My Bookmarks
Here is a list of a lot of good information/links for projects, and has been designed specifically for competition robots.  If there is an error or you would like to submit some more info, please email me at:
davidgitz@gmail.com

Project Management
Brainstorm
Design
Vendors
Build
Test
Report

Project Management

Dropbox

Dropbox is a great tool for collaboration. It is essentially a network storage drive, but available in the Cloud and very simple to use. I have used it for code storage, file storage, even CAD drawings.

Google Code

Google Code is traditionally more for code storage/version control in the Cloud, but can be used for any type of data. It also offers a Wiki, Bug Tracking and Branching. It can be a little more complicated to use but can be very useful. It goes very well with the next link. Tortoise SVN Tortoise SVN can be used in conjunction with Google Code to provide a way to integrate Windows Explorer with Google Code.

Google Documents

Google Docs is another good collaboration tool. What sets Google Docs apart is that it allows for simultaneous file editing (Word/Excel/Powerpoint) with other users around the world.

Sample Schedule - FRC 2009 Build Season

This is a schedule that a FRC Team I used to mentor followed during the 2009 FRC Build Season. We had approximately 25 students and this helped keep everyone engaged and on task.

Sample Schedule - FRC 2011 Off-Season

This is a schedule for FRC Team #1208. We have followed during the Fall Semester to provide our Students (~70 on the Build/Design Team) proper training and experience for the upcoming Build Season.

Brainstorm

Lessons Learned Matrix

Over the course of any competition, you will learn things you did well and things you did not do well. This matrix is for the 2011 Build Season for FRC Team #1208 and includes all events that caused a negative in our performance at our 2 Regionals, along with fix actions that we are taking for the next season.

Weighted Objectives

A Weighted Objectives Table (WOT) is useful to determine the optimum concept of a robot based on a set of requirements, capabilities and assumptions. This is normally used as part of the Brainstorming process with multiple people (experience with the proposed mechanisms is preferrable) stating how well the system will work in each area. The best way to do it is to hide all other scores so it is unbiased as possible. After all the scoring is complete the totals should be calculated and that will be the winner.

Requirements

During the course of the Brainstorming process, you will develop such items as "Must Have's" and "Nice To Have's".  Both of these categories are important.  Additionally, for each "Must Have" you may have different parameters, such as how long the Robot needs to run and how long it should run if it doesn't compromise other requirements.  These are called "Targets" and "Goals".  A Target is a parameter of a Requirement that must be met in order to be minimally compliant with the requirements, whereas a Goal is a parameter that exceeds a Target.  Normally it works better to design your project to meet your Goal.  So if something happens where you are unable to meet the Goal parameters, you are still within the Target parameters and can have a functional project.

Design

Bill of Materials

It is obviously important to track expenses, suppliers, orders, etc during a project. This is a sample BOM used for the ICARUS Project. This document also highlights several of my preferred vendors. Mechanical Calculator

This is a great tool put together by JesseK, a user of the Chief Delphi Forum and a mentor of a FIRST Robotics Team.  This is a spreadsheet that helps you design a Robot's drive-train, arm mechanism, lift mechanism and can also be used for the 2011 LogoMotion Minibot Race.  This is specific to FRC items but can be used for other competitions as well.

Component Selection Matrix

This document is useful when comparing/contrasting different items that serve the same purpose.  This spreadsheet includes many components that were used for the ICARUS Vehicle and may also provide you with some good information about several robot parts.

Circuit Design Analysis

When designing a Robot, it is very important to verify that the electrical requirements of the Robot and the various components are met.  These requirements can be things such as:  Current consumed through a speed controller, Heat dissipated through a speed controller and expected run-time of your Robot.si

Vendors

I have gone through several of my Bill Of Materials (BOM's) and created a list of my most used suppliers.  The following is a list in order of the number of parts I have used in prior projects.

McMaster-Carr has lots of good mechanical parts, material, drive components, etc.

Spark Fun is awesome!  They have a lot of electrical components.  Most of the sensors I use are from here.

I have been using Hobby King recently for light-weight hardware (such as Carbon-Fiber material) but they have lots of parts designed for the R/C Market.

Bane Bots has a lot of actuators/gearboxes for FRC size applciations. 

Home Depot doesn't have the selection of other Vendors but they have some stuff, and they are usually local.

Digikey is good for small electrical components.  Their part searching system is great, it allows you to specify requirements for different products they sell.

Robot Marketplace is a great store for beefier electrical and drive components, specifically for Battle Bots but they have a good motor selection too.

Parallax sells several microcontrollers, such as the Basic Stamp and the Propeller.  They also sell several different sensors, although these sensors are normally available from Spark Fun.

Anderson Power Products makes these cool parts called Power Pole Connectors.  These are available from Power Werx and can be used to replace normal wire quick disconnects.

IFI Robotics (now a part of VEX) sells Victor Speed Controllers and Spike Relays.  They sell a lot of other cool parts too, as they used to be a big supplier of FRC.  They also sell their IFI Control System.

What can be said about Radio Shack?  They used to have a ton of cool parts.  Now they have some (although they are getting more) and are good in a pinch at other electrical parts.

Lynx Motion sells a bunch of cool robot kits and accessories.

The following Vendors I have used for small quantities of specialized parts:

Batch PCB is used for small numbers of custom PCB's.  Their prices are pretty good.

Pololu sells several robot kits, but I like them because they have some good power converters.

Ponoko is great!  It's your own personal factory.  Basically you design a part (either 2D or 3D) and they support lots of different types of files.  Then you submit it to the site and select the type of material you want, and a few days you get your part!  The price is definitely going to be more expensive than if you were to make (hack) it on your own, but the quality is very good as is their customer service.  Plus they have lots of different types of materials too than you probably couldn't get anywhere else.

Robot Shop sells a lot of kits, but they have a lot of diverse actuators and sensors too.  I have used them for linear actuators but they have other stuff as well.

Small Parts, Inc. used to be a big time FIRST supplier.  McMaster-Carr probably has anything you would normally need from Small Parts Inc but they do have a good selection, although their prices are a bit high to me.

Online Metals has a better metal selection than McMaster-Carr and is normally cheaper, but they have a limited selection of different metals.

Build

Diagrams

It is obviously important to provide diagrams of how your Robot works, but do you know why?  Besides serving as a basis for continuity and project management, diagrams are very important during the troubleshooting process.  If something happens during development or during a competition event and you are trying to trace down a faulty connection or bad code, diagrams (functional, physical, logical, etc) can be very useful and make the troubleshooting process very efficient.

Specifications

When working on a team on a project, it is important that all team members are working from the same set of specifications.  This document tracks how a Robot is used (Controls) and also tracks how the Robot is hooked up.  The second sheet of this tool was developed by FIRST Robotics Team #111 WildStang.

Test

Troubleshooting Rubric

When going through the Troubleshooting process, you will discover many different types of bugs/glitches/problems, especially if you participate in many competitions.  This document helps to track common problems in a Robot, identify the cause and help with providing a solution. 

Match Trouble Ticket

During an actual competition, often you may notice a problem with your Robot but aren't able to troubleshoot it while competing.  However, you may want to fix the problem when the match is over.  This document provides a simple to use form that you can fill out during a match when you notice something's wrong to help provide information/continuity while trying to fix the problem after the match.

Report

FRC Build Season Log - 2011

It was requirested by John V Neun, a mentor for a FIRST Robotics Team for each FRC team to build a log of the Build Season activities.  This is that log.  In it you will find a list of tasks that were accomplished each day the Team met, problems that arose, pictures, etc.  Lots of good info if you like to read!

FRC Season Log - 2012

This is the 2012 FRC Season Log for FIRST Team #1208.  When finished this log will detail all the tasks, problems, pictures, etc including the Off-Season and the Build-Season.

ICARUS Design Report

This document details the work involved in creating ICARUS.  The project and this report are still under development so this is not a finalized document.

ALP Final Proposal

The ALP was created by a SIU-Carbondale Senior Design Team for ICARUS.  This document details the proposal that was delivered to the former FAST Robotics company detailing this product.

GCSI User Manual

The GCSI was a set of software tools to control the manual/autonomous operation of the ICARUS Vehicle.  This document is a User Manual for this software.

RCU Design Report

The RCU was a hand-held tool to control the ICARUS Vehicle during flight.  This project and this report are still under development, so this is not a finalized document.

RCU Documentation

The RCU was a hand-held tool to control the ICARUS Vehicle during flight.  This document details various information concerning the RCU.