From AGM held 5/01/2011
We have entered into an agreement with the University of Auckland’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering which has allowed us to acquire the parts for one Vex robot under a lease-loan system (meaning that the ECE dept will own the equipment but allow us to use it). We have also been allocated working and storage space within the department. Our current plans include our initial safety briefing and design session which will be held in mid-January, and the design, construction, and programming of our first competitive robot which will be started as soon as the parts arrive.
We are intending on participating with our robot at a high schools scrimmage in February, demonstrating that we are capable of constructing a competitive robot. Using the robot and other materials such as CAD designs, we will pitch for further funds or parts from the ECE and Mechanical Enginereing departments, and also re-approach companies for sponsorship. Under a tight deadline, we will endeavour to have two robots completed by mid-March, ready to compete in a NZ competition against Massey University Albany and Palmerston North, before travelling to Orlando, Florida to compete in the World Champs in mid-April.
After the Vex Competitive season is over, we are intending on hosting an internal University of Auckland robotics competition during second semester, inviting students from all departments to complete a challenge that we will set, following rules in order to win a cash prize. Details on this event will be decided upon later. Our AGM for 2011 will be held in September/October, and then we will start preparing for the 2011/2012 season of the Vex Robotics competition.
Additional to these two main projects, we will be holding social events throughout the event for members of our club, acting as ambassadors for our sponsors in the media and at events (especially the Faculty of Engineering and its departments), encouraging other students to join our club and/or become interested in robotics, and also mentoring high school robotics teams throughout the year.
Andrew Chen – Acting Chairperson