The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

http://www.crosstheroadelectronics.com/videos/Mia.mp4

Above is the link to an mp4 of the real Thunder Chicken Robot.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Not enough greeeeeeen =(

So when can we expect a picture of the twins partying together?

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

148 had a better vid :rolleyes:

I'll be the first to ask: Whats with the random dentist scene? In addition to building robots do you also remove wisdom teeth? :confused:

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

So that's how the ball sucker works... looks deceptively simple for bugging you folks for nearly all of build! :eek:

Two thumbs up!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

While watching this I kept getting feelings of Deja Vu... ;) Awesome robot though!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Oh boy.

-Nick

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Looks can be deceiving. Just because the solution may seem simple does not mean the path that led us there was an easy one.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Our students participate in an event called "Give Kids a Smile" The team assists dental professionals who donate their services to help kids to not be afraid of the dentist.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Your video is 2:20 long... for better quality I would cut back 3 seconds.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Since I spend most of my team on chief at our shop with filtered internet, I appreciate raw video!

Looks good, these twins are beasts.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Looking amazing, guys. I definitely see this robot being just as successful as your past creations. Unfortunately with MSC being the same weekend as GTR, I'm not going to get to see it in person until Atlanta.

P.S. The 148 video was pretty cool, but you totally win in the soundtrack department.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Awesome, of course!

Some questions that came to mind while watching your video:

How are your motors allocated? It looks like 3 CIMs and 2 FPs for drive, 1 CIM for kicker, most likely CIM for arm... is the ball magnet run with a window motor? I never would have thought to see FP motors in the drivetrain after your drive sizing thread.

Also, how did you get the magnet to work with the varying height of the chassis (when switching from agile to tractiony drive)? Seems like it would be a pesky problem to work around.

As with 148's bot, I really wish I could see this thing in person!


Heh, I was going to mention the same thing.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I'm guessing rs555 for the ball rollers.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Completely agree. 148's song was nothing I'd ever listen to. This is much more... not screaming.

As for the robots... I called it in week 4. :D :D Looks like the Chickens will be 5 for 6 on Einstein.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Pretty Sweet!

Best of luck 217!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I see 5 cims in the nonadrive, FP for lifter and kicker, and window motor for ball grabber. It looks like 148 switched the FP's into the drivetrain and used cims for kicker and lifter.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Very nice!

Looking forward to competing with and against the chickens at FLR!!


PS: Division by Chicken!!! (cough *2005* cough);)

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Great job 217, and 148! This thing is a beast. I can't wait to see it at States! I'm kind of speechless right now, actually...

I almost expected the music for this video to be "Mama Mia," but I guess that would be a little too cheery for those of us who are already going into robot withdrawal.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

We are using 5 cims for the Nano drive. Two Fisher Price, one for the kicker and one for the "Taco"(liter). A window motor is used for the grabber. I do not know if 148 has moved around the cims. As far as I know they have not. Encoders are used to track position and heading. CAN is used to control the motors via the 2CAN. We limit the current in the ball grabber to prevent over heating the window motor. A hall effect sensor is used to set the kicker cam timing.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

How many different teams' shirts can you find in this video?

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

very nice robot... it must of taken you guys along time to CAD it up

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I am excited to see and compete with (hopefully not against) this robot!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Boy, could I use some help in that area. There are adults *cough* who are not crazy about going to the dentist, even though they should know better.

Thank you for the awesome slideshow. It looks like the team had a great build season.

Jane

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I'm still trying to figure out how the nanodrive works... I see 4x IFI traction wheels, and 4 duallie omnis, but they're all inline. I can see something shifting down in the drivetrain when strafing but cant quite make out what it is or how it works... Guess I'll have to wait to see it in person on 217 and 148 come championship.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Look at the 148 video. There's another duallie omni at right angles that drops down; they show it clearly near the end while their robot is elevated.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

The traction wheels are each paired with an omni-wheel that is packaged into a module. The Omni wheel axle acts as the axis for selecting between traction or Omni (Omni wheel is fixed, traction wheel travels up and down). The pneumatic cylinders are extended to apply force between the traction wheels and the carpet when additional traction is needed. The center Strafe wheel is also on an actuator to either extend or retract. The strafe wheel is retracted while traction is applied and extended when traction is retracted.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Was this a result of further testing of the IFI Vex robots form last year? I would love to learn more about this drive setup at FLR.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I apologize in advance for the long post ...

So I wanted to explain this year's collaboration between 217 and 148 a little bit further. But first, some statistics:


1. Drive base - 9 wheels (5 omni + 4 VEXPro Traction Wheels). 5 CIM motors (both 217 & 148). Traction wheels and 5th wheel drop down using pneumatics.

