.
After each competition, 2363 holds a “lessons learned” meeting where we discuss what we did right and what needs improving. One thing we noted was how awesome our airship pilot is. We noted that she makes better decisions than the audience. At the end of one match, our 3rd rotor was spinning, we had 4 gears needed to get the 4th rotor, and the horn sounded. Rather than waste time pulling up a gear with no value, she chose to drop the ropes instead. Of course the whole time the crowd was shouting, “Gear! Gear!” To honor her decision making skills under pressure, at our next meeting we presented her with a set of Airship Pilot’s Wings.
Has your airship pilot earned their wings?