While this unprecedented summer has drastically changed our summer plans, Team 2485 has still been hard at work from home doing everything we can to prepare for the coming season and finding new ways to engage with our community. Our team is focused on staying connected with the FIRST community virtually on a local and global scale, all while continuing to practice integrity, communication, and team empowerment.
Business and Outreach
The Business and Outreach Department has been working to prepare and host various online events and programs like our newly formatted OrionLive and Project Iris. We recently collaborated with Polish Team 5883 to help provide resources for and participate in a live Zoom call for their FLL robotics camp. Some of our members have also been assisting in our school’s FLL camp, helping to prepare kits and providing guidance to our future team members.
Build/Design
Over the past few months, the Build Department has been modifying existent training programs to accommodate the new virtual reality. While nothing can replace the experience of working with a physical machine, our department leaders have been experimenting with other forms of online training to keep members engaged and ready to work when our campus opens back up again. Following a post-season deep dive of our robot, Artemis, the Design sub-department has been focusing on training new members for the coming season with weekly online sessions.
Software
This summer, the Software Department has been training incoming members and researching different programs to make a smooth, effective transition to an online platform. From revising last year’s code, to making various for the upcoming season, software has been keeping busy! Our software members are also working on Java for FRC, a training booklet that teaches new robotics students how to code our robots, no matter how much previous experience they have.
Strategy
As a new department this year, Strategy has been working hard to establish a sustainable training curriculum and improve their visualization system. Our members have been revamping the current Google Sheets curriculum and developing a new series of HTML, Google API, and Python trainings, as well as experimenting with the matplotlib and seaborn libraries in order to create a Python visualization system that will replace the existing Tableau one.