Electrical
The job of the electrical team is to make sure everything is wired and controlled correctly. Mechanical can design an amazing robot, but it will never function if even the slightest mistake is made electrically.
This year we went simple. Our board was multiple sheets of aluminum, jazzed up to look beautiful thanks to the mechanical team. We actually have two boards, one consisting of the compressor, robot controller and some pneumatics equipment, and a second board containing all other components. The battery took up a lot of real estate on the board. While we felt it would have been easier to have mechanical tuck away the battery elsewhere, we made due.
What we found extremely helpful were our prototype boards. We used the real components and actually drove the robots using them, but the boards were made of wood and were very easily and cheaply modified until we found our final design. Once we found our final design, we measured the board and translated its shape and dimensions to the real board.
Tips for Rookies: Learn how to do as much as possible before hand. Knowing how to properly crimp, strip and solder makes life much easier and saves you time and parts. An excellent idea is to spend time looking at previous electronics boards to see how other teams lay things out. Most importantly, keep everything neat: wires, parts, and tools. On the whole, good communication is very important. The mechanical team needs to tell you exactly what they need so you know what to put on the board.
Leader: Aaron
