[hzheng_449]

For encoders, this year 449 used a US digital H6 Ball bearing encoder (512 CPR) for our drive train, and it worked magically. We like it because it's a heavy duty encoder that is far more robust than the KOP E4P, and it's pretty easy to install.

Last for our last year's robot, our team used both a potentiometer and the KOP accelerometer on our robot. For potentiometers you can basically use any run of the mill 1-10K pot, as long as you can find a way to attach a shaft to it. Also, the KOP gyros and sensors aