During Team 3197’s offseason, which runs from late April to October, and preseason, which spans October to December, the team focuses on projects that serve the community and further team members’ awareness of practical applications for robotics.  The HexHounds currently have four offseason projects in the works: the MarcBot, the Glendale Police Department Robot, the T-Shirt Cannon, and the KiwiBot.

MarcBot:

The HexHounds are working to repair the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department MarcBot, a decommissioned military field robot.  This gives the team real world experience beyond working on a competition bot.  The project has been reported by local media, including TMJ4 News, The News Graphic, and more.

Glendale Police Department Robot: 

We are also working to breathe new life into Glendale Police Department’s Robot.  This project was a fun and educational experience for team members and alumni to work on during the 2018-19 preseason.

T-Shirt Cannon:

Our T-shirt Cannon is a repurposed FRC robot designed by team members that shoots T-shirts at our school district’s homecoming festivities, Wayne’s Give Back Night, and rallies.  We continue to field requests to attend other school events and look forward to showing off the powers of this robot in the future.

KiwiBot:

The KiwiBot is a student-led and designed preseason robot named after its drivetrain.  Kiwi Drive is an agile, triangle-based drivetrain with no defined forward direction.  Our KiwiBot utilizes three motors and three omni wheels, so it can move quickly in any direction.  This project was a part of our preseason design challenge for the 2018-19 season to explore new FRC drivetrains, create a new robot, and teach new team members the basics of FIRST Robotics.  Several of the KiwiBot’s pieces were waterjet and bent by our sponsor Struck Corporation.