This year has been quite an experience. The pandemic has affected everyone and none of us were prepared for it. At the beginning, we struggled to find a way to build the robot while social distancing from each other. What made matters worse is the fact that we did not have access to the school and our building room, restricting us to get our equipment and materials. In the meantime, we had chosen for each builder to make certain parts of the robot at their own house, then assemble it later on. However, not all builders had the equipment, the materials, and the knowledge to construct the parts. This issue prompted us to narrow down who was actually capable to work on the robot at home. We had to transport a lot of materials back and forth from each builder’s home, even though most of us did not have a reliable mode of transportation. Furthermore, we also noted those who had a 3D printer in their home, since 3D printing was our best solution. The build team was limited on budget as we did not receive enough funds this year. Thus, 3D printing of our parts had become the most economical solution.

After discussing with the school, we were finally granted access to our build room. We took the necessary equipment and materials to distribute them among the team to increase our workforce. We even used the 3D printers at school which we kept an eye on with a live stream of the room.

As per usual, we brainstormed our ideas together by sketching them by hand, by using Tinkercad, and by using Fusion 360. The design of the robot's center took the most time. We finalized the design on Fusion 360 and made sure all the pieces and motors were properly aligned.

Our worst nightmare became a reality when we were forced to rebuild the robot as there were a lot of errors and inconsistencies which made the assembling impossible.

Going over the specifics, we planned to use a scrapped shirt to cover up the conveyor belt made of sponges. It did not create enough friction, so the alternative was to use a broken curtain we found at the college. Fortunately, the fabric created enough friction to satisfy our needs.

On the robot, there is a shelf to contain all the blocks necessary to construct the structure for each game. We required a material that was light, sturdy and easily malleable. Wood and metal did not meet all the three requirements; thus, 3D printed parts were our solution.

In addition, we have an elevator system to pick up the game pieces with wheels. The original set of wheels we planned to use was too spongy, which reduced the amount of traction. We then settled on a set of sturdy wheels which provided more traction when picking up the blocks.

Once we reached the final step of assembling the whole robot, we ran into some issues. Apparently, the conveyor belt and the shelf were blocking each other. Our first idea was to use a motor to move either part, but we had already used the maximum number of motors. The second idea was to use pistons to move the pieces. Unfortunately, we abandoned this idea as it would have complicated the situation and increased the cost of the construction. We realized that we would then be required to purchase the equipment to maintain the air pressure in the piston and strap sensors around the mechanism to make sure it functions properly. We concluded that the best solution was to rework the existing motors. The plan was to have two of the motors switch roles once the first task was accomplished. The motor that activates the carjack which grabs the game pieces will latch onto the conveyor belt and pull it out of the way once the carjack has reached a certain point. The motor which operates the elevator has a ratchet joint that will pull the shelf back to allow the blocks to fall down once the elevator attains a certain height.

2021 has been nothing but new challenges, adaptations, and full of compromises. This year through our robotics team we faced numerous challenges, the obvious one being, working solo, in many of our time-consuming projects. For the year 2021, through a google poll we voted on our theme, roman empire. The first couple of months we met 1-2 times weekly on Microsoft Teams where we discussed the layout and plan for our virtual kiosk. Here we spent between 1- and 2-hours brainstorming ideas and getting to know one another. Robotics has always been a way to make lifelong friends and develop great communication and teamwork skills. Unfortunately, this year we had to adapt to the new way of online meeting and learning which was very strange and unfamiliar to most of us, however, I believe as a team we did a decent job of communicating fluently to one another. Many of us also spoke out of robotics meetings and were able to discuss our ideas through group chats on Messenger.

One of the biggest challenges we had to face was figuring out a way to virtualize our kiosk. From this we used Blender in order to construct and present our ideas of what we wanted our Roman Empire to look like. Probably the biggest struggle was learning and trying to figure out the application “Blender”. This came with many hours of frustration and confusion, however, with practice and hard work came success. 2 members of the kiosk team also hand made and painted roman pillars to help with the video and help visualize what our kiosk would look like. Another problem we faced was communication issues, which I believe most teams had the same difficulty. It was hard getting on the same page as all members of the team and figuring out days where everyone could meet while we all juggled schoolwork, family time, and extra activities. Our Vanier Team did a good job with communication, yet we still struggled to meet deadlines.

