This is our first protoype.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Paint Rolling Prototype
Prototyping has begun! As I type this, Walter is sawing off the handle of a paint roller so we can use it to mimic an important part of our robot: the brushes that will scoop basketballs into its apparatus, where they will travel up belts and be inserted into our cannon.
Meanwhile, Mike has developed the motions and gestures we'll use for the TeleOp section, including moves from tae bo, I'm a Little Teapot, and disco. The task of translating this so the robot can understand what it should be doing falls to Dan and Henry. Have fun, guys! :D
Meanwhile, Mike has developed the motions and gestures we'll use for the TeleOp section, including moves from tae bo, I'm a Little Teapot, and disco. The task of translating this so the robot can understand what it should be doing falls to Dan and Henry. Have fun, guys! :D
Monday, January 9, 2012
Day 1 Brainstorming
There are so many ideas for this year's robot design. Topics covered today included: Chassis design, defensive vs. projecting/offensive robot, prioritizing our goals and must-haves for the bot, and design concepts. At this point in time, we have decided that our best option thus far is to begin designing a robot that projects balls using a tennis launcher-type mechanism.
This would be described as a tube or some other type of holder with wheels on the sides, turning in opposite directions, to propel the ball forward. It scored high in our assumptions about its accuracy, range ability, speed (speed of reloading as well as actual speed of projection), complexity, and defendability (how difficult would it be to defend against such a bot.)
We will begin prototyping tomorrow.
Right now we are working on a chassis design and drive train mounting. We haven't actually built anything yet, but we are still in the process of working out certain details, such as do we need a gap in the chassis to collect balls; a wide vs. skinny frame, mecanum/omni drive vs. tank drive, things like that. The chassis team is working this out on paper right now.
Our programming team has a list of things they need to accomplish for the season. Most recently they uploaded the WindRiver software onto the programming computer. Next they need to update the Classmate PC, work on programming the gyroscope, and other such pursuits.
It's going to be a helluva season! Be sure to 'like' us on Facebook (UCHS Robolions) and follow us on Twitter @robolions3397!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Brainstorming
Grace has already explained the core concepts of Rebound Rumble. I'll restate the key objective: we basically need to make a robot that can play basketball.
There have been several possible builds already suggested. The most widely accepted is to use a robot with a ball cannon, which balls are moved to by a turning wheel, rather like a waterwheel but without any water. Other suggestions include a pneumatic cannon, a trebuchet, and a Dalek. The first suggestion is, of course, the most feasible and probable.
But a Dalek-shaped robot would still be all kinds of awesome. XD
There have been several possible builds already suggested. The most widely accepted is to use a robot with a ball cannon, which balls are moved to by a turning wheel, rather like a waterwheel but without any water. Other suggestions include a pneumatic cannon, a trebuchet, and a Dalek. The first suggestion is, of course, the most feasible and probable.
But a Dalek-shaped robot would still be all kinds of awesome. XD
And Let the Games Begin
So! The game has been announced!!
This year is a flashback kind of year. The game, Rebound Rumble, is a basketball/balancing game that references two past years of FTC challenges. The objective is to shoot basketballs into four hoops at the end of the field. The hoops are on different levels and each level is worth different points. Then, at the end, there is a balancing component where teams must balance their bots on the platforms in the center of the field. There is a platform in the center of the field where both teams cooperate to balance, and each team gets points for that. The rule for fouls this year is that for every foul an alliance commits, the opposing alliance gets points.
We're at the Exploradome now working on brainstorming. Good luck to all the teams this year!
This year is a flashback kind of year. The game, Rebound Rumble, is a basketball/balancing game that references two past years of FTC challenges. The objective is to shoot basketballs into four hoops at the end of the field. The hoops are on different levels and each level is worth different points. Then, at the end, there is a balancing component where teams must balance their bots on the platforms in the center of the field. There is a platform in the center of the field where both teams cooperate to balance, and each team gets points for that. The rule for fouls this year is that for every foul an alliance commits, the opposing alliance gets points.
We're at the Exploradome now working on brainstorming. Good luck to all the teams this year!
Kickoff!!
We're at Kickoff at the St. Louis Science Center!! In one short hour, the long-anticipated challenge for the 2012 Season will be announced. The Planetarium is filled with a plethora of nerds in tshirts with numbers on them. An odd sight to a normal onlooker, but we couldn't be more excited! The KOP list includes a tshirt this year, as well as an Xbox Kinect, and 3 mystery game pieces. The excitement is growing as we follow twitter updates and throw around guesses as to what is in store for us this year.
Follow us on twitter @robolions3397!!
Also, for updates, follow @FRCteams!
#frcko #omgrobots
Follow us on twitter @robolions3397!!
Also, for updates, follow @FRCteams!
#frcko #omgrobots
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