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Re: When to make practice bots
This is the first year in which we have built a true practice bot, in other words one which is mostly the same in form and function to the competition robot. In previous years the practice robot was just a drive chassis or was significantly different from the competition robot.
This year we built the practice robot (Scotty) first, because as several posters have mentioned, it allowed us to focus on getting it running quickly and testing its components. The final robot (Mike) is somewhat different. It is an inch longer (27" vs. 26") and 4" shorter than the practice robot. The longer came because it added stability (we could move the battery further behind the rear wheels) and made the "comb" to keep the round urethane belting from walking easier to implement. The shorter came because testing on the conveyor/garage door sensor system showed it was more precise than we planned for, so we didn't need as much space as our original design indicated. The down side to these changes is that the practice bot, while very similar, is not an exact copy. The plus side is that we were able to make the kind of improvements on the design you can only make by testing it.
This process also prodded us to make the robot design more modular. The shooter/turret assembly, the conveyor and the ramp manipulating arm are all attached basically by four bolts. Take out the bolts and disconnect the quick disconnect wires and the parts come out. In the end we have built two of almost everything.
We assembled the final robot in the last week. Next year I am going to push to get it done a few days earlier than the final weekend, but the trade off has been worth it. Scotty is a fully functional robot with the same basic design as Mike, so we have been able to practice. Over spring break we will get in quite a few more hours of driving and calibrating. (Just have to remember to move the basket height up on our backboards to account for the 4" height difference.) This is particularly good this year, because both drivers are rookies to FIRST, not just rookies to driving. df
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Thank you Bad Robots for giving me the chance to coach this team.
Rookie All-Star Award: 2003 Buckeye
Engineering Inspiration Award: 2004 Pittsburgh, 2014 Crossroads
Chairman's Award: 2005 Pittsburgh, 2009 Buckeye, 2012 Queen City
Team Spirit Award: 2007 Buckeye, 2015 Queen City
Woodie Flowers Award: 2009 Buckeye
Dean's List Finalists: Phil Aufdencamp (2010), Lindsey Fox (2011), Kyle Torrico (2011), Alix Bernier (2013), Deepthi Thumuluri (2015)
Gracious Professionalism Award: 2013 Buckeye
Innovation in Controls Award: 2015 Pittsburgh
Event Finalists: 2012 CORI, 2016 Buckeye
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