At the 2003 national competition, Team 254 provided every rookie team present
with a recordable autonomous handout. This sheet allowed any team to create
an autonomous mode in seconds. The Cheesy Poofs also offered programming
help to any and all teams at the competition. Team 254 continues to provide
support to teams who request assitance. At several regionals our programmers
have spent hours working with other teams to fix and improve their code.
Open Lab Policy:
Throughout the year, Team 254's lab at NASA Ames is open to all other FIRST
teams. We are more than happy to provide assistance and resources to other local
robotics teams. In addition, Cheesy Poof members are also willing to go to other
schools to help. In the past, we held scrimmages on our field for local teams 256, 604, 668, 670, 846, 1560, 1693, and 1700. This year, we have expanded our lab to the "Space Cookies" girl scouts and hope to extend our resources to those teams that need them most.
Presentations at the WRRF:
Team 254 was one of the founding members of the Western Region Robotics Forum.
The WRRF provides teams with annual workshops and off-season competitions as
well as a close community of local FIRST teams. For the past few years, team
members have prepared presentations for the WRRF in an effort to help local
FIRST teams build stronger programs
FIRST Team Partnerships - Pit and Shipping Crates:
In 2004, Team 254 students built a shipping crate for our mentee team, 1045.
In addition, our students built a second tool crate for team 60. Our teams have
a strong partnership that we hope to continue in the future.
Machine Shop Trailer:
Before the 2004 season began, we decided that we would eventually want to add a machine shop trailer
as a team resource. We planned to raise funds during the summer to purchase
it for the next season. However, when we heard that the Sacramento Regional
would not have machine shop support, we decided to withdraw funds out of our
current year's account to order the trailer. The trailer itself arrived completely
empty just days before the Sacramento regional. Students spent the time building
the interior of the trailer into a suitable work environment.
The
two main tools, the mill and lathe, did not appear until we actually arrived
at the regional event. Team members worked all night and morning to install
the new tools. As a result, we were able to perform over 80 repairs during that
competition. During the Silicon Valley Regional, we also provided machine shop
support and performed a similar number of orders. We are proud to note that
no team at either regional was forced to withdraw from the playoffs as a result
of robot damage
