FGC TEAM INDIA 2023

ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK

FIRST GLOBAL
 Table of Contents
Overview of our Engineering Notebook

Our Team and Mission 2

Smart Strategy (Roadmap to Success) 3

Engineering Design Process 5

Drivetrain 6

Ball Intake Mechanism 7

Hopper (Collection Box) 8

Lift Mechanism 9

Hanging and Hooking Mechanisms 10

Electrical Systems 11

Gamepad Mapping 12

Engineering Optimization Processes 13

Robot Specifications 14

Evolution of Mechanisms 15

Advocacy for STEAM 16

Engaging with Executive Authorities 17

Media Outreach 18

Interactions with Professionals 19

Globe Connectors (Coopertition) 20

Initiatives to Engage Youth in STEAM 21

Outreach to Youth in STEAM 22

Bonding through Social Media 23

Gracious Professionalism (Helping Hand) 24

International Unity 25

FIRST Global Team India 2023 1

 Our Team and Mission

Meet The Team

Saieesh Gandhi Sumesh Jaiswal Fahad Azad

Mentor Mentor Mentor

Viraj Apurva Atharv Sai Pranav Venkatesh

Marathe Katkar Sakhalkar Gandhi Dempo
Builder, Outreach Builder, Designer, Documenter,
Programmer Coordinator, Human Builder Social Media
Documenter Player Manager

Our mission is to build and strengthen STEAM community by engaging all the stakeholders.

Initiatives
Advocacy for STEAM

Globe Connectors Media Outreach

10+
+
60

30
+

Students Engaged 1000+ 600 k Sponsorship

35
25+ +
School Visits Professionals Engaged
5+
to Robo Lab

Workshops Conducted

2 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Smart Strategy
Creating a roadmap for success

HYDROGEN HORIZONS

There are two components to each match. During the regional alliance component (the first
2 minutes of the match), teams work in groups of three, a regional alliance, to produce and
store hydrogen and oxygen, then transport and convert hydrogen into a different usable
form. During the global alliance component (the final 30 seconds of the match) all six teams
work together to demonstrate each nation’s proficiency in hydrogen technologies.

We brainstormed on various strategies and a few of them are listed below:

Sr. No. STRATEGY DESCRIPTION

2 robots cycle between Electrolyzer and Reservoir.

1 1 robot puts the Hydrogen Balls in the Tank and Oxygen in Electrolyzer.
The Human Player throws the Oxygen Balls in Oxygen Accumulator.

2 robots cycle between Electrolyzer and Reservoir.

1 robot puts the Hydrogen Balls in the Tank and Oxygen Balls in the
2
Accumulator via selective picking.
Human player throws Oxygen Balls in the Accumulator.

Based on assumptions of over 25 parameters and assigning them values we were able to
assign the various strategies scores. These scores helped us make a selection of the
strategy mix to be undertaken.

Parameters Considered:

FIRST Global Team India 2023 3

 Smart Strategy
Creating a roadmap for success

Team India Game Strategy

Collects both Hydrogen and Oxygen balls from the reservoir.
Separates the balls with the Passive Mechanism into the two parts of the hopper.
Drags the Hydrogen Tank near to the Electrolyzer.
Drops the Oxygen Balls in the Electrolyzer.
The Human Player throws Oxygen Balls them into the Oxygen Accumulator.
The Robot drops the Hydrogen Balls in the Hydrogen Tank, while pushing it below
the Accumulator.
Finally, Robot heads to the Reservoir to hang itself.

Advantages:
Completely independent of alliance capabilities.
Comprises of 2 cycles of oxygen and 1 cycle of hydrogen.
Placing Hydrogen Tank near Electrolyzer, saving robot run time.
Challenge:
Relies on Human Player for Oxygen throw.

Team India Game Alliance Strategy:

Seek assistance of alliance teams to push the Hydrogen Tank adjoining the
electrolyser.
Seek assistance of alliance teams to pick Hydrogen/Oxygen balls.
The alliance Human Player to throw Oxygen Balls into the accumulator.
Push the hydrogen tank below the accumulator.
Ensure that the alliance robot can either hang itself or enter the reservoir.
Challenge:
Slower alliance robots can block the movement or block the reservoir area.

4 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Engineering Design Process
The iterative processes used for building our robot.

Requirements Analysis
We undertake comprehensive
understanding of this year's "Hydrogen
Horizons" theme.
We then made note of key areas where we
could score maximum points.

Brainstorming
We brainstormed and came up with
various strategies.
Later we eliminated them one by one,
considering their drawbacks.

Prototyping
We began creating CAD prototypes for the
mechanisms we had chosen as part of our
strategy.
Some strategies were discarded after seeing
how they looked and worked in the CAD
models.

Assembling
After completing all our mechanisms on
CAD, we started building our actual
robot using the REV parts.
Although we faced difficulties in different
areas but we managed to find a solutions
for each of them.

Testing
We keep driving the robot at least 7 times
everyday for driving practise as well as to
reduce the pit stop and maintenance
timing of the robot.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 5

 Drivetrain
The drivetrain is the robot base on which all other mechanisms are mounted

Reasons for Selection of Drivetrain Configuration

Current drawn (ma)

"Logging" helped us extract valuable data from
the Control Hub such as speed and other data.
Used Pyferret to study this data.
Found that the drop center and double omni
wheel combinations was the best.

Time as shown by Control Hub

Salient Features

1. 8 C-Channels and 4 extrusions for strong

support.

2. 6-wheel drive with West Coast-style drop

center for traction and mobility.
1 mm drop centre

3. Powered by 2 HD Hex motors (20:1 gear

ratio) with chain-based transmission.

4. Specialised wheel configuration for

maximised energy efficiency with high grip
and quick turning.

STEAM Concept:
Friction increases with increase in surface contact area.
Stability improves with a larger base area.

6 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Ball Intake Mechanism
Mechanism to take in balls of different diameters

Salient Features

1. Effortlessly Grabs Balls of both sizes with 2

HD Hex Motors due to higher torque.

2. Balls are propelled using polyurethane

tubes of different lengths & angles mounted
on extrusions attached to shafts via motion
hubs.

3. This system consists of three levels of

polyurethane tubes that rotate at different
speeds. It features a sprocket-chain
assembly that enables optimal ball picking
and raising the balls to a height.

4. Vertical Shafts to prevent escaping of

Hydrogen balls.

STEAM Concept:
Polyeurathene-tube rotors, which are similiar to vacuum cleaner principles, excel at
drawing in soft balls.
Circular motion leads to convergence or divergence.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 7

 Hopper
This collection box is designed to accommodate Hydrogen and Oxygen Balls

Salient Features

1. 30% volume of the robot devoted to store

more number of balls.

2. Passive ball separation system using slope

to seperate the Hydrogen and Oxygen Balls
to the front and back respectively.

3. Active servo powered flaps in tandem with

passive slope for easy emptying of hopper.

4. Transparent Polycarbonate walls on sides

for clear visibility of hopper contents.

STEAM Concept:
Tilt generates motion through gravity for circular balls.
Rails direct specified-sized balls to flow in a single direction.
The tilt angle determines the speed of the balls.

8 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Lifting Mechanism
Mechanism to carry the hopper to a desired height

Salient Features

1. Dual 3-Stage Cascade Sliders for

maximum speed and efficiency in reaching
the Electrolyzer and Hydrogen Tank.

2. Winding of string on motor shaft with a

shaft collar for maximum torque and
simple winding.

3. Unique mounting of pulley on end cap for

sturdiness.

4. Magnetic Limit Switch to prevent over-

extending of slider.

STEAM Concept:
A cascading pulley system increases mechanical advantage by altering the force's
direction, making lifting easier, and distributing the load across the pulleys.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 9

 Hanging and Hooking Mechanisms
Some other useful mechanisms of our robot

Hanging Mechanism Salient Features

1. Dual Reversed Sliders: Ascending using

Surgical Tubing, Descending using Motor
String.

2. Sturdy Hook for Secure Latching onto

reservoir's top metal beam.

STEAM concept:
If the suspension point aligns with the center of mass of body, the object lifts vertically
up.
Any shift in the alignment the object tilts

Hydrogen Hooking Mechanism Salient Features

1. Servo powered filed extrusion design

with drilled screws for hooking of hydrogen
tank

2. Sturdy Extrusion based Mounting for

stable attahment to the hydrogen tank

STEAM concept:
A rigid contact contact between the pulling object and the object being pulled enables
easy manoeuvring and increased control on the object being pulled.
Pulling provides a better controls than pushing

10 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Electricals
Connecting the unconnected

Electrical Systems

Drivetrain Left

Drivetrain Right

Hydrogen Hook

Intake Right

End Flap
Intake Left

Middle Flap
Lift System Left

Right Lift Limit Switch

Lift system right

Hanging System Left

Hanging System Right

Left Lift Limit Switch

Drivetrain Intake Power Cables

Servo Sensor Slider

Salient Features:
Colour coded sticky note labelling for different components.
Organised cabling to prevent entanglement.
Surgical Tubing to tension the hopper servo cables.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 11

 Gamepad Mapping
Ensuring smooth control of the robot by the drivers

Gamepad Controls

Gamepad 1 Gamepad 2
R2: Forward Motion R2: Single Lift System
L2: Reverse Motion Control
D-pad Up/Down: Adjusting L2: Full Speed to Intake
Speed Square: End Flap
R-Stick X: Robot Turning Control
R-Stick Y: Right Hanger Control Circle: Middle Flap
L-Stick Y: Left Hanger Control Control
Triangle: Lower Hooks R-Stick Y: Lift
Cross: Raise Hooks System/Right Slider
Circle: Set Hooks to Position 0 Control
Square: Set Hooks to L-Stick Y: Intake
Intermediate Position Speed/Left Slider
R1 (Holding): Enable Single Control
Control of Hanger Home: Reset Game
L1: Reset Speed Coefficient Timer

Salient Features:
Time-based events are conveyed to the driver using the rumble feature of the gamepad.
Information on motors and sensors is displayed in the telemetry.
Utilises analogue values to precisely control drivetrain, lift, and intake mechanisms.
Sliders have dual and individual control systems.
PID algorithm used to negate any difference in friction in the drive rails.

12 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Engineering Processes
Optiimisation of processes to increase efficiency and decrease pit stop time
Scoring Sheet
Points scored are entered after every run.
Most common errors are noted as Yes/No.
Data from this sheet is plotted on a graph to
notice trends and accordingly work on the
commonly occuring errors.
Robot Maintenance Sheet
All the important parts of the robot listed with
their specfic mechanisms and features.
Maintenance schedule followed after two runs.
Time taken for Maintenance reduced from
earlier 30 to 10 minutes.
Helps in keeping the robot fit for runs and
avoids the errors during runs.
Scouting sheet
Since the robot match is played in alliance of 3
teams competing with 3 other teams, it is
essential to gather information about the robot
capabilities and strategies of other teams
Prepared scouting sheet which will help us note
down the robot game strategies of other teams.
Printed scouting sheets will be distributed to other
FGC teams in line with the spirit of ‘Gracious
Professionalism‘
FIRST Global Team India 2023
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
E6
E7
E8
E9
E10
Hydrogen Horizon Scouting Sheet
Team ______________________________________________
Ball Collection Ability
Does the robot have the ability to collect Oxygen Balls?
No. Of Balls Pick-able___________________________________
Does the robot have the ability to collect Hydrogen Balls?
No. Of Balls Pick-able_______________________________________
Oxygen Accumulation
Does the robot have a shooter for O2?
Accuracy _______________________________________
Does the team rely on Human Player for O2 Balls?
Accuracy _______________________________________
Hydrogen Accumulation
Does the robot have a shooter for H2?
Accuracy _______________________________________
Does the robot have a dropper box for H2?
Hydrogen Tank
Does the robot have the ability for pushing the H2 Tank?
Segregation
Does the robot have the ability to segregate balls on itself by size?
Does the robot need to us the electrolyzer for ball seg.?
Does the robot sort balls through colour?
Accuracy _______________________________________
Hanging
Can the robot hang on the reservoir pole?
Made with love by Team India.
13
 Robot Specifications
A summary of the robot and its performance

