How a High School Robotics Team Uses Unraid

We're here today with Jon Kraus, a team member of FRC 7432 NOS out of Loretto, Minnesota. They are competing in the First Robotics Competition at the end of March and early April, 2019. Here's a brief interview about the competition and how they're using Unraid on the team.
 

First off, could you describe the robotics competition?

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) – is an international robotics program and competition started in 1992 by Dean Kamen for all ages and known as the "sport for the mind". FIRST provides a platform for its 615k+ students to build valuable insight into business, team building, and career options. FIRST isn’t just about robotics. It represents every role of business from marketing to design, and encourages problem solving. Therefore, FIRST is important to us and our future. We go to the competition each year and compete at regionals.

Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Sure, I am a High school student (Junior) and member of FRC 7432 NOS.

What are some of your hobbies?

I have a lot of hobbies, to start, I am really into pinball (working to build a homebrew machine), CNC (Building a custom CNC router table), Networking/IT/Servers, CAD, Custom computers (VR), programming, woodworking, metalworking, knife and tool collecting, soccer, robotics, logging, speaker and battery design, etc.

Wow, that's a lot of hobbies! What do you want to do when you grow up?

I haven’t really decided, probably engineering or something similar.

Who are the other members of the FRC 7432 NOS team?

Students: Brett (captain), Joseph, Maddie, Ethan, Duncan and myself.

Mentors: Mike Griffith and Brandon Moe.

How are you using Unraid with your robots and competition?

I am continually looking for new ways but am currently using it as a backup for robot code and CAD files.

How much experience do you have using Unraid?

Not a lot, just learning as I go.

What other equipment and software are you using to construct and control the robots?

CAD software, Labview and RoboRio currently.

What got you interested in robotics?

I have always been into every aspect of the topic. It just fit well.

Do you use Unraid for anything else besides the robotics team/project?

I use it as a media server (Plex), backup server and attempting a VM PfSense router.

Very nice. When are the competitions so we can follow along at home?

We are attending the Wisconsin regional, and Seven Rivers regional. The competitions are on the last weekend of March and first weekend of April, 2019.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

If it is at all possible, we are looking for diversified and continuing sponsorships. If interested, please reach out to us here or email us at: [email protected].

Thanks again Jon. Good luck to you and the team!

To follow the team and competition, be sure to check out their website, twitter or instagram accounts.