History from 2006-2007 Season

Literally an arm length above the competition, Osbourn High School's robotics team hones in on the 2007 specification requiring the robot to place rings on poles of different heights. Members of the FIRST team are working tirelessly to meet all of the rules while going beyond expectations of the team, the school, and the community.

As a second year FIRST participant, the team is progressing more efficiently with around thirty members, half of whom were involved in the 2006 rookie class. Mentors from Lockheed Martin have returned to contribute helpful insights for a school that is yearning to construct a robotics team that will be a force to reckon with in the future. At the beginning of the 2005 school year, team mentor Susan Perryman was approached by Lockheed Martin contact Al Mort, who informed Perryman of the FIRST robotics competition. Agreeing to create a team, Perryman and Mort set out to find out information on robotics. After countless meetings and numerous phone calls, a team of thirty six members was formed, along with interested parents and volunteer mentors. �Committees such as spirit, public relations, web site design, documentation, and fund raising were formed.Each section united to form Osbourn's very first robotics team.

Working down to the wire, Osbourn's rookie robot left for shipping at 2 AM in the morning. "The number one thing was that there was a lot of stress, mostly on the team leaders, but I could feel it too. It was like a last minute project, but we all learned a lot from it," said this year's Project Manager senior Valeriy Vislobokov. A fully operational rookie robot and a first place web site design in the regional competition made the long nights worthwhile.

As a sophomoric team, members are confident and committed to the task at hand. Members are eager to produce a robot that other teams will want to partner with. We also want to generate a positive atmosphere for our own school, and encourage any interested people to get involved. "Last year we were a rookie team, and we didn't really know what the competition was going to be like. But this year we are going to try to get things done earlier, that way we will be ready for competition,"� said Public Relations sophomore Sam Anderson. We are reaching for the stars this year and, as any team would, want to do our very best. This year, Osbourn will compete in the NASA-VCU Regionals held in Richmond, on March 2-3.

From the start, members of the robotics team underwent many alterations. Sacrifices had to be made in order to fulfill goals.� Time management was "key" with attending meetings and long hours necessary for construction. "One of the greatest sacrifices I made for FIRST robotics was time. Meeting sometimes five days a week, I started to find unique ways to catch up on sleep and school work," said senior Dashel Thompson, Electrical Department leader. Others had to sacrifice sports in the winter season to become obligated with robotics. Some of our sacrifices trickled down to the parents, and methods were created on how to drop off and pick up kids before and after meetings.

The different committees had to communicate with one another in order to put the whole project together. Strong individual personalities had to learn to take a team approach. The impact that FIRST has had on the team changed a group of students into better people. The positive philosophy of FIRST has influenced our team members to place the needs of the team above the needs of an individual.

Located in the small and quiet city of Manassas, Osbourn lies in the heart of the town. The community is heavily supporting the robotics team's cause. The City of Manassas Public Schools Educational Foundation generously accepted a grant proposal submitted by sponsor Susan Perryman last year.� Other funding for our rookie year was acquired by Lockheed, BAE and smaller local businesses such as BB&T, Scott & Stringfellow, and R. Jackson Ratcliffe, Inc. This year the Education Foundation spearheaded the fundraising for our team. The Foundation believes in a strong partnership with the business community and was able to obtain funding from Lockheed, Micron and Eli Lilly.

Alongside the funds was vocal support of the townspeople. "The community appreciates the robotics team. The team broaden the horizons of many kids and exposes them to careers like engineering," said Robotics alumnus and mentor Aladdin Hafeez. At Freshmen Orientation Night, the robot was presented to the students. During Camp Eagle, we demonstrated the robot in front of the elementary students. Adults were exposed to the robot at the dinner for all Manassas educators.

Losing 23 seniors last year was not a problem in garnering interest for Osbourn's 2007 team. "We only had six of the old members this year, but they adapted well with the new members, and the new members have gotten a lot of experience for next year," said Vislobokov. With greater experience, new committees were created, including a revamped spirit coordination which includes slogans and banners. With less reliance of mentors and greater confidence in their duties, the students relied on their creative strengths within their respective committees. The variety of the committees attracted people who are not directly involved in robot construction.

"Computer Aided Design is pretty much drawing the whole robot on the computer. When the pieces are purchased, they are sent to us, and we redraw all the pieces, and then put them all together," said junior Michael Burtner, who alongside junior Faizan Qureshi, compose the CAD committee. Such divisions as CAD, website design, and public relations brought the team a slew of diversity. Merging all the strengths into one classroom, however, is ironically creating an even stronger bond that will carry us towards competition on March 3^rd.

Each committee has had its share of challenges. "The hardest aspect we faced electrically was combining the ideas and coordinating with the mechanical and software groups," said Thompson. The Mechanical Department experienced difficulties with the weight of the robot. We tried to increase the weight on the base of the robot to stabilize and lower the center of gravity.

In the final week, we added twenty pounds to the entirety of the robot, and still managed to get under the 120 lbs. limit. The Software Department encountered technical problems with the camera. After getting the camera to work on the robot, the camera suddenly deactivated. After trial and error, the camera eventually worked on the robot. Weather dramatically affected our completion of the robot. The week of February 11 was a week of putting finishing touches on the robot, and having fun. But three consecutive days of school cancellations shut down any activities within the building. Although we were nearly done with the robot, added designs or concepts were thrown out the window.

Originally the team wanted to design a blocker type robot could also be used as a ramp. After much discussion, the team decided that the objective to stack rings at three different levels around a tower was far more interesting than building a ramp robot. Fun and challenge are the most important goals of our team. Members tried to maximize the success rate by being an efficient ring placer. The team settled on a small robot with an arm similar to a forklift. "The simplest approach to the objective will be most effective," said assistant project manager Scott Reily.

With a solid rookie season under our belts, Osbourn is fortunate to continue to have the support of sponsors. The town's Education Foundation renewed the grant written by Perryman, and solicited funds by contacting companies such as Eli Lilly and Micron, INC.  Contributing towards the foundation, Lilly and Micron designated the funds specifically for the robotics team. Lockheed, encouraged by the blooming progress of the team, once again lent a helping hand, providing mentors to guide the students this year as well as funding for the initial registration fee. �The total estimation of funds from all the generous contributors for this season is $25,000.

As the reputation of the robotics team continues to grow, so will the awareness by the public. The spirit group and public relations have increased in numbers, and have dedicated more to exemplifying the talents of the team through news and websites. Hanging banners informs the community of the existence of FIRST.�Say the word 'robot' and the interest level peaks.� This interest turns into support and conversations within the community. �Interested students do not need to try out, or have certain qualifications. The only requirement is dedication and enthusiasm through creating a robot that will ultimately inspire many others to study science and engineering.

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