Chief Delphi - pic: Suitcase Bot

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- - pic: Suitcase Bot (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122250)

Tom Ore

24-11-2013 13:29

pic: Suitcase Bot

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CENTURION

24-11-2013 13:32

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

That's awesome!

Looks like a bit of a pain to carry though.

Maybe you could integrate a detachable handle and wheels so it can be rolled like a suitcase?

CalTran

24-11-2013 14:00

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by CENTURION (Post 1305215)

That's awesome!

Looks like a bit of a pain to carry though.

Maybe you could integrate a detachable handle and wheels so it can be rolled like a suitcase?

Looks like it's already got a handle, so I dunno how much of a hassle it would be to carry. Given that it's only a drive base, and I'm guessing it travels sans-battery, it'd only weight 20-30lbs. Somewhat carryable, but probably hurts to carry by just that aluminum tubing!

Tom Ore

24-11-2013 15:33

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

I haven't looked around yet, but I was hoping to find a suitcase with wheels I can pack it in. I'd pack the spare parts and tools with it also.

DampRobot

24-11-2013 15:40

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Just a top, making the handle out of round tubing makes things a lot more comfortable to carry.

Also, keep in mind that this thing will have to go through airport security, so you might want to consider mailing it to your destination rather than bringing it on the plane.

AllenGregoryIV

24-11-2013 15:48

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Very cool, but I'm actually more interested in the details of the Mentor Workshop in China. Do you know how many teams will be represented? Which teams? We have several teams from China coming to TX regionals but haven't heard much about how they are being supported.

BBray_T1296

24-11-2013 15:52

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Ore (Post 1304964)

There's a business man in China driving the effort. We (FRC 525) met him in 2012 at champs and he was interested in starting FRC teams. One of our parents (who's from China) has kept in contact with him since. The business man was back in St. Louis at champs this year. He brought a cameraman and filmed in our pit for about 2 1/2 hours. He interviewed a couple of our mandarin speaking students for a special to be broadcast in China to attract schools that might be interested. (I never heard how that turned out, but he did attract schools from all over China.)

3 mentors from FRC 525 (myself included), 1 mentor from FTC 6420 and a student that graduated last year from our team are going to China to conduct a three day mentor workshop. (We leave on the Dec 22nd and get back on the 28th.) The workshop will be held at the school that competed last year.

From the "Registration 2014" thread

Michael Hill

24-11-2013 16:43

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Just a suggestion...you MIGHT want to check that if flying :D

You'd get quite a few looks from the TSA

BBray_T1296

24-11-2013 17:17

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Hill (Post 1305271)

Just a suggestion...you MIGHT want to check that if flying :D

You'd get quite a few looks from the TSA

And be careful when trying to ship batteries. We were on an alliance with a Brazilian team, who was not allowed to ship their batteries to the USA in any way. Luckily 148 was very generous and lent them enough for the weekend.

Rebka

24-11-2013 17:22

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

How much does the bot weigh? My experience is that FRC robots are generally quite heavy.

The workshop in China sounds really cool. You'll have to let us all know how it goes.

And I'm really sorry but I find humour in the thought of putting a FRC robot in a suitcase.:)

I just looked at the pic again. So you can swap out the two different types of wheels? That is AWESOME.

BBray_T1296

24-11-2013 17:24

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebka (Post 1305281)

And I'm really sorry but I find humour in the thought of putting a FRC robot in a suitcase.:)

Reminds me of a trip I took. We were on a charter bus for 22 hours, and there were no power outlets on the bus full of teenaged kids.

Boy was I the hero when I pulled a battery and power inverter out of my suitcase 2/3 of the way there, after everyone's phones had died :P

Coach Norm

24-11-2013 17:24

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Best of luck to you guys. We are competing with some of the teams from China as well. In addition, there were a few teams and representatives at the Asia Pacific Invitational this summer in Australia. If we can help out in anyway, let us know.

