FIRST Team 2468 first began competing in FIRST Robotics Competitions in 2008. The 2011 competition marks our 4th year.

Chap Robotics began in 2007 with 35 determined students interested in STEM studies. With the momentum of receiving the distinguished FIRST Rookie All-Star award, the program has expanded to include 158 students enrolled in the robotics curriculum and 54 team members who train in multiple building, programming, and organizational platforms. The team strives for success in both engineering and non-engineering measures. The dramatic expansion in Chap Robotics is due to FIRST, which has helped bring about improvements in our curriculum, promote awareness through our involvement in competition, and encourage team building. Our goal is to become a nationally acclaimed team in the FIRST community within the next five years.

Our inaugural year (2007-08) began with a bang by qualifying for FIRST Championships, ranking in the top 400 of 1,650 teams worldwide. Our success was based on determination and quick adaptation of the team to the new environment of engineering design and competition. “Our 1st year,” mentor Tim Jordan said, “we were open to new ideas. Our method was to brainstorm, then test by trial-and-error.” The initial year of the program was restricted to juniors and seniors, with AP Physics as a co-requisite. Wanting to expand and gain experience, the team assisted the faculty in developing classes for all grades. We took advantage of this by learning as much as possible and leveraging those lessons to improve future performance.

In our second year (2008-09), enrollment in robotics classes jumped tremendously from 35 to 85 students. The robotics class was split into two levels: Robotics I, an engineering technology class based off LEGO Mindstorms, and Robotics II, an advanced robotics and engineering technology class based solely on BEST and FIRST participation. The team participated in three FIRST regionals, earning the Xerox Creativity Award (for creative strategy and robot design), placing 5th at the Dallas Regional.

In the team’s 3rd year (2009-10), 92 students enrolled in the robotics program, with 41 active team members. Added to the curriculum was a semester-long electronics class, taught by team mentor Tim Jordan. At that year’s FRC Lone Star Regional, we were a quarterfinalist. At Championships, we placed 19^th, making us the highest placed team from Texas, ranking within the top 5% worldwide. Our unique 2010 FRC robot was the only robot with a shell body made entirely out of carbon fiber. The team also fostered a small FTC team to introduce local freshmen and middle-school students to FIRST. In its first competition year, this team placed 8^th out of 30 at the Houston FTC competition.

We are a year-round team that works on multiple competitions and cultivates the varied skills needed to support these. In addition to FRC and BEST, we now also participate in FTC, Texas Computer Educator Association Robotics Challenge, and we mentor other teams involved in these and other competitions.

Our team’s success spurred a 500% increase in robotics enrollment at our school over four years. We’ve added Robotics II and Electronics courses, where students learn 3D parametric modeling programs, shop/power tool use, RobotC, LabVIEW, LEGO Mindstorms, and pneumatics. We also take safety seriously. All of our Robotics II students earn a lifetime OSHA general industry certification, and we plan to continue this program. Next year (2011-12), the curriculum expands to include a curriculum-based Robotics III class, where students will receive more intense training in Solidworks and may receive official 3D modeling certification.

As an example of our growth, you can look to the robot build process as a mirror of our development. In our first year, we primarily used off-the-shelf parts and relatively simple components that could be fabricated using hand tools and a drill press. Today, team members conceptualize all designs, fully translate them into CAD layouts, and use these to guide the robot fabrication process. We now have more complex tools in our shop (a mill, various power saws, a brake, a grinder, Dremel tools, and so on). Most of our team members learn the proper use and care of most, if not all of these, during their time with the team. Mentor Tim Ousley shares with the team his homemade, gantry CNC machine. Ousley has taught team members to use this tool, allowing us to create custom parts, including omni-wheels, rollers, and pulleys.

It is an unbelievably powerful experience to imagine a mechanical component and, in the matter of a few hours, be holding it in your hand or seeing it become part of a working robot. These improvements in the engineering build-process and engineering discipline prevent errors that waste both time and material.

We’ve also enhanced time management and organizational skills, moving from paper-based calendars posted in the shop to the use of Basecamp, an online project management and communication tool from 37Signals. We use Basecamp to collaborate on team tasks and schedules, share files and images, and communicate team-wide.

