Sponsor Spotlight: Island Family Eyecare

Many Islanders know Dr. Scott Brase of Island Family Eyecare. What you may not know is that Dr. Brase is a HUGE supporter of Spartronics and has been since 2015!

For our latest Spartronics Sponsor Spotlight, we asked him a few questions, including why he and Island Family Eyecare supports BHS Spartronics. Here is what he shared:

1. Can you give us a brief description of your company and what it does?
We provide full scope primary eye care to Bainbridge Island and the surrounding areas.

2. Why do you sponsor Spartronics?
We strongly believe in supporting our community and especially the youth in our community.  Also, I was a BHS grad myself so it is nice to give back!

3. Is there a way Spartronics fans can support your company?
We always rely on word of mouth so if anyone has had a good experience in our office, we always appreciate telling others.

And don’t forget to tell others about how great Island Family Eyecare is with a review on Google, Yelp and/or Facebook!

Spartronics Continues Work on a New Robot: Feb 10, 2023

Our team’s first competition of the season is coming up at the beginning of next month, and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ll be making our way to our first competition at Glacier Peak High School, located in Snohomish, to compete with other teams from around our FIRST Robotics PNW District. The PNW includes Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
 

Our robot’s construction is well underway, with the drivetrain being completed and undergoing testing. This will be our first robot using our new swerve drive. Other crucial parts of the robot, such as the arm and claw subsystems are also being developed on by mechanics, electronics, and design.Our 2023 competition robot is getting closer to assembly while our Programming subteam prepares its code for our upcoming matches. Join us at Glacier Peak – it is free and anyone can attend our competitions:

Glacier Peak High School
7401 144th Pl SE, Snohomish, WA 98296 (New Address!)
Saturday March 4 – Matches for Day 1: 8 am – 7:30 pm*
Sunday March 5 – Matches for Day 2: 8 am – 4:30 pm*

Subteam Updates: January 11, 2023

Mechanics:

-Cutting wooden field elements for testing the robot.
-Getting students certified in woodworking equipment.
-Creating prototype pieces for the robot.

Programming:

-Starting to program various subsystems of the robot.
-Working on the code for the drivetrain.
-Testing and refining code.

Design:

-Brainstorming various elements of design for the robot.
-Designing a physical prototype of the robot.
-Will soon begin modeling the robot prototype with CAD.

Electronics/Pneumatics:

-Working with design and mechanics to plan the layout of the robot.
-Ordering robot parts.
-Helping to build the prototype robot.

Business + Marketing:

-Delivering new Team Shirts featuring our 2023 Sponsors!
-Continuing team website updates and developing a new one.
-Created new sponsor banners for events and our robotics room.
-Jump-starting the robot’s naming process for 2023.
-Writing, editing, and publishing our newsletter – like this issue!

Kickoff: The 2023 Build Season Has Begun!

As of nine in the morning on the 7th of January, the 2023 FRC build season has officially begun!

With the start of this new season, teams have been tasked with building and programming a robot to play in FIRST’s brand-new game, CHARGED UP!

On the first day of the new season, Spartronics assembled in the 100 building at Bainbridge High School to watch the kickoff introduction, begin planning the design of the robot, and start strategizing.

We also took our 2023 team photos (both serious and PHUN versions) below.
<

In the animated kickoff video, FIRST revealed the basic premise of the game, along with the key rules. The game manual was also released on the day of kickoff, which details all guidelines of the game.
Here is the link to the full game manual (PDF).