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Unread 23-10-2013, 10:17
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FRC #1706 (Ratchet Rockers)
Team Role: College Student
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Rookie Year: 2011
Location: St Louis
Posts: 498
faust1706 is infamous around these partsfaust1706 is infamous around these parts
Re: Common or uncommon sensors used in FRC

Our team loves limit switches. For our claw in logomotion (anyone here remember that game, or am I just getting old?), when we picked up a tube, it pressed a limit switch in our claw and when that switch was pressed, our claw would automatically raise to it's locked position. (not our arm, big difference).

This was something I am very fond of: For our minibot deployment, we had a piece of lexan blocking the circuit to our motors on our minibot. When our deployer was fully extended, the cord with lexan at the end would get pulled off because it couldn't reach that far, which would then start our motors automatically and the minibot would begin its ascent to the pressure plate.

We use the kinect as a sensor and not a camera. We don't send what the camera is seeing, but the distance it calculates and the x rotation (and in 2012 it gave pose). I like to call it a sensor because that's really what it is, and even more so in how we use it.

In rebound rumble:Like the garage door opener (which was mentioned earlier in this tread) we used a similar concept. For an rpm sensor in our turret, we drilled a hole in our shaft. We had a ir sensor and light. Every time the sensor saw the light, it added to the count by 1, then divided it by 2 (for every 1 revolution, the light will be seen twice)

We also used it in our hopper. We had a high sensor and a low one. Once a ball was detected in the lower sensor, it would raise the hopper until the top sensor detected a ball, then it would lower it back to the bottom sensor until it was detected. this assured that we had optimal space in our hopper. If that makes sense. It has ensured we only had 3 balls in the hopper.

We also made a custom circuit, so that when our arm what touching the bridge to pull it down, it completely a circuit that would shine bright green towards our drivers to let them know they can use the arm.

In Ultimate Ascent:

We used a limit switch on our hanging mechanism. We had octacanuum drive, so we would raise onto our traction wheels, which would put our chin-up bar as well called it right at the 10pt level on the pyramid. We'd drive onto it, and start hanging. When the bar on the pyramid was in position so we could hang, it has pushed 2 limit switches (one per side), which automatically raises our wheels and cuts all power to our motors.

Hope that makes sense. It's early and I just finished reading The Idiot by Dostoevsky in english class. Not all here.
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