The Team
Team 1317 is composed of students from five Ohio counties. The shared love for engineering, technology, and FIRST makes the trek to a centralized location a small price to pay. When the team was formed, most of the students were homeschooled, making the team only one of three homeschooled teams across the nation that participated in FIRST. There were many challenges in organization and funding until the fall of 2004 when Digital Fusion partnered with the Ohio State University. Mentors came from the engineering school at OSU, many of whom had previously participated in FIRST Robotics. They helped get Digital Fusion up off the ground and soaring to success.
Since that first season in 2004, Digital Fusion has continued to grow and establish itself in the communities around Central Ohio, giving demonstrations at COSI and at Cedar Point for Physics Day. Digital Fusion has also mentored FLL teams in the area, one of whom won 2nd place at the World Festival. The love of engineering and people that insired the team at the beginning continues to drive new students to the team. A love of family, friends, and engineering is what makes Digital Fusion special.
Related links
Drive Train Team
The job of this Component Design Team (CDT) is to make the foundation for all the other CDTs to build on: the drive train and chassis.
Kicker Team
This year our robot has two mechanism teams. This team worked on the mechanism for kicking soccer balls.
Lifter/Herder Team
This team worked on the mechanism for collecting and handling the soccer balls, along with the lifter arm for hoisting the robot off the ground at the end of the match.
Software Team
The software CDT develops the code that controls the drive train and mechanisms. They also develop the website.
Ohio State Mentors
The Ohio State University student mentors have partnered with Digital Fusion for seven years, contributing tremendous enthusiasm and technical knowledge.
The Board
The Educational Robotics of Central Ohio Board of Directors is responsible for all major decisions on the team, and handles much of the logistical details of running the team.
