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Divisions
Engineering
Engineering is by far the largest of the sub teams, consisting of over 40 members. Engineering is responsible for designing and building the robot. In a given build season they divide up into smaller groups consisting of 4-6 students, at least one of whom is a veteran member. These groups focus on individual parts of the robot such as the drive train, electronics and mechanisms. There is often more than one mechanism group either focusing on different parts of the robot, or competing against each other for the better design.
To keep track of all these groups, we have a President and Vice President of Engineering. It is their job to make sure that all of engineering runs smoothly. The Director of Engineering is responsible for making sure each one of the groups are operating according to a predefined timetable. We also have a primary machinist who is responsible for machining all parts of the robot and educating others in the use of the machines.
Software Engineering
The job of the programmers is to write software which controls the robot's logic and motion on the playing field, as well as to ensure that the electronic systems are running smoothly. Essentially, they breathe life into otherwise lifeless metal. The programming team is also responsible for making sure all of the old robots have working code so that they are prepared to perform for demonstrations.
Because most incoming members having little or no programming experience, we take it upon ourselves to teach everyone to program using the Java language. Teaching a large group of students to program a robot is no easy task, given our painfully short time frame. The pressure and patience pays off, however, when we see our code being executed by a 120lb robot soaring across the field.
Team 694 also believes in open source software and the free distribution of our code to the greater community. All of our code is free for anyone to look at and learn from. Note: Some files may not be under the same open license, please check the comments of each file for specific licensing information.
Though more resources are soon to come, our subversion repository with all code (past and present) is available for viewing at www.github.com/prog694 (popup).
Marketing and Logistics
Our marketing and logistics sub team has a very diverse list of responsibilities. It is in charge of fundraising, branding, logistical work like meals during build season and travel planning, award submissions, outreach as well as any other task that does not fall under the other sub teams, to name a few. To make sure all these projects are running smoothly, we have a President and Vice President of Marketing. They are also responsible for being the primary contact for our sponsors. Our Director of Outreach is responsible for coordinating all of our outreach efforts which include mentoring FLL, FTC, and FRC teams as well as reaching out to local restaurants and communities’ centers. We also have a secretary responsible for ensuring there is clear communication between all of our Mentors, Faculty Advisers, Parents, and sub teams.
Animation
Our animation division specializes in creating 3-D models and manipulating them to create videos which showcase technology or advocate safety. Using the professional Autodesk software, 3ds Max and Combustion, animators are responsible for creating a safety animation and a technology video for the Autodesk Visualization Award.
Videography and Photography
The videography and photography divisions are responsible for capturing the spirit of FIRST and Stuyvesant Robotics through still images and high-definition video. Documenting our build season and hosted events such as the TriBeCa Film Festival Booksale and the FIRST Lego League Manhattan Practice Tournament, the division captures the raw material used to create our press releases and promotional materials. The videography division is also responsible for creating promotional videos using professional software such as Final Cut Pro, Livetype, and Adobe Premiere Pro. The videography division is also responsible for doing sound post-production work on animations.
Website
Our website team consists of a hardworking Marketing sub team. They are responsible for everything related to the website, including but not limited to, hosting, back-end programming (done in PHP) , front-end programming (done in CSS, HTML, JavaScript), and content. To learn more about this year's new site, visit the About the Site page.