Option #1: You are building a robot or a robot subassembly. You are in. Let's chat. We are a resource for you.
Option #2: You are not building a robot, but want to. A designated club member will give you a quick verbal skill check to evaluate your
skill level, and your proven accomplishments (ex: you have been playing around with C++ for 2 years and have turned on motors
using an Arduino). If your skills are adequate, you will be admitted to the club. We will help you get going with your project; that
is, you will do all the work, and we will help guide you. This will allow you to build something meaningful faster. If your skills
are not there yet, please visit the I want to learn robotics page.
The Toronto Robotics Club has a tiered membership based on your skill set. The higher the skill set the more benfits. Here are the types of memberships:
The club has a clear admission cut-off based on technical skills and robotics knowledge. Once you are admitted to the club, everyone will be rated based on skill levels, achievements and contributions. The reason behind this grouping (all things being equal) is to allow members with a higher skill set to have more influence on the direction of the club, more access to assistance, more access to resources, and more access to people who may contribute to their project. We believe that the kind of person who knows a ton about robotics has invested their time and are passionate about robotics; hence they are more likely to help the club meet it's mandate of supporting people who are building robots and robotic subassemblies, and helping to guide and teach others who are also building robots and robotic assemblies. Other reasons for giving priority to the skilled members are:
Another reason for separating skill sets is to make sure the club efficient during meetings. If membership rows, each tier of members will be able to meet independently to discuss skill specific matters.
With time, we expect completed projects to set a precedent. So that anyone who meets or exceeds the bar will attain that level of membership. The precedent for the membership type will be set based on the last project (meaning your project has to be better than the last project).