FRC 2012 Webinar Series

I have started adding a series of videos on Autodesk YouTube and Autodesk WikiHelp. There are 4 videos that cover technical material and the Excellence in Design Award.

To review the webinars, click on the links.

Autodesk YouTube

Webinar 1

Webinar 2

Webinar 3

Autodesk WikiHelp

FRC 2012 Webinar Series

Preparing for the Autodesk 3D Design Award 2012

Check out the FRC Autodesk 3D Design Award 2012 playlist on the Autodesk Education YouTube channel that can help you learn about Autodesk Inventor Publisher and how to create compelling documentation of your designs: subsystems to full robots. There will be new videos added through the season to guide and inspire your 3D Design submission for the 2012 FIRST Robotics Competition Award for Excellence in Design Award Sponsored by Autodesk.

Click the link to access the playlist,

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6B5FF31325535DFB&feature=plcp

We will be updating this list over the next few weeks, so keep checking for addition information.

Managing Your Design Data Using Autodesk Cloud

In my first BLOG posting, I noted that there are 3 typical methods of managing the robot design data.

1. You can use Autodesk Vault to track, manage, and reuse your data.
2. For most teams, creating a recognizable directory structure for the key categories is the best work flow.
3. Storing and managing your data on Autodesk Cloud.

In all of these options, creating a project file is a critical step. The steps to create a project file are listed in the first posting.

In this posting, I will focus on a new work flow, and the great news is that it is free!!

I am referring to Autodesk Cloud. Every FIRST team member has been given 1 GB of space in the Cloud. Let’s see how you can get into the Cloud.

ACCESSING YOUR FREE 1GB

1. Login to your account on the Education Community.
2. In the FRC 2012 Resources tab, click Access it here.

3. Complete the registration and welcome to the Cloud!

WHAT CAN I DO IN THE CLOUD?

The Cloud allows you to upload and share data. This data can be accessed by you, shared with others, or shared publicly. This is exactly how you work and share your robot data.

SHOW ME HOW IT WORKS

Let’s start by creating a folder that I will share publicly. You will be able to download this file as a test.

1. Click on New Folder. Enter the folder name.

2. Click Upload. Select the file to Upload.

3. Click Upload Now. The file is uploaded to your Cloud.
4. Drag the file into the folder.
5. Double-click on the folder. The contents are displayed.

For this file, I am going to make it available to the public.

1. Right-click the file entry. Click Share > Public Sharing.

2. Set Public Sharing to On.

3. Click Copy. The URL is now stored on the clipboard.
4. Click Close.
5. Save the URL for future use.
6. Try downloading the file by clicking https://documents.cloud.autodesk.com/Public/Details?hash=xve5cy2

OTHER WORK FLOWS

Other possible work flows are:

1. Using the Cloud to backup for your own work. These files are Owned by Me.
2. A typical work flow on a robotics team would be setting files to Shared by Me. In this work flow you email collaborators on the project and set their access level. This is the best option for using Autodesk Cloud to manage your robot data.

Enjoy your Cloud!!

Use Mobile Devices to Map Your Game Strategy!!

Coaches of sports teams use field layouts to map out how other teams are playing and to map out the tactics for their team. Want to do the same thing for Rebound Rumble^SM? Using Autodesk SketchBook® Mobile Express from Autodesk you can do just that.

Let’s look at what you need to get started.

The Autodesk® SketchBook® Mobile Express painting and drawing app extends your digital sketchpad to your Apple® iPad®, Apple® iPhone®, Apple iPod touch®, or Android powered devices.

Download and Install the App – It’s Free!!

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=13872203

OK, now that I have the app installed, tell me how can I use my Apple or Android device to view the 2012 FRC competition field?

Step 1: Download the field drawings from the FIRST website. They are available at,

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/2012-Official-FIRST-Field-Drawings

Step 2: In Sketchbook Mobile Express, use the Getting Started work flow to add the files to your photo library.

Step 3: By adding photos you can view the field drawing of your choice and start forming your strategies. During competition, you can also scout other teams and use the markup tools to record what their best moves are!

Images

Here are some images of Sketchbook Mobile Express and the Rebound Rumble^SM field on mobile devices.

    

Any Other Cool Ideas?

This is just one idea for using your Apple or Android device with Sketchbook Mobile Express. I bet you have many other innovative ideas. Let us know what they are!

Check Out This Video

http://download.autodesk.com/us/sketchbookpro/mobile/sketchbook_mobile_features_620x388.html

Managing Your Data

I am often asked about how to manage Autodesk Inventor files. There are three options that I would suggest.

1. You can use Autodesk Vault to track, manage, and reuse your data.
2. For most teams, creating a recognizable directory structure for the key categories is the best work flow.
3. Storing and managing your data on Autodesk Cloud.

In all of these options, creating a project file is a critical step.

Engineers work on many designs at one time. In Autodesk Inventor, you manage the location of the files associated with each design by creating a project file. This file has an IPJ file extension.

To start the process of creating a project file, I suggest we look at a folder structure for your files. As you work through the robot design, you will create parts, assemblies, drawings, presentation files, animations, and DWF files. So, your directory structure may look like this,

Creating a Project File

1. On the Launch panel, click Projects.
2. In the Projects dialog box, click New.
3. Select New Single User Project, and then click Next.
4. Name the project and specify the project location in the Project (Workspace) Folder box. Make sure it is a new folder that does not contain any data. For      example, FIRST 2012 as shown in the image.
5. Click Next.
6. If required, select existing libraries, add them to the project.
7. Click Finish.
8. Click Done.
9. The new project file is now active.

In following posts. I will discuss Autodesk Vault and Autodesk Cloud.

Welcome to FRC 2012

The FRC 2012 session is now underway. The game was revealed at Kick Off and you are now starting the process of design and manufacture. This BLOG will add technical content for Autodesk Inventor. Look for the first post on Managing Your Data.