We shipped FTC robots and parts over this summer for the Asia Pacific Invitational. We specifically made a wood crate for one FTC Robot and packed the crate with expanding foam to match the robot. We also took components over in a large aluminum sided suitcase that was packed with the expanding foam around the parts. We checked the crate but made it so that it could be opened to be examined. We included zipties to be used to close the crate back up after inspection by security.

yash101

24-11-2013 18:07

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Whenever I go on trips, I pack my AGM battery, a boost converter, my laptop, and my broken iPod with a magnet on it's back. When it's dark, I just pull out the iPod, stick it to the bus's steel ceiling and turn it on to full brightness! I then have tons of light. Meanwhile, I can surf the inet on my computer by tethering my phone! I am the Savvy Traveler! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296 (Post 1305284)

I am pretty sure that everyone eyed you with envy and the want to jack the battery and inverter from you when not looking! The sad thing is that this is no use on a plane.

Is it possible to apply for a TSA permit/license/background check or something else to allow a robot like this aboard a plane?

orangemoore

24-11-2013 18:20

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

I checked the TSA list of special items and for some weird reason Robots did not come up. I guess a robot isn't special.

BBray_T1296

24-11-2013 18:21

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by yash101 (Post 1305299)

Is it possible to apply for a TSA permit/license/background check or something else to allow a robot like this aboard a plane?

You could buy your own plane.

Also, I just thought of something nobody has talked about:

Customs

Tom Ore

24-11-2013 18:24

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV (Post 1305254)

I don't have a list of the teams that will be there, but I'd expect most of the China teams that have registered already or started the registration process.

We talked last week about coming to Hub City as a third regional to help support the China teams. It gets a bit tricky, because the team is only allowed two out of state trips a year (champs is an exception.) We talked about having each student only go to 2 of the 3 regionals - so we'd need 2 drive teams. I don't know if that is going to work. Regardless, we'll probably have 2 or 3 mentors make the trip to help support the China teams if 525 can't compete there.

Alpha Beta

24-11-2013 18:37

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Ore (Post 1305212)

This is a render of our "Suitcase Bot." We plan on using it for our mentor workshop in China in late December. The goal is to have a drivebase that is FRC sized and has all the basic elements of the control system but can also have a small footprint for travel. We may bring a partial bumper to show bumper construction. We'll use it as a wide, 4 wheel tank drive and may demo with mecanum wheels if time permits. We'll add a gyro, light sensors, something to drive a pot., etc. It uses mini CIMs and standard Toughbox Nano dirve parts.

Tom, I'm always impressed by your renders and super excited to get to attend a regional with you guys again this year. We here at Team Titanium wish you all safe travels. I'd be hard pressed to think of a better ambassador for FIRST.

Noticed that 4830 recently joined the Central Illinois regional. We've got a couple of students brushing up on their Mandarin in anticipation.

Tom Ore

24-11-2013 18:57

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alpha Beta (Post 1305309)

I believe the workshop will be at 4830's school. They'll need to ship their a few days early in order to get it to Central Illinois on time.

Nemo	24-11-2013 22:05

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

I don't know... articulating frames weren't legal last year.

Tom Ore

25-11-2013 04:39

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo (Post 1305410)

I don't know... articulating frames weren't legal last year.

We're going to recommend that they build the kit bot. We'll make special T-shirts for the workshop and we joked about having "Build the kit bot" translated to Chinese and put on the back of the shirts. (We will spend some time going over the robot manual from last year - I'll be sure to point out R02.)

The two halves will be useful - since the frames were welded there will be a bit of distortion. We can oversize one set of holes to get the two sides aligned nicely when we bolt them together.

We'll point out other stuff that is unique to the suitcase bot and wouldn't be done in competition - like the bumpers are only 1" off the ground and the bumper corners aren't ideal.

Nemo	25-11-2013 09:25

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

c'mon, Tom, you know I was joking.

Seriously, though, this is a sweet project. Packaging everything into that small of a box is a significant challenge, and hopefully you won't run into any snags building it in a short time frame.

Just remember not to put anything in there that makes a ticking sound.

BBray_T1296

25-11-2013 09:28

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo (Post 1305503)

Just remember not to put anything in there that makes a ticking sound.

Or a sloshing sound.

Tom Ore

25-11-2013 10:23

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo (Post 1305503)

c'mon, Tom, you know I was joking.

Yes,of course. However, I actually thought about it a few days ago. The frame is rather stiff and the robot is light so it may not twist to make up for small waves in the floor. If that happens we would loosen the bolts a bit and use jam nuts to hold them. In that case, it would be an articulated frame and we'd need to explain that it isn't competition legal.

BBray_T1296

25-11-2013 11:08

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

You should send the robot over in those crates we used to have to use when FedEx shipped the robots

Alan Anderson

25-11-2013 12:38

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296 (Post 1305534)

You should send the robot over in those crates we used to have to use when FedEx shipped the robots

Every team potentially needs one of those crates. They are still required for shipment to and from the Championship event. But they're a whole lot bigger than necessary for a training/demo 'bot like this one.

protoserge

27-11-2013 15:56

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

You might be able to squeeze that into a Pelican 1620 case and put it as checked baggage. I can get you the exact interior dimensions if you'd like.

On a TSA side note, I went to Costa Rica this summer with my Pelican 1510 camera case (covered with a few robot stickers) and was asked if I had a camera or a robot inside :cool: I don't want to know if the robot would have been a bad thing!

Tom Ore

16-12-2013 15:44

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Here are some videos of the suitcase bot.

Arcade Mode
Tank Mode
Mecanum Wheels
Using gyro and pot to hold direction

Caleb Sykes

16-12-2013 16:30

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

This is awesome.

I was wondering if you were going to use gyro correction with the mecanum wheels, and you certainly did. That drive code is probably better than ours was last year :o

Have you made bumpers for this guy yet? I see you have the potential for them on the frame.

yash101

16-12-2013 20:23

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

I love how you guys use a mecanum drivetrain! How ingenious!!!

MichaelBick

16-12-2013 20:38

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by yash101 (Post 1305299)

Is it possible to apply for a TSA permit/license/background check or something else to allow a robot like this aboard a plane?

Funnily enough, we had to do this when we went to the Israel FIRST competition last year. We brought our disassembled practice robot in a padded hard shell case and checked it. They obviously asked questions but let us through(El Al security is a lot tougher than most if not all airlines. As long as you explain your situation you should be fine)

Starke

16-12-2013 20:49

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Ore (Post 1313280)

Here are some videos of the suitcase bot.

Arcade Mode
Tank Mode
Mecanum Wheels
Using gyro and pot to hold direction

The Suitcase Bot has also been added to the FRC Designs database! Check out the Behind the Design article and Offseason Page.

Suitcase Bot Behind the Design: http://frcdesigns.com/2013/12/06/beh...-suitcase-bot/

Offseason Page: http://frcdesigns.com/designs-offseason/

Tom Ore

17-12-2013 05:38

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelBick (Post 1313449)

One of our mentors brought the suitcase bot to the airport a few days ago. TSA ran it through x-ray and was satisfied. When we get to the airport early Sunday we'll take it out of the suitcase, send it through x-ray, repack it in the suitcase and then check it in with AA. The TSA official that will be working Sunday was there and AA also knows it's coming so we should be okay.

We should also be okay getting through customs in Hong Kong and Shenzhen because this would be considered a personal item and not a commercial item. We'll have our invitation letter from DaDaLele and one from Cedar Falls Schools. We've been told it takes a while to get through customs and we have to do it twice!

Tom Ore

23-12-2013 10:19

Re: pic: Suitcase Bot

We made it! We just got settled into the hotel here in Shenzhen. (14 hour time difference so it's 11:18 PM Monday here.) No problem getting the suitcase bot here. We'll be starting the workshop first thing in the morning.

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