2. Kicker - FP with AM Planetary geared so the output speed is approximately 38 RPM.

3. Arm (we call it TACO) - FP with AM Planetary (same gearbox as kicker but with a larger chain reduction)

4. Ball magnet - Window motor


Now, on to the collaboration ...

First off, for those contemplating collaboration know this: true collaboration is hard, especially when the two teams are over 1,000 miles apart.

Prototyping & Design

Both teams are relatively large with 148 having around 30 students and 217 with almost 50. We performed design and prototyping at the same time.

Both teams prototyped all sorts of kicker designs, ball intake designs, hanging arm designs for a better part of three weeks.

At the same time, two different design teams (one at FANUC Robotics in Michigan and one at IFI in Texas) broke up the design into chunks.

I was in Michigan the entire first week leading the design efforts for the ThunderChickens and we did a lot of the concept work for the kicker & arm that both 148 & 217 prototyped. At the same time, John led the concept team at 148 and the team did a lot of the concept work for the drive train geometry (primarily to get over the hump).

When I returned to Texas; Don Bartlett, Mike Beem, and Andy Hatzillas from FANUC RObotics and Ed Debler continued to lead the 217 design team (consisting of approximately 10 students) through detailed design of the Arm, kicker cam, and kicker.

In Texas, John led the 148 design team (consisting of 2 students) with the detailed design of the drive base and arm tower.

I was the conduit between the two teams, constantly on the phone with ThunderChicken prototypers and designers when in Texas and constantly on the phone with John when in Michigan. We uploaded SolidWorks models nightly so both teams had the latest files each work day ... it was exhausting.


We decided to leave a big "hole" in the front for where the intake system would reside.

Both the 217 and 148 prototype teams spent countless hours validating the arm & kicker designs and trying to figure out the intake design. The intake design had one requirement (besides following all the game rules): be able to control the ball during full reverse and the "death spin". A simple request, but a difficult challenge which took both teams 3 weeks.

At this point the lines of responsibility are very gray. I can honestly say that we discussed all of the designs and ideas so much between the two teams that every design is a 100% shared responsibility between the two teams.

Sure there were specific designs that made it to the final robots, but the final end product is a 50-50 collaborative design between 217 and 148.


Manufacturing


The manufacturing division of responsibility was very clear: 148 manufactures all sheet metal and 217 manufactures all turned (aka using a lathe) and milled parts. Sure, there were some exceptions to this, but 95% of the parts followed this rule.

In total, the ThunderChickens and their sponsors manufactured over 60 unique parts (multiply that by 5 or 6 for total parts manufactured) and the Robowranglers and their sponsor manufactured over 70 unique parts (again, multiply that by 5 or 6 for total parts manufactured).

I personally want to thank all of the outstanding students and mentors on both teams: The ThunderChicken mentors whom I have grown very close to over the last 10 years and the Robowrangler mentors whom I am just getting to know.

One last thing: great things can come from FRC for mentors. My participation in FRC has brought me much closer to my brother, Mike Copioli, and allowed me to meet someone who is like another brother to me; JVN.

This has been a very emotional year for me, personally, and I look forward to the competition season.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Mr. President,
Shouldn't you get back to work! :]
Love,
Your ThunderChicken Pit Crew(Kayla, Jenna, Kate, Missy, and Hayley)

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

You make me lol!

Now...when can I get my riveter back (at least I can dream that maybe I sorta kinda might have had a small part in assembling this awesome monster)...

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I noticed 1 definitive difference between Armadillo and Mia. Mia is using at least some Jaguars (possibly exclusively) while Armadillo is using exclusively Victors.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Alex dont worry hopefully 2228 217 and 3181 will be paired up. I look forward to competing against this beast at flr.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

1:40 Krunch T-Shirt! I feel so cool now! hahaha seriously an awesome robot. Knowing that there is a second of its kind scares me... I guess I'll have to wait until nationals to compete with it!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

As a mentor of a fairly new team, I want to let you know how your work inspires countless others. I don't know you, but I want to thank you for sharing with us the result of your team's hard work. In the three years I have been involved with FIRST, I have been met many special people committed to this worthy cause of inspiring others to become more than what they are. Your work and the work of other great teams makes me want to be a better mentor to my own students and provide them with greater opportunities than I am currently giving them. Your success is a testament to Dean's vision and this is something that you and your team should be proud of. Thank you and keep up the great work!

Darren Collins FRC 2046

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Hahah that's me and my favorite team tee! And ironically enough I'm wearing it now (:

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

How did you guys get all of those tees? Maybe I should order 10 or 11 2791 shirts to trade this year... Hardcore swappage right there.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

wow nice job guys. is that swerve drive?

