Are you a High School student looking to have some fun, meet new people, and contribute to a strong team dynamic? Do you like to work through challenges collaboratively with others? Looking to hone your art or writing skills? Have a passion for electronics, engineering, or computers?
FIRST Robotics may be the thing for you!
A common misconception about robotics teams is that they’re exclusively for students interested in engineering or programming. In reality, robotics teams are diverse, welcoming students with a wide range of skills, including marketing, design, project management, and so much more! Robotics teams thrive on collaboration. Team Phoenix, specifically, offers a comprehensive learning experience where everyone’s unique strengths contribute to the success of the team. We are very proud to be exclusively student-led and offer many leadership opportunities to our students.
Let’s explore the different subteam options available on Team Phoenix:
CAD:
The CAD subteam is responsible for creating digital models and plans of the robot, which will later be used by the Fabrication subteam. During the pre-season, the team introduces Solidworks to new members, and works to familiarize them with the program. Former students help train the new students in design by looking at games from previous years and designing mock robot mechanisms for those games. The team begins build season by studying the game manual for the rules of the robot and the mechanisms of the game. They mock up concepts for the first robot design, and assign the task of designing various parts and assemblies to the team members. When these parts are complete, a member creates a top-level assembly and compiles the robot mechanics, ensuring no rule violations. This assembly is then sent to Fabrication to make the first concept of the robot. From there they work out errors in the design and tweak it to guarantee quality performance.
Software:
The Software subteam is responsible for all the code that makes the robot move, see, and think. The programming languages we use are Java, Python, and scripting like Bash. Java is the language used for our robot code, which is responsible for allowing the robot to move, perform autonomous routines, and respond to drive and operator controls. Python is typically used on coprocessors, like Raspberry Pi’s, that perform various functions from vision to sensor control. Our team uses GitHub as our repository to hold and share all of our source code. This allows our team to work collaboratively through the season. Vision ranges from using LimeLight, PhotoVision, or even custom Yolo v8 OpenCV pipelines for object detection.
Business
The Business subteam is composed of the Business-Finance and Business-Art teams. These two teams work together to fully develop the team’s corporate identity.
Business-Finance:
The Business-Finance subteam serves as the strategic backbone of Team Phoenix. They orchestrate the team’s outreach, fundraising, and sustainability efforts. Outreach is vital for FRC teams because it extends the impact of robotics beyond competitions. Engaging with the community through outreach initiatives allows teams to inspire interest in STEM fields. Fundraising is another crucial element for FRC teams as it provides the financial foundation necessary for the team’s operation. The costs associated with building a competitive robot, participating in competitions, and maintaining equipment can be substantial. Business Finance actively runs the teams’ fundraisers in addition to writing grant applications and corporate sponsorship requests. Finally, sustainability is integral to FRC teams as it ensures the longevity and resilience of the program. Business-Finance works diligently to document all practices, procedures, and events in order to maintain a solid organizational structure.
Business-Art:
The Business-Art subteam is responsible for the branding and visual design of the team, including digital art, costuming, painting, sewing, animation, and illustration. Each year they design buttons and a team banner. They also assist all other subteams, working with CAD for 3D printing, sewing the robot’s bumpers with Fabrication, creating templates for presentations, helping with photo and video documentation of the team, and providing support for fundraising and outreach for Business-Finance.
Fabrication
The Fabrication subteam consists of two subdivisions, Mechanical and Electrical. These two groups are responsible for building the physical robot we use at competitions.
Mechanical:
The main focus of the Mechanical team is constructing the physical robot we enter in competition. This team uses a wide variety of equipment including mills, lathes, saws, drills, sanders, and 3D printers to bring the designs of the CAD subteam to life! During the pre-season, the Fabrication subteam trains new members on the equipment. They also work on taking inventory and organizing the shop, along with learning about different materials. During the build season, Fabrications works with Electrical and CAD to build our robot. They work on assembling parts, and making adjustments to the bot when issues arise. Additionally, they create the field elements for our practice field.
Electrical:
The primary focus of the Electrical team is managing the intricate wiring of the robot, connecting what Fabrication does to the software team to actually power the robot and allow it to move! Before competition season begins, the Electrical subteam practices several crucial techniques, including crimping, attaching Anderson connectors, sautering, & understanding the electrical board itself. They run through possible failure points of the bot’s electrical components, and brainstorm possible causes and solutions. With the recent move to combine Fabrication and Electrical, Electrical assumed some of fabrication duties in the transition from tank drive to swerve drive.
We need students and mentors who have an interest or skill in the following fields:
Art: painting, drawing, graphic design and sewing
Business Management
Community Outreach
Computer Programming
Electrical Design
Finance/Marketing
Mechanical Design
Mentoring a FLL or Junior FLL team (FIRST Lego League)
Public Speaking
Strategy/Game Coaching
Video Animation
Videography
Web Design
Writing
Consider joining Team Phoenix and becoming part of a dynamic team!