This year's FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is called "Crescendo", and it is entirely music themed, the goal being for robots to collect and score "notes" into the "speaker", the "amp" and the "trap", and at the end of the match getting "on stage" with the "spotlight" and bonus points for "harmony". Since "forte" is a term used in music to define a section of loudness and emphasis in a musical composition, the robot's name goes along with the whole music theme very well. Additionally, the word "forte" also means "the strongest point", originating from ancient swordfighting as the strongest part of the sword was named the "forte". This also makes "FORTE" a great name for our robot as we would like to prove ourselves to be the strongest point on the field as we compete. Finally, "forte" is also used to describe a thing that one excels at. Our robot is FORTE because we will excel at what we do during competitions.
Further improvements will continue be made until the robotics season is over. We use a Gantt Chart to keep track of what we must work on each day.
Click the image below to watch a three-minute summary of the "Crescendo" competition.
This repository contains FORTE's programming, written by Wesley McGinn and Ethan Mejia. In the first 15 seconds of the match, the robot will score the preloaded note and collect and score additional notes into the speaker, typically earning up to 17 points per autonomous. (Okay, actually we are still working on that, but we can score two notes from any of the sides of the subwoofer, selected in Shuffleboard. This is a good 12 points.) In the following 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the robot will be able to be controlled by two drivers, each with the same controls on a separate X-Box controller. Although the drivers will have control over the robot, the robot will be very smart, making the job of the drivers as simple as "run over the notes and drive by the speaker". If something does go wrong with the robot's smart system, "raw mode" can be easily activated by either driver, in which case driving the robot will be much more difficult without the aid of mathematics or the robot camera. "Teleauto" will also be an option, enabling the drivers to sit back and watch as the robot continues its efficacious, sensor-driven autonomous, scoring notes faster than any typical driver would be able to.
For more information, see PLAN.pdf in this repository.