by Jonathan Spalten A major part of BattleBots, the subteam of RoboJackets dedicated to creating combat robots, is the 3lber program, the new member training program that all BattleBots members go through. In the program, new members are divided into small teams and assigned a returning member to mentor them. The team then works throughout…
Category: Newsletter
RoboWrestling New Member Projects
by Jonathan Spalten. A big part of RoboJackets is ensuring that new members are able to contribute in meaningful ways early on in their RoboJackets career. This month, we’d like to feature some of the projects that new members are working on as a part of RoboWrestling, the newest team in RoboJackets dedicated to robotic…
Meet the 2021-2022 Core Officers
by Dallas Downing. With the spring semester coming to an end, a new class of leaders have been elected for the 2021-22 academic year. This team of core leadership is essential to the success of RoboJackets. Today, we would like to introduce you to who these leaders are, what they’ve done in their time in…
RoboRacing Test Days
by Evan Bretl. RoboRacing is preparing their newest and fastest robot, Rigatoni, for the evGrandPrix Autonomous Series event this September. In preparation for this, RoboRacing recently held two test days, which are meetings dedicated to validating assumptions and testing the robot end to end. These test days in particular gave the electrical and mechanical subteams…
RoboJackets End-of-Semester Cookout
by Kyla Qi. At the end of each semester, usually on Reading Day, RoboJackets hosts a cookout social. The tradition was started in the fall of 2016, and usually features grilled burgers, hotdogs, and snacks. Members will often play informal matches of ultimate frisbee, soccer, or volleyball. It’s a great way for members to relax…
Hocki: A New Kind of BattleBot
by Dallas Downing. The goal in combat robot competitions is to make a weaponized robot that can either destroy its competition or demonstrate enough control and aggression to make it a clear winner. In general, that typically means having a robot with a weapon attached, like a flipper, a spinner, or a flamethrower. Other approaches…
Profiles in Presidency: Joe Spall and Alex Field
by Jonathan Spalten. With a new generation of leadership coming in to take the helm, we here at the Alumni Newsletter wanted to take a look back at previous leaders and their journey through the RoboJackets leadership ladder. We specifically chose to hold short interviews with the previous two Presidents, Alex Field and Joe Spall,…
RoboJackets Alumni Association
by Sarah Storer. RoboJackets has been growing in size and complexity over the last decade. Because of the flourishing membership we’ve also had success with alumni retention: “old people” who are interested in sticking around to help out even after they’ve graduated. This has been happening for a few years, and the alumni who have…
Elections
by Kyla Qi. Every year around late March, RoboJackets elects a new group of core officers. This is a great opportunity for passionate members to identify themselves and be identified by others, and for the rest of the organization to directly influence the path of RoboJackets for the next year. To be eligible for a…
Moving the Student Competition Center
by Dallas Downing. When RoboJackets was founded in 2000, it was a handful of students making combat robots in the basement of the Howey Physics Building. Today RoboJackets has grown to over 200 dues-paying members spread across five competitive teams in a 17,000 square-foot workspace shared with the rest of the Student Competition Center. However,…