Re: Finding Distance From Driver Station
 

(Not to pick on you specifically, several people mentioned similar ideas)

I know lights are low-tech, but this would still be deemed "wireless communication" which is prohibited in R58 because your robot is receiving information from a device not through wires. There is also the logistical problem that your allies might not (or might not be able to) put the lights right where you want them. I really like the "triangulate based on lights" approach, but you'll have to do it using field lights both for the sake of consistency and legality.

Re: Finding Distance From Driver Station
 

I think this could be a very interesting exercise in deep reading the rules.

Design a system, and ignore the rules for the moment. Make certain that all teams can use your system at the same time. Think about what percent of teams it would be accessible to. Then, look at what rules would need to change to allow the system, and what type of impact that would have on the big picture.

Re: Finding Distance From Driver Station
 

Partially beam size, partially signal loss over distance (these two are related) cause most hobby sonar sensors I've used have an effective range of about 15 ft; I've seen models advertised with greater range, but this is my experience. You also have the problem that with just a distance sensor, you can't tell what you're measuring, so it would be impossible to know whether you're measuring the distance to a field element, another robot, or a game piece. Distance sensors are very useful for measuring proximity, for example, but for ubiquitous absolute positioning on a FIRST field, it seems like you wouldn't have the kind of accuracy I would want. IMHO.

--Ryan

Re: Finding Distance From Driver Station
 

Exactly, my goal is to have a solution that works similar to the NorthStar localization. The idea is that you can identify a beacon, and then determine your position relative to it. Given to NorthStar requires a ceiling, but the idea is still the same.

http://www.evolution.com/products/northstar/