Dimensions: ‘SINGHA’ - The Lion Built by Team India

L x B x H: 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm To reign FGC on the land of ‘Singha’ [Singapore]

Weight: 15 kilograms

Motors Used: Hopper

6 x HD Hex Motors
2 x Core Hex Motors
3 x Servo Motors Separator

Sensors: Intake
2 x Magnetic Limit Hanging
Switches
Lift mechanism
Programming
Language Used:
Java

Drivetrain:
6 x Wheel drive
Drivetrain

Selected runs and their scores during practice sessions

55
E

45
Score

Practice Runs

E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10

The center of the bar indicates the points scored.

The length of the bar indicates 10 frequently repeating errors (E1,E2.....)
Each colour in the bar indicates a particular error as reflected in the scoring sheet.
The blank in the bar indicates absence of the error.
The initial bars are mostly coloured indicating higher number of errors and as the practice
increased the bars are blank indicating flawless runs

14 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Mechanisms
Evolution of Mechanisms

Three major earlier versions of the various mechanisms:

Drivetrain
1 mm drop center

6 WD Outer C-Channels

Version 1 Version 2 Version 3

Intake
3 levels Unique mounting Two motors

Version 1 Version 2 Version 3

Hopper
Side by Side Seperation Mounting Hopper Front and Back Hopper

Version 1 Version 2 Version 3

Lift Mechanism

Two sliders in tandem Unique end cap mounting Winching thread on the shaft

Version 1 Version 2 Version 3

FIRST Global Team India 2023 15

 Advocacy for STEAM
Created a political consensus to support the STEAM education in Goa

Met the honourable ministers of our State-Goa and Union minister.

1 2

3 4

5 6

1. Dr. Pramod Sawant: Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa.

Sought support for Youth in STEAM for all schools of Goa.
2. Mr. Shripad Y. Naik: Hon’ble Member of Parliament Minister For Tourism and Ports
Sought representation of Youth in STEAM at national level.
3. Mr. Antanasio Monserrate: Hon’ble Minister for Science and Technology, Goa
Sought support for Robo Lab setup to create awareness towards STEAM.
4. Mr. Rohan Khaunte: Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology of Goa
Financial support for Youth in STEAM.
5. Mr. Subhash Phaldesai: Honb'le Minister of Social Welfare, River Navigation,
Archives and Archeology.
Seeking inclusivity and representation of challenged Youth in STEAM.
6. Mr. Ramesh Tawadkar: Hon’ble speaker Goa Legislative Assembly
Congratulatory motion raised in Goa Legislative Assembly for the team representing
India.

16 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Executive Authorities
Authorities responsible for implementing policies

We recognize the vital role of the Executive Authorities in fostering STEM awareness
and robotics education. They are an integral part of the STEAM community.

Been instrumental in making the

capital of Goa, a smart city.
Our NTE challenge is oriented
towards this mission.

Mr. Rohit Monserrate

Hon’ble Mayor of City Corporation of Panaji

Encourages innovation and

promotes new ideas in the state.

His support was sought to nurture

our STEAM community initiative.
Mr. Jose Manuel Noronha
Hon’ble Chairman of Goa State Innovation Council

Ensured customs clearance for the

robot kit.
Received school heads’ support for
our leave.
Supported us by contacting schools to
visit our RoboLab and join our
Dr. Shailesh Zingade
Hon’ble Director of Education, Govt. of Goa STEAM Challenge.

Financial Planning
Publishing a Coffee Table Book on the topic ‘Robotics Education in schools of Goa
and India’ as an innovative way to raise sponsorship from Government agencies and
Department of IT, Govt of Goa has already committed Rs 0.5 million.
Waiving off some amount of registration fees by the FGC organisers.
Getting in-kind sponsorships for the Robo lab space, Game field arena to save team
expenses
Created a promo video with an appeal for funds via a crowdfunding campaign.
Implemented cost-effective approach to manage expenses.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 17

 Media Outreach
Amplifying our message through extensive media outreach

15+ 15+ 1800k+ 60,000k+

Media Articles Media Interviews Reach through Reach through
Published Taken Print Media Electronic Media

Press Conference

Team India hosts a press conference with

over 15 media houses in attendance.

