visual signals from operator allowed?
 

my team is wondering if, during the autonomous 15 seconds, our robot is allowed to recieve visual input (via optical sensor) from the operator area (behind the glass)? I don't know if this is even possible, but our programmers are certainly enjoying thinking about it. Before they pursue it, I want to know if it is legal.

Thanks.
Angelina

I suppose you could, though I don't know what input you could give. The range on the optical sensors isn't good enough to do much at the distance you're thinking of, plus, you have glass and diamond plate between you and your robot.

Jeff is right

This weekend we did optical sensor testing and our sensors had a problem following the line when the tape was ripped. That was only a couple inches off the ground. Im about 90% sure your visual signals will not be accurate. Im on my way over to finish the sensor testing in a few minutes, so ill give that a shot and see what comes out of it

remember, you can use any sensor from digikey. I think that the question was not whether the optical sensors in the kit are capable of doing this (my answer is probably not) but whether it is legal to make a system that does this (I don't know).

actually, this is very doable. i did some testing with the retroreflective tape and a sensor. i got returns from 20+ feet. sooo, if you mount the sensor on a servo, and make sure the servo is ALWAYS pointed at the operator, you could theoretically give bit input on that.

all in all, it's a very interesting idea. the only major problem is false input. if you accidentally pick up a stack, and make your robot change modes. so, if you're 100% certain you can eliminate false input, i say go for it. otherwise, i wouldnt' take the chance.

Per rule 7.3: During the autonomous portion of the game, the robot can only react to programmed commands or sensory inputs on the robot. Operator control is not allowed during the autonomous mode - hence the term "autonomous". Unless I'm misunderstanding what you want to do, you can't send the robot any signals from the control station until after the autonomous period is over.

I did tests today and I lost reading after 10 inches...

It really didnt say in that ruling if that was illegal, but chances are it is. Good question to ask FIRST though...

I read somewhere that you cant have retro-reflective tape on anyone in the players station so what sensor could you possibly use?

20+ feet or inches?? :confused:

- Katie

You can definately get 20+ feet using the retro-reflective tape. Using a regular mirror or plain white tape is what limits you to a few inches.

In this case, you are using the sensory inputs on the robot to control the actions of the robot. The question is, what can trigger the sensors on the robot?

I tested with a sheet of paper, white tape (the field line tape) and a kind of reflective tape. All the readings were very similar. Today I am going to conclude my testing and going to test by holding a sheet with reflective tape through the playing field viewing window. Im not expecting much though...

easily 20+ feet. i was standing so far away i needed my glasses to see the led on the sensor turn on/off to know i was getting a hit. we probably could've gone a bit farther, but there was a wall in the way :).

to make sure you're lining the tape up right, use your face :p. line your head up, so the red LED (or whatever that thing is) is shining straight into your eyes. then, simply hold the tape up in front of your eyes. sure fire way to make sure you're getting a hit. also, try playing with the sensor settings. i forget what ours was set to, but i'm sure i could replicate it tomorrow if needed.

The optical sensors are capable of sensing retro-reflective tape at about 20 feet per the specs, and our testing agrees with that. We also ran out of room to test. Translucent interferences (such the plexiglass) will obviously reduce that distance.

However, you should also remember this rule.
I believe that this rule would take out the possibility of using retroreflective tape by the drivers/human players.

Arggg...our sensors are really sucking. We can barely get even five feet before they stop reacting. Any suggestions?

If you use other sensors from digikey you might be breaking rule C29. The next-to-last bullet states

I got at least 50+ feet out of a bike reflector.

There is a "sensitivity" knob on the back of the sensor, make sure it's turned all the way to the "+" side.

Greg