StuBot Notes

HHS / NASAHQ Robotics, Team 116

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Many thanks to Joe Parrish for taking these excellent notes!

Robot Controllers/Human Players/Coaches

  • Strategy between controllers is important
  • Robots cross field (over ramp, over barrier) to far goal
  • Feed one human player to fill near goal
  • Assign one human player to shoot balls into near goal
  • Get robots into end zone - lots of points
  • Multipliers more important than raw scoring
  • Players need to watch the clock - human controllers need to take responsibility
  • Time is *very* important
  • Does 10% color bonus really matter?
  • Better to get *a* large ball in goal rather than waste time for *your* ball
  • Robot and goal are allowed on bridge, but there's no direct point advantage ot putting a robot on the bridge
  • Be careful to avoid jamming under the bridge; have a robot that can clear
  • Too many small balls in goal can prevent big ball from staying on -- knocked out when moving onto bridge
  • Gatekeeper should not necessarily be the first robot across bridge
  • Lightest robot goes across first
  • Manage balls on floor so that they don't jam the ramp
  • At end, putting robots into end zone is more important than putting one-point balls in goal
  • Toss a big ball back to start side to allow it to be placed into start-side goal
  • Must work tradeoff of time vs. number of goals on bridge
  • Need a backup strategy (strategies)

    • Human Players

  • Human players quickly fill near goal
  • Stop game when near goal on top of ramp

    • Robot Interaction

  • Getting all four robots across ramp is very time-consuming -- need better approach that doesn't need so much up & down -- gatekeeper?
  • Don't fight against another team putting the big ball in the goal
  • Robots cooperate to help each other across bridge
  • The stretcher sucks - difficult to push up ramp; hard to control once on ramp - might be useful of one alliance robot can't move

    • Robot Design

  • Robot should be able to rapidly cross the field and cross the ramp/barrier
  • Good to be able to pick up large ball -- obvious to other teams too -- should we pursue another speciality?
  • Robot can drag goal across ramp
  • Must have some way to push the ramp up and down (gatekeeper)
  • Need to be able to replace ball on top of goal after it's on bridge?

    • Attributes of good robots

  • Ability and speed of movement
  • Traction
  • Able to cross bridge
  • Able to cross center barrier
  • Move into end zone
  • Manipulate bridge (gatekeeper)
  • Score w/ small balls (side and top) -- on floor, on bridge
  • Score w/ large ball -- on floor, on bridge
  • Manipulate goal (player station, bridge)
  • Clear balls from under bridge
  • Low CG
  • "Balancing" capability
  • Push down and lift up ramp (gatekeep from either side) -- stabilize too
  • Manipulate (stabilize/move/tip over/right/lift up) goal
  • Manipulate/control stretcher
  • Robustness to going off side of bridge
  • Knock big ball off goal
  • Maintainability
  • Manufacturability
  • Durability
  • Ease of troubleshooting
  • Modularity of weight system
  • Construction time - tradeoff elegance vs. time to complete robot

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    Herndon High School / NASA Headquarters FIRST Robotics Team. Page authored and maintained by Peter Jaffe, approved by Dave Lavery, January 7, 2001