Newspaper Publications

Gomantak Herald Junior HeraldO

The Goan Pudhari Navhind Times Times of India

Media Interviews

In Goa 24x7 Interview CNBC Interview

18 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Interactions with Professionals
Engaging with professionals for knowledge exchange and collaboration

Mr. Nilesh Shah

Mr. Ashwin Shah
FIRST evangelist, organiser of FLL, FTC,
A well renowned robotics coach.
FRC in India.
His valuable insights helped us in resolving The first FGC India Coach, provided us with
technical issues in the Robot build and insights on documentation and other
enhancing the vision and our understanding. aspects since our team inception

Invited to participate in the

Engineering Day celebrations at Ola
Electric.
We engaged with prominent
engineers and observed real robots
in action.
Got an oppurtunity to witness real
world autonomous robots in action Visit to OLA Electric
India's largest electric two wheeler manufacturing company.

Welcomed IIT alumni visitors.

Described game and robot.

Explored robot's approach to game

challenges.

Exchanged intriguing engineering

Mr. Gagan Goyal
General Partner at India Quotient
processes.

Visit by engineers from Equal Experts

(India) Pvt. Ltd.

Engineers asked detailed questions

about our robot.

Engineers were impressed with our

team's preparations.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 19

 Globe Connectors
Coopertition with other FIRST Global teams

#FGC2023Tips
Created a Hashtag to encourage
Coopertition
Shared our cool tricks and ideas!

Shared 30+ valuable tips on various

subjects.
Teams have reached out to us for
help to build the slider.

Spotify Playlist - WorldBeatsCollab

FIRST Global can be fun too!
Created a collaborative Spotify Playlist
for teams to engage and add their favorite
songs.
40+ people from all over the globe have
joined the playlist.

1 Weekly Videos
Based on our struggle in building the
robot we decided to share solutions to our
problems to help fellow FGC teams.
The videos were scripted, shot and edited
by Team India FGC members.
The videos have a viewership of 3k+

1 Video on Data Logging: Teaching other

2 teams how to diagnose valuable data from
the control hub. It can be termed as a
‘diagnostic tool’

2 Ideas for solving FGC 2023 challenge:

Providing some strategies that might help
other teams in their robot game.

20 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Team Initiatives
Aimed to bring equity, diversity and inclusivity in the State Youth in STEAM

Team Buddies
Extended the opportunity of being a part of FGC Team
India 2023 to many others in the state.
30+ students expressed the interest through a
Google Form circulated in schools.
They could visit the lab and observe and help Team
India in prepartion for FGC.

STEAM Challenge

250+ 140+ 1000+ 250+ 120+

Girls engaged
Teams Teams Youth in
in
Schools
Register Submitted STEAM Participated
STEAM

The newspaper table making contest was organized

by us to inspire students to pursue STEAM.

In the STEAM challenge, the students had to create

the strongest table using only newspaper sheets.

The winning team has built a table holding over 300

kgs of weight.

Highlights of the STEAM Challenge Prize Distribution

Team India hosted the event, and prizes were
sponsored by CII Young Indians.
Five prizes were awarded, including a special prize
for the team of Specially-Abled Children.
The 1st and 2nd places were secured by all girls
team, promoting the message of #GirlsInSTEAM.
The winning newspaper tables managed carried a
weight of 300 kgs, 150 kgs and 90 kgs, respectively.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 21

 Outreach to Youth in STEAM
Reaching out to the Youth in STEAM of our State-Goa

Workshops

App Building Workshop

Hosted an online MIT App Inventor workshop
for eager students.
During the workshop sample apps were built
by the participants.