For the design of the kiosk, we used the application “Blender”. As shown in the four angles of the kiosk at the bottom of the page, we can see all functionalities of our construction. When entering the kiosk our school’s name and number is presented on a colored flag. Our 4 columns help support our beams, but mostly represent our theme of Roman Empire. Behind the fake brick wall, we have a room which can be used for coats, shoes, and excess tools or materials. It is closed off with a cream-coloured curtain. A shelf system is placed in front with moving wheels for efficiency and extra organization space. To the left, our working table is used for our build team to make quick fixes, repair broken pieces, and set up our robot for the competition games. Above, it is a cork board to hang tools and supplies in order to save space and keep the working space organized. In the middle, we have a roman themed chest for aesthetic purposes, as well as to the right we have a stand for decorative purposes. Any extra space in our kiosk is used for efficient working and comfort. We tried our best to incorporate as many roman themed characteristics as well as following the kiosk guidelines and having a spacious efficient working space.

After the crazy school year we had, we can confidently say we have met our expectations. I believe with the new challenges we had to overcome; we did a very good job at handling all the obstacles we were faced with. Although we were not able to properly meet and have access to all the materials needed to make a fully functional kiosk, with our creative brainstorming skills and dedication to making this year great, we did a wonderful job and should be proud of it!

The video is one of the many components in this competition that is very fun to work on. Through the time that is spend on the creation of a video, we are able to hang out with our team and create memories. However, this year, our task was more difficult to achieve, considering the pandemic we find ourselves in. All of our meetings were done online, through computer screens, but we still tried to make the time we spend be of good use. Naturally, with this kind of change, our team fell behind; we faced many delays.

At the beginning of the CRC competition season, the video-making sub-team brainstormed as a group during online meetings. However, because of the many restrictions given by our government, no gathering could have been organized for the filming process. This being said, we decided that it would be best for the video to be a “one man show”; we changed our original idea to satisfy this. Filming was made difficult for a single team member, but was made easier since this member already owned many filming equipment—namely a greenscreen, a camera, and more. To make the video more interesting for the public, the actor had differing facial hair, clothing, and hairstyles.

Adding to this, throughout this journey, there were many difficulties for all team members. Time management for the actor and director was a challenge considering that schoolwork and deadlines kept pilling up. Communication was also difficult for all.

This year, there were not many changes when it comes to the tasks that both the website-building and journalism teams must perform. However, the main difficulty was our new form communication. Considering the pandemic that we are all facing, instead of in-person meetings, we had to move to online platforms such as Microsoft Teams for our meetings to take place.

Due to this and the change in lifestyle for many—considering the pandemic we are facing—there were few returning members on the website and journalism teams. This made the workload greater for those who decided to remain in or join the teams.

When it comes to journalism, the various articles that would be written were easily divided amongst the teammates. Considering that several members were taking part in other sub teams—namely website designing, kiosk building, and video making—it was also easier to write about each sub team’s ups and downs and their experience with the changes that we are facing. This year, new members joined Journalism, and having already participated in this competition previously in their high schools, there was no need for the explanation of what Journalism means when we talk about robotics. This being said, only two to three meetings were required during the year in order to ensure the team’s organisation and understanding our given tasks.

As for the website designing, there were no returning members due to their graduation and the pandemic. However, at the beginning of the year, a whole new group of students who were interested in the conception of the website joined the Vanier Robotics Team. With Roman Empire as the most voted to become our theme, the students in charge of the website had to keep this idea in mind during its construction. Also, some mistakes made in last year’s “Vanier Street” website had to be kept in mind in order to improve ourselves. We first started with the website’s design; during a couple of meetings, we discussed the incorporation of the theme and its aesthetics. However, during this time, due to miscommunication and other complications, advancements on the website were very slow. With the recruitment of a new member, this changed towards the end of February, where we started to accelerate the process. The landing page, the language page, the pages containing the journalism articles, and more were created, and with an existing member who was knowledgeable on the mobile compatibility of websites and already on the team since the beginning, our website was improved from our previous one. Whether the website conception team members had experience or did not, they all contributed in one way or another to help with the construction of this website.