Today's lecture provided a comprehensive introduction to the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), including its timeline, rules, and the values it promotes. We explored the various awards and recognitions within the FRC community, emphasizing the importance of Gracious Professionalism. The discussion highlighted the skills developed through FRC participation and the essential skills required for success. Inspirational messages and safety practices were also covered, alongside useful resources for team management and technical guidance. Lastly, we delved into the design aspects of FRC robots, focusing on chassis and wheel types, and driving systems. A hands-on activity included building and testing four swerve drive wheels on robot, offering practical insights into advanced drive systems. We also have a chanse to drive and feel the outcome of swerve drive by driving a chassis from last year. What a lovely day to kick off a FRC team.

During this morning's session, we first learned about the build cycle of an FRC team during the regular season. Within a compact 6-week timeframe, a team needs to complete the following steps: analyzing the season's rules, proposing initial concepts and prototypes, designing the robot, building, programming, and iterating. This differs significantly from the competitions we have participated in before. Due to the tight build cycle, we cannot complete multiple iterations and tests. It is more important to complete and implement the concept proposed at the beginning of the season rather than completely borrowing the efficient robot designs of other teams.

Completing an FRC robot within six weeks requires efficient management and personnel allocation, mainly divided into two major categories of work: robot-related departments and logistics departments. The robot-related departments encompass all tasks from hardware to software, such as design, mechanics, electrical, programming, and operation. Collaboration among these departments is essential to complete the robot. Compared to FTC robots, FRC robots are more complex and require more engineering work. We need to pay attention to the details of each part, as any error could lead to accidents on the field. Additionally, since the time for repairs on the field is very tight, we need to ensure that the robot is nearly perfect before the competition.

Of course, an FRC team is not just composed of these technical departments; the logistics team is also crucial. The logistics team includes business/communication, audiovisual, outreach, and strategy/scouting. Although these logistics team members seem unrelated to the robot, it does not mean they are not important. On the contrary, an efficient logistics team can greatly help the team. Therefore, a well-established FRC team has nearly 40 members, each contributing their strengths.

In the afternoon, we continued the work on yesterday's chassis assembly. First, we added rubber to the four wheels and installed them on the swerve modules assembled yesterday. Today, our team members also entered the workshop and participated in the manufacturing process. During the fabricating process, we learned about the operation of the processing machines and the safety measures that need to be observed. After fully understanding the fabricating process, our team members also operated the machines themselves. We spray painted the fabricated parts black and red to enhance the robot's appearance. Finally, we assembled the chassis frame, installed the four swerve wheel modules, and completed the chassis assembly.