CAD and 3D Printing Workshop

Organized a CAD workshop to ensure
students have access to this useful tool.
This workshop was conducted by us in
collaboration with Mr. Archit Borkar from
Mini Build 3D.
25+ Students attended the workshop

School Visits to Team India’s Robo Lab

25+ 1k+ 30+

Schools Students Feedback Notes
Visited Engaged Received

Highlights of visit by school students to the Team India Robo lab

Explanation on principles of FIRST and FGC
Presentation on the journey of Team India in FGC
FGC game rules explanation on the full size Hydrogen Horizons Game arena
Games for students and teachers to act as human player and throw oxygen ball in the
oxygen accumulator. It is the most fun part of the session.
Robot Demo by the Team India drivers combined with explanation of the points being
scored and robot mechanisms in action
Group photo followed by selfie and autograph signing

ENGAGE INSPIRE AND ENCOURAGE

22 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Social Media
Developing a bond through #SocialMedia Outreach

700+ 12k+ 720+ 25k+ 250+

Social Media
Viewership
Posts in Total

We have been in touch with other teams around the globe, sharing tips and other useful
information, promoting principles of Gracious Professionalism.

Highlights for Social Media Challenges by FIRST Global

Engaged with 60+ teams around the globe and exchanged cultures with each other.
Promoted our core belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - [The world is a family]

HOPE

Kit Capture Picture Perfect

Unboxed our kit in a traditional way, doing the This image highlights diverse cultural
aarti (ritual) while chanting a shloka. (prayer) greetings and celebrates diversity.

FIRST Global Team India 2023 23

 Helping Hand
Encouraging Coopertition by Supporting Other Teams in any way we could

Team Bhutan and Kenya CAD Workshops

“I would like to at the same time convey here
in this group our deepest gratitude for
investing your time and energy for our
cause. From the outset, our friendship is
reflected in strong sense of brotherhood that
our countries shares. Once again thank you
so much Team India. Jai Hind.”
- Yonten Chopel, Team Bhutan

We conducted a CAD workshop for only FIRST Global teams extending for around
168 hours

Helped Team Kiribati with intake

mechanism as their previous intake
was limited to taking 1 ball at a time.

Provided the acrylic printing files to

Teams Gambia, UAE, and Japan.

Shared the files, including the Bill of

Materials, with Team Ethiopia as they
were unsure of where to find them.

Helped Team Paraguay, Honduras

and Croatia in building their slider.
Scheduled short video calls with them
to help them out.

24 FIRST Global Team India 2023

 Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam
The World is A Family

To promote our belief in the principle of

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - [The world is a family]
We are providing the following 7000+ resources to the fellow FGC Teams:

Shared 30+ tips, CAD Designs for

Technical Assistance: Help with specific
Playfield Elements, online assistance for
mechanisms, tools and CAD designs.
various mechanisms.

In absence of essential tools, teams are

Tool Kit: Screws, Nuts, Allen Keys and
hampered in maintaining the robot. This
Zip Ties. (100 kits)
tool kit aims to provide the essential tools.

FIRST-Aid Kit: Antiseptic Cream,

FIRST response essentials in case of
Painkiller Ointment, Band Aid, Roller
minor injuries
Gauze, Sterile Cotton Gauze. (100 kits)

Strategy Sheet: Contains and outline of A laminated gamefield sheet with a

the game field including a grid to write coloured pen, will help teams to discuss
points scored by each alliance. (100 nos) their strategy with their alliances visually

Scouting Sheet: Contains check-boxes

Helpful for the members who will scout for
for each mechanism. For eg. If the robot
their team.
has a hanging mechanism.

Printing Facility: We are providing both Last minute printing is a part of every
color and black-and-white printing options event and we have geared ourselves to
for A4 sheets. extend this to our fellow teams

Keychains: They feature our logo, which

are souvenirs created for the international
audience made with love by us. Memorabilia helps us carry richer
memories of the event and we have
created special ones to be shared with
Laptop Stickers: Stickers for everyone to our fellow teams.
put on their laptops as a memory from
FGC 2023.

Origami Handcrafted flowers made with love by

Flowers: the specially-abled children promoting
inclusivity

FIRST Global Team India 2023 25

Building a STEAM community for Youth in Goa and strengthening the
Robotics community in India

‘We love what we do, we share it with others and in so doing, will not only drive our
innovation, but also bring peace through collaboration.’

@fgcteamindia teamindiafgc2023@gmail.com