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

We get 5 new shirts every year, enough for the new season. In Atlanta, we are allowed to trade shirts with other teams. So if you are looking for a TC shirt, come to the pits or our stands in Atlanta. I am sure you will find a trading buddy!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Can't wait to see it at competition with its twin :D


. . . I'd like a shirt :yikes:

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

We all love trading! Seriously just ask one of us in Atl and we'd be ecstatic to trade with you (:

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

To me, this is the coolest thing that you guys (and other teams for that matter) do. I remember back in 2004 when 254 and 60 collaborated on a robot design. It was one of the most heated discussions I've ever seen on CD. FIRST ruled that it was legal, and 254 won the Championship Chairman's Award that year (the collaboration was mentioned in their description for winning, so while it may not have been the only reason (it probably wasn't), it certainly was a factor). Oh yah, and the robot had some pretty good success, too.

Here we are, 7 years later, and the collaborations are stronger than ever. There are few things more "real world" than these. The engine program for which I work goes on an aircraft that is a joint venture between Bell & Boeing. My company's controls department is a joint venture between us and Goodrich.

All around the world, these collaborative efforts are becomming more and more the norm, and the fact that you guys (and others) can introduce high school students to it, and make it effective, blows me away.

Congratulations on the very cool robots. But, more praise is deserved for finding ways to challenge high school students to something few have the opportunity to do. To me, that puts the Iin FIRST.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Okay now to get to Atlanta!:p

That look like a really nice robot with a sibling! Although it needs some green!;)

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

It's the same 9 wheel drive base that 148 uses. It has 4 wheel modules with both a traction and an omni wheel each and an omni wheel in the center for strafing.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Willing to trade a Devil Duckie tee for a thunder chicken one(preferably a large)! You know you want to rep the red and black :cool:

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I can echo Paul's comments when he says he enjoyed the collaboration. I'm friends with many of the Thunderchickens, and I had a blast working with them over the past six weeks. I also look forward to working WITH them as the two machines move through the competition season.

In total, the CAD process took approximately a week, but I can't even give an accurate hour figure. There were too many late nights. I personally feel that this collaboration has brought the two team closer, and I hope others agree.

Can't wait to see Mia in action next week!

-Parker

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

She looks pretty in blue! It is a shame that if we ever play together one of us will look weird in the wrong color bumpers...

I cannot say enough how incredible it is to work with the Thunderchickens. We've been collaborating over the past few years, but this is the first year since 2005 that I've been involved in a "full" collaboration with them.

I need to echo Paul's statement that this was a full collaboration. Every system was worked on by both teams, and not a single part of this robot would have been the same without the contributions of both.

It is so refreshing to know you've got so many talented people supporting you. There were times during the season, even when things weren't going according to plan that I could relax knowing "the Chickens have our back, we can solve this together".

The Thunderchickens meet earlier in the evening, while the Robowranglers get a later start. Combine this with the time change (eastern vs central) and it sometimes felt like we were working 2 shifts.

I can gush all day long about how awesome the Thunderchicken Design and Prototyping teams are. I was feeling VERY weird watching all the compliments being paid to 148 in our unveiling thread. We purposely did not mention 217's involvement in the design, because we didn't want to "spoil" the secret of the collaboration, and we wanted them to be able to do their own unveil without us spoiling it (in retrospect, we should have collaborated more on the unveiling ;) right Kate?) Every compliment paid in the 148 thread should be echoed to the chickens 10x over.

I've had the pleasure of becoming close to many of the 217 students over the past few years. They've always been extremely welcoming when I get the urge to put on the green and blue. As a result of this, I feel like I'm a mentor to many of them. When I talk about the pride I feel for "my students" I'm not just referring to the ones who live in Greenville.

Mia and Armadillo represent the culmination of an incredible journey our teams took together. I'm eager to see how they perform on the field. I'm especially happy that I get to join up with 217 at Cass Tech in a few weeks. This year maybe I'll even put on the chicken suit (btw - now that Paul isn't coaching, he has NO excuse not to do it.)

For all those considering collaboration:

• It is HARDER than building a robot on a single team.
• It is an INCREDIBLE experience, and is worth it -- all you need to do is look at the relationships that have developed between students and mentors on our two teams.

-John

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Beautiful robot as always. Team 217 never ceases to amaze me!

I may just pass by with a pioneer shirt in my possession... :D

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Sweet! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

Maybe we can trade your rivet gun for a Gorillas t-shirt:D

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

How about the blue ThunderChicken hoodie? If I for example had an extra TnT hoodie.

Re: The Real 217 Robot for 2010
 

I'm in for trading both!!