A Week Away From Competition
Earlier this month, we attended and presented some of our robots at the International Society for Laboratory and Automation Screening Conference (SLAS 2024). Held at the Boston Convention Center, this was an incredible opportunity for the team to have fun, meet companies, and learn about the lab automation industry. As we continue to expand our reach in the Boston area, we are super grateful to see opportunities like this come up, and with your continued support, we hope to attend again in 2026 when the conference returns!
The Lobstah Bots posing for some photos at the SLAS 2024 conference in the Boston Convention Center.
Daniel David ‘27, Nathan Wu ‘25, and Maxwell Yu ‘25 working together at our electrical test bench.
After a couple weeks of creating our robot design in CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software, the team started manufacturing the robot in early February! Many of our new students learned how to create individual CAD drawings, which are dimensioned references for each piece of the robot. To stay organized and not make duplicate parts, we diligently number each of our parts and track their status (needs drawing, ready for machining, in progress, etc.) online. To ensure our aluminum parts are made accurately, we often use our milling machine to drill holes at precise dimensions relative to each other. For instance, Coco ‘27, as shown below, is working at our milling machine to drill exact holes into part 1110, a bumper mounting bracket! We also visit BU's EPIC (Engineering Production and Innovation Center) facility to use their CNC (Computer Numerical Control) and make some of our more complex polycarbonate plates (with many precise cuts, holes, etc.).
Once we manufactured enough of our parts, we began the assembly process, where our robot finally comes to fruition! In addition to putting together the parts we made, we also spent time gearing and attaching various motors and axles (in our pivoting arm or flywheel shooter, for example), still following our original CAD design. Finally, the team has recently finished implementing electrical components onto our robot (battery, power distribution hub, RoboRio, motor controllers, radio, etc.), which were also mapped out in our original CAD. And… after some mistakes, fixes, and troubleshooting, we are happy to report that the robot is now up and running!
Coco Shen ‘27 drilling holes into one of our bumper brackets at our lab’s milling machine.
In the meantime, the team has also been busy creating handmade bumpers for our robot. This process includes cutting and assembling a wooden frame, attaching pool noodles to the outside, and stapling on bumper fabric with our vinyl numbers (now in the team’s font!). Our outreach team has also been hard at work making buttons, and they are planning to write and design a robot documentation packet for this year’s competitions!
Speaking of competitions, our first one will be held next weekend (March 8-10) in Bridgewater, MA, so be sure to stay tuned for updates! This past week, our team’s official drive team was announced, consisting of George Baltus ‘24 (driver), Maxwell Yu ‘25 (operator), Sharon Xiong ‘27 (human player), Kendree Chen ‘25 (technician), and mentor Veronica Hui (drive coach). The drive team has been getting some time under their belt at the practice field at WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), and they can’t wait to show off at our competitions!
Tynan (Mentor), Coco Shen ‘27, Nate Magoun ‘27, Yaseen Lotfi ‘25 (Match High School), Kendree Chen ‘25, and Maxwell Yu ‘25 working together to finish the electrical wiring on our robot.
Sharon Xiong ‘27 happily holding up our newly made blue bumpers! Now it’s time to make the red ones!
Thank you all so much. As we reach crunch time in build season, your contributions are as helpful as ever! If you want to be more involved or have any questions, you can email us at lobstahbots@gmail.com and we would be happy to respond!
Sincerely,
The Lobstah Bots
