Systemetric

Team Organisation

The team is organised into several groups which undertake certain roles within the team. There are many roles that the members of our team can place themselves in, which allows them to specialise in what they are interested in. This helps the team to be able to build and compete with a successful robot. Here are some of the roles within the team:

Team Captains

The team captains are responsible for overseeing all the teams activities to ensure the various tasks are being carried out at the correct time. As captains they make the final decisions regarding the robots and the team.

Robot Design and Strategy

At the beginning of robot build periods the design team are responsible for analysing the competition game and coming up with ideas for the design of the robot. The design team often prototype various ideas in order to ensure they work and make neccessary changes prior to the robot being built. Robot design is a process that is carried out until the robot is has shipped, as changes are often made while it is built to overcome unforeseen problems.

Engineering

Once the robot has been designed it is up to the engineers on the team to build it. The engineers are largely responsible for the frame and the mechanical elements of the robot. This includes scrutineering the build to ensure the robot meets the design and competition rules, particularly as amendments to the rules are published.

Electronics

The electronics team are responsible for wiring up the components that make up the robot and testing them to ensure they work. This includes devices associated with the robot, such as the control system.

Software Development

The software development team write the neccessary code to tell the robots how to communicate with the control system, and what the various controls should do. This includes autonomous code which enables the robots to take input from sensors, such as cameras, and interpret the data to be able to operate themselves.

Competition Drivers and Human Players

At the competition designated team members with a good knowledge of the game rules are responsible for driving the robot during matches or taking part in any 'human player' elements to the game.

Competition Pit Crew

At the competition we have many pit crew members, who look after the robot when it is not in a match. The pit crew is made up of many members of the other groups so that they can make any required changes to the robot or its software while it is in the pits. Pit crew members ensure that there is a fully charged battery available for each match, and transport the robot between the pits and the field. Members also provide judges and scouts from other teams with information about the robot as they tour the pits.

Scouting

Scouts record notes on other teams robots during the competition, so that should the team enter the final rounds and be required to pick alliance partners we have good information to help us decide. Scouts do this by watching matches and visiting other teams in the pits to ask questions.

Marketing and Fundraising

The marketing team are responsible for promoting the teams activities. This includes producing leaflets for the public and other robotics teams, designing various graphics for the team and the robots, and updating this website. A vital part of the role is fundraising and securing sponsorship to ensure we have the finances to participate in he competitions we enter.