In addition to traditional classroom courses, Westlake High School provides a unique opportunity in which students study with a mentor at least two hours a week and work on a semester-long project. This course, Independent Student Mentorship (ISM), provides feedback about future career choices and inspires interests in various fields. During the current year, several team members participated in this hands-on mentorship course, focusing on individual projects that meshed with the leadership roles on the team. What truly makes the program unique is the student-to-mentor relationship in a professional environment. Each student works alongside an industry professional, performing hands-on projects each work session. At the end of the semester, students describe their field activities and overall semester-long project in a 30-minute presentation. Student David Miller, worked with Scott McMahon, team mentor, on black-box designs. Miller currently mentors with Creative Edge Products, a company that provides design services to conceptualize ideas from other companies. Within a week, he was participating in the engineering development process and design of therapeutic gloves that exercise and strengthen hand muscles. Student Lauren Niu, partnered with team mentor Linda McMahon. Together, student and mentor established WESTA, a non-profit organization to manage donations for our school district’s competition robotic teams. Both students developed organizational skills, earned valuable hands-on experience and discovered their passions through ISM participation. They also obtained valuable experience that colleges seek in their applicants, as well as skills they can use for internships and employment.

Even more important than our technological endeavors, Chap Robotics always strives to reach out to the community. Each month, team members visit elementary school science days, taking along LEGO Mindstorms robots to inspire STEM studies among students through fun, hands-on activities. Each visit features a game the elementary students play competitively, earning points on a course actually implemented in our Robotics I class. As a result, we founded six FLL teams in our school district, based in four elementary and two middle schools. Last year, a group of 8^th graders from Hill Country Middle School, one of the teams we inspired, represented Central Texas at the FLL World Festival. In addition to inspiring new teams, we actively host both FLL qualifying tournaments and championships for our area.

As an additional outreach activity, we filmed our carbon-fiber modeling process from start-to-finish. We plan to share our construction method with others on the web via a tutorial we have in the works.

Recently, we expanded our outreach efforts internationally, working with the Nobelity Project to reach out to our sister school in Kenya, Mahiga Hope. This project involves creating video tutorials, training students in the construction of a solar-powered lighting systems. These skills inspire students to implement technology and, as finished products will be used in their schools and village, better their community. These activities strengthen the bond between our schools, bring our communities closer, and enables Kenyans to improve their quality of life.

We hope to witness a brighter global future from reaching out to both local and international partners. FIRST has provided an outlet for us to extend our reach to others and create a better world.

Without the structure and inspiration of the FIRST program, none of our team’s accomplishments would have come to fruition. By providing a framework on which to hang our coursework, teamwork and leadership, FIRST has allowed this program to take root and thrive in our community and beyond. We have shown amazing technology advances each year due to the competitive nature of the 6-week challenge; continued organization and leadership development due to the emphasis on “Coopertition;” and increased involvement with the global community through FIRST’s outreach charter. We look forward with confidence to our continued success built on the outstanding support of the FIRST program.

Just before our regional competition last year, we filmed this test footage of our robots most difficult challenge: kicking a soccer ball.

FIRST Team 2468 first began competing in FIRST Robotics Competitions in 2008. The 2011 competition marks our 4th year.

Chap Robotics began in 2007 with 35 determined students interested in STEM studies. With the momentum of receiving the distinguished FIRST Rookie All-Star award, the program has expanded to include 158 students enrolled in the robotics curriculum and 54 team members who train in multiple building, programming, and organizational platforms. The team strives for success in both engineering and non-engineering measures. The dramatic expansion in Chap Robotics is due to FIRST, which has helped bring about improvements in our curriculum, promote awareness through our involvement in competition, and encourage team building. Our goal is to become a nationally acclaimed team in the FIRST community within the next five years.

Our inaugural year (2007-08) began with a bang by qualifying for FIRST Championships, ranking in the top 400 of 1,650 teams worldwide. Our success was based on determination and quick adaptation of the team to the new environment of engineering design and competition. “Our 1st year,” mentor Tim Jordan said, “we were open to new ideas. Our method was to brainstorm, then test by trial-and-error.” The initial year of the program was restricted to juniors and seniors, with AP Physics as a co-requisite. Wanting to expand and gain experience, the team assisted the faculty in developing classes for all grades. We took advantage of this by learning as much as possible and leveraging those lessons to improve future performance.

