Newsletter week 1 (2025)

Programming team has been hard at work creating ChickenPlanner, a path planning project which will be used to plan robots’ motions during the autonomous period of the match— one of the hardest parts of the match to code. The autonomous period is the first 15 seconds of the match, where robots are fully pre-coded and not operated with a controller. ChickenPlanner is the team’s first foray into making open source software that can be used by the larger FRC community. Sophomore Emilio M, creator and leader of the project, says that ChickenPlanner is most similar to a vector drawing tool, like the one used in Adobe Photoshop. Emilio has already been having zoom meetings with programmers from other teams to get them involved in the project.

On the Build & Design side of things, students have begun prototyping using Onshape for CAD (computer aided design), then creating and testing physical prototypes. Oskar P, a junior, created a ramp that can score Algae in the processor. Something unique about Oskar’s prototype is that it would also be able to fold out during the end game to help the robot balance while climbing.

Junior Sam M created a prototype called “Perry the Prototype,” which is his third iteration. It works by using a rod and some compliant wheels, which are set on top at the end, and spin to intake Coral and remove Algae from the Reef. It’s special because “it’s able to both remove Algae from the Reef and place Coral, in two different ways,” according to Sam. It’s also low-profile, uses just one motor for multiple functions, and can easily go on a pivot. The pivot allows it to intake from one side and place on the other, reducing cycle time by removing the need to turn the robot around, and making it easier for the robot to stay in the perimeter while maximizing its reach.

he 2025 FRC challenge, Reefscape, has now been revealed! Strategy team is hard at work finding the best game plan for the year. Captain Evan G says they’re “breaking down the individual strategies of multiple teams and meshing them into overall alliance strategies.” This will allow them to better analyze our robot’s role in matches. They do this by using Google Sheets to break down different strategies for auto, Tele-Op, and end game, and combining them along with the number of cycles to optimize an overall score. One strategy Evan is looking at now focuses on leaving the starting zone during Auto, then scoring two Algae in the Processor during Tele-Op, along with scoring 12 Corals on the Reef, and finally, climbing the Deep Cage in the endgame. If successful, this strategy would get the team 43 points with a possibility of 1 ranking point.