[CRUSH-all] CRUSH summer and fall program

[Bill Bennett]

Hi All

Hope you all finished the school year successfully, and have enjoyed a few days break. It's time to decide what we're going to do for the summer and fall CRUSH activities. There are many possibilities - in fact, only limited by your imagination and energy.

This Saturday is an "odd" one, the first Saturday of June, so it's a CRUSH meeting day. We're continuing our Tuesday/Thursday 3 pm meeting schedule, and odd Saturdays 9 am to 3 pm, through the summer, interrupted only as necessary for mentor vacations and such. I think a good thing to do this Saturday, at least for part of the day, would be for students to participate in a "debrief" of the 2005-06 season, and create the team vision for the coming year. So if you're interested in CRUSH for next year, and if you can be available this Saturday, please come.

Ideas on the table for consideration:
  a.. Design, build, and test a standard CRUSH chassis and drive train that can serve as a reliable base from which to build future competition robots in the future. For years we have built a new drive train every year. Maybe it's time to settle on a design and try to remove that risk from the competition.
  b.. Sensor use: use FWIPER as a test platform for sensors and get good at incorporating them in robot designs. The gear tooth sensor for speed, accelerometer for tipping, the gryo for turning, the camera or IR tracker for automated goal seeking, and so on. It would be great to have all this in our pocket ready to use as needed.
  c.. CAD design/modelling - several team members have dabbled in the CAD software provided by Autodesk. Let's get really good at it so our design can come a little closer to working the first time after assembly. 
  d.. Get some or all of our old robots running. They make great learning and prototype platforms, and we also need them for demonstrations and exhibitions. 
  e.. Animation team - we have a mentor now, Joe's dad Ben. What we need is interested students. Let's get up to speed on the animation software and create a winning entry next year. 
  f.. Fundraising - the time to find sponsorships and other funds is NOW. If you're interested in the business of the team, or in creative or persuasive writing, or marketing, or public speaking, CRUSH needs you helping with this crucial aspect of the team.
  g.. If this isn't enough, there's certainly - you guys extend the list, it's your team!
Hope to see you all Saturday.

Bill
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