In our second year (2008-09), enrollment in robotics classes jumped tremendously from 35 to 85 students. The robotics class was split into two levels: Robotics I, an engineering technology class based off LEGO Mindstorms, and Robotics II, an advanced robotics and engineering technology class based solely on BEST and FIRST participation. The team participated in three FIRST regionals, earning the Xerox Creativity Award (for creative strategy and robot design), placing 5th at the Dallas Regional.

In the team’s 3rd year (2009-10), 92 students enrolled in the robotics program, with 41 active team members. Added to the curriculum was a semester-long electronics class, taught by team mentor Tim Jordan. At that year’s FRC Lone Star Regional, we were a quarterfinalist. At Championships, we placed 19^th, making us the highest placed team from Texas, ranking within the top 5% worldwide. Our unique 2010 FRC robot was the only robot with a shell body made entirely out of carbon fiber. The team also fostered a small FTC team to introduce local freshmen and middle-school students to FIRST. In its first competition year, this team placed 8^th out of 30 at the Houston FTC competition.

We are a year-round team that works on multiple competitions and cultivates the varied skills needed to support these. In addition to FRC and BEST, we now also participate in FTC, Texas Computer Educator Association Robotics Challenge, and we mentor other teams involved in these and other competitions.

Our team’s success spurred a 500% increase in robotics enrollment at our school over four years. We’ve added Robotics II and Electronics courses, where students learn 3D parametric modeling programs, shop/power tool use, RobotC, LabVIEW, LEGO Mindstorms, and pneumatics. We also take safety seriously. All of our Robotics II students earn a lifetime OSHA general industry certification, and we plan to continue this program. Next year (2011-12), the curriculum expands to include a curriculum-based Robotics III class, where students will receive more intense training in Solidworks and may receive official 3D modeling certification.

As an example of our growth, you can look to the robot build process as a mirror of our development. In our first year, we primarily used off-the-shelf parts and relatively simple components that could be fabricated using hand tools and a drill press. Today, team members conceptualize all designs, fully translate them into CAD layouts, and use these to guide the robot fabrication process. We now have more complex tools in our shop (a mill, various power saws, a brake, a grinder, Dremel tools, and so on). Most of our team members learn the proper use and care of most, if not all of these, during their time with the team. Mentor Tim Ousley shares with the team his homemade, gantry CNC machine. Ousley has taught team members to use this tool, allowing us to create custom parts, including omni-wheels, rollers, and pulleys.

It is an unbelievably powerful experience to imagine a mechanical component and, in the matter of a few hours, be holding it in your hand or seeing it become part of a working robot. These improvements in the engineering build-process and engineering discipline prevent errors that waste both time and material.

We’ve also enhanced time management and organizational skills, moving from paper-based calendars posted in the shop to the use of Basecamp, an online project management and communication tool from 37Signals. We use Basecamp to collaborate on team tasks and schedules, share files and images, and communicate team-wide.

In addition to traditional classroom courses, Westlake High School provides a unique opportunity in which students study with a mentor at least two hours a week and work on a semester-long project. This course, Independent Student Mentorship (ISM), provides feedback about future career choices and inspires interests in various fields. During the current year, several team members participated in this hands-on mentorship course, focusing on individual projects that meshed with the leadership roles on the team. What truly makes the program unique is the student-to-mentor relationship in a professional environment. Each student works alongside an industry professional, performing hands-on projects each work session. At the end of the semester, students describe their field activities and overall semester-long project in a 30-minute presentation. Student David Miller, worked with Scott McMahon, team mentor, on black-box designs. Miller currently mentors with Creative Edge Products, a company that provides design services to conceptualize ideas from other companies. Within a week, he was participating in the engineering development process and design of therapeutic gloves that exercise and strengthen hand muscles. Student Lauren Niu, partnered with team mentor Linda McMahon. Together, student and mentor established WESTA, a non-profit organization to manage donations for our school district’s competition robotic teams. Both students developed organizational skills, earned valuable hands-on experience and discovered their passions through ISM participation. They also obtained valuable experience that colleges seek in their applicants, as well as skills they can use for internships and employment.

Even more important than our technological endeavors, Chap Robotics always strives to reach out to the community. Each month, team members visit elementary school science days, taking along LEGO Mindstorms robots to inspire STEM studies among students through fun, hands-on activities. Each visit features a game the elementary students play competitively, earning points on a course actually implemented in our Robotics I class. As a result, we founded six FLL teams in our school district, based in four elementary and two middle schools. Last year, a group of 8^th graders from Hill Country Middle School, one of the teams we inspired, represented Central Texas at the FLL World Festival. In addition to inspiring new teams, we actively host both FLL qualifying tournaments and championships for our area.

As an additional outreach activity, we filmed our carbon-fiber modeling process from start-to-finish. We plan to share our construction method with others on the web via a tutorial we have in the works.

Recently, we expanded our outreach efforts internationally, working with the Nobelity Project to reach out to our sister school in Kenya, Mahiga Hope. This project involves creating video tutorials, training students in the construction of a solar-powered lighting systems. These skills inspire students to implement technology and, as finished products will be used in their schools and village, better their community. These activities strengthen the bond between our schools, bring our communities closer, and enables Kenyans to improve their quality of life.

We hope to witness a brighter global future from reaching out to both local and international partners. FIRST has provided an outlet for us to extend our reach to others and create a better world.

Without the structure and inspiration of the FIRST program, none of our team’s accomplishments would have come to fruition. By providing a framework on which to hang our coursework, teamwork and leadership, FIRST has allowed this program to take root and thrive in our community and beyond. We have shown amazing technology advances each year due to the competitive nature of the 6-week challenge; continued organization and leadership development due to the emphasis on “Coopertition;” and increased involvement with the global community through FIRST’s outreach charter. We look forward with confidence to our continued success built on the outstanding support of the FIRST program.

Just before our regional competition last year, we filmed this test footage of our robots most difficult challenge: kicking a soccer ball.

FIRST Team 2468 first began competing in FIRST Robotics Competitions in 2008. The 2011 competition marks our 4th year.

Chap Robotics began in 2007 with 35 determined students interested in STEM studies. With the momentum of receiving the distinguished FIRST Rookie All-Star award, the program has expanded to include 158 students enrolled in the robotics curriculum and 54 team members who train in multiple building, programming, and organizational platforms. The team strives for success in both engineering and non-engineering measures. The dramatic expansion in Chap Robotics is due to FIRST, which has helped bring about improvements in our curriculum, promote awareness through our involvement in competition, and encourage team building. Our goal is to become a nationally acclaimed team in the FIRST community within the next five years.

Our inaugural year (2007-08) began with a bang by qualifying for FIRST Championships, ranking in the top 400 of 1,650 teams worldwide. Our success was based on determination and quick adaptation of the team to the new environment of engineering design and competition. “Our 1st year,” mentor Tim Jordan said, “we were open to new ideas. Our method was to brainstorm, then test by trial-and-error.” The initial year of the program was restricted to juniors and seniors, with AP Physics as a co-requisite. Wanting to expand and gain experience, the team assisted the faculty in developing classes for all grades. We took advantage of this by learning as much as possible and leveraging those lessons to improve future performance.

In our second year (2008-09), enrollment in robotics classes jumped tremendously from 35 to 85 students. The robotics class was split into two levels: Robotics I, an engineering technology class based off LEGO Mindstorms, and Robotics II, an advanced robotics and engineering technology class based solely on BEST and FIRST participation. The team participated in three FIRST regionals, earning the Xerox Creativity Award (for creative strategy and robot design), placing 5th at the Dallas Regional.

In the team’s 3rd year (2009-10), 92 students enrolled in the robotics program, with 41 active team members. Added to the curriculum was a semester-long electronics class, taught by team mentor Tim Jordan. At that year’s FRC Lone Star Regional, we were a quarterfinalist. At Championships, we placed 19^th, making us the highest placed team from Texas, ranking within the top 5% worldwide. Our unique 2010 FRC robot was the only robot with a shell body made entirely out of carbon fiber. The team also fostered a small FTC team to introduce local freshmen and middle-school students to FIRST. In its first competition year, this team placed 8^th out of 30 at the Houston FTC competition.

We are a year-round team that works on multiple competitions and cultivates the varied skills needed to support these. In addition to FRC and BEST, we now also participate in FTC, Texas Computer Educator Association Robotics Challenge, and we mentor other teams involved in these and other competitions.

Our team’s success spurred a 500% increase in robotics enrollment at our school over four years. We’ve added Robotics II and Electronics courses, where students learn 3D parametric modeling programs, shop/power tool use, RobotC, LabVIEW, LEGO Mindstorms, and pneumatics. We also take safety seriously. All of our Robotics II students earn a lifetime OSHA general industry certification, and we plan to continue this program. Next year (2011-12), the curriculum expands to include a curriculum-based Robotics III class, where students will receive more intense training in Solidworks and may receive official 3D modeling certification.

As an example of our growth, you can look to the robot build process as a mirror of our development. In our first year, we primarily used off-the-shelf parts and relatively simple components that could be fabricated using hand tools and a drill press. Today, team members conceptualize all designs, fully translate them into CAD layouts, and use these to guide the robot fabrication process. We now have more complex tools in our shop (a mill, various power saws, a brake, a grinder, Dremel tools, and so on). Most of our team members learn the proper use and care of most, if not all of these, during their time with the team. Mentor Tim Ousley shares with the team his homemade, gantry CNC machine. Ousley has taught team members to use this tool, allowing us to create custom parts, including omni-wheels, rollers, and pulleys.

It is an unbelievably powerful experience to imagine a mechanical component and, in the matter of a few hours, be holding it in your hand or seeing it become part of a working robot. These improvements in the engineering build-process and engineering discipline prevent errors that waste both time and material.

We’ve also enhanced time management and organizational skills, moving from paper-based calendars posted in the shop to the use of Basecamp, an online project management and communication tool from 37Signals. We use Basecamp to collaborate on team tasks and schedules, share files and images, and communicate team-wide.

In addition to traditional classroom courses, Westlake High School provides a unique opportunity in which students study with a mentor at least two hours a week and work on a semester-long project. This course, Independent Student Mentorship (ISM), provides feedback about future career choices and inspires interests in various fields. During the current year, several team members participated in this hands-on mentorship course, focusing on individual projects that meshed with the leadership roles on the team. What truly makes the program unique is the student-to-mentor relationship in a professional environment. Each student works alongside an industry professional, performing hands-on projects each work session. At the end of the semester, students describe their field activities and overall semester-long project in a 30-minute presentation. Student David Miller, worked with Scott McMahon, team mentor, on black-box designs. Miller currently mentors with Creative Edge Products, a company that provides design services to conceptualize ideas from other companies. Within a week, he was participating in the engineering development process and design of therapeutic gloves that exercise and strengthen hand muscles. Student Lauren Niu, partnered with team mentor Linda McMahon. Together, student and mentor established WESTA, a non-profit organization to manage donations for our school district’s competition robotic teams. Both students developed organizational skills, earned valuable hands-on experience and discovered their passions through ISM participation. They also obtained valuable experience that colleges seek in their applicants, as well as skills they can use for internships and employment.

Even more important than our technological endeavors, Chap Robotics always strives to reach out to the community. Each month, team members visit elementary school science days, taking along LEGO Mindstorms robots to inspire STEM studies among students through fun, hands-on activities. Each visit features a game the elementary students play competitively, earning points on a course actually implemented in our Robotics I class. As a result, we founded six FLL teams in our school district, based in four elementary and two middle schools. Last year, a group of 8^th graders from Hill Country Middle School, one of the teams we inspired, represented Central Texas at the FLL World Festival. In addition to inspiring new teams, we actively host both FLL qualifying tournaments and championships for our area.

As an additional outreach activity, we filmed our carbon-fiber modeling process from start-to-finish. We plan to share our construction method with others on the web via a tutorial we have in the works.

Recently, we expanded our outreach efforts internationally, working with the Nobelity Project to reach out to our sister school in Kenya, Mahiga Hope. This project involves creating video tutorials, training students in the construction of a solar-powered lighting systems. These skills inspire students to implement technology and, as finished products will be used in their schools and village, better their community. These activities strengthen the bond between our schools, bring our communities closer, and enables Kenyans to improve their quality of life.

We hope to witness a brighter global future from reaching out to both local and international partners. FIRST has provided an outlet for us to extend our reach to others and create a better world.

Without the structure and inspiration of the FIRST program, none of our team’s accomplishments would have come to fruition. By providing a framework on which to hang our coursework, teamwork and leadership, FIRST has allowed this program to take root and thrive in our community and beyond. We have shown amazing technology advances each year due to the competitive nature of the 6-week challenge; continued organization and leadership development due to the emphasis on “Coopertition;” and increased involvement with the global community through FIRST’s outreach charter. We look forward with confidence to our continued success built on the outstanding support of the FIRST program.

Just before our regional competition last year, we filmed this test footage of our robots most difficult challenge: kicking a soccer ball.