Aerial Assist Ball launching simulator (physics)
 

Hi everyone,

Team 3268 has started a simple simulator script that calculates launch velocity required for a ball to reach certain height at given launch angle and distance from the target.

The source is available in our public bitbucket repository here: https://bitbucket.org/polarus/3268-frc-2014-simulation

The simulation script is written in python, using PyODE physics library (http://pyode.sourceforge.net/)

DISLAIMER: This is just an initial pass, that requires math validation.

TODO:
1. Validate math
2. Create another loop to calculate velocity for the ball to hit the target
3. Research spin aerodynamics and add force adjustment
4. Add documentation

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Russ

Re: Aerial Assist Ball launching simulator (physics)
 

Is it a simple parabola (no aerodynamic effects) ?

Or does it include air drag and magnus effect ?

Re: Aerial Assist Ball launching simulator (physics)
 

At this time it includes parabola and simple drag effect (no rotation). We are planning to add rotation effects as well. Feel free to clone/adjust/contribute if you like.

Re: Aerial Assist Ball launching simulator (physics)
 

You might find this useful:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2725

Re: Aerial Assist Ball launching simulator (physics)
 

Awesome, thanks for your whitepaper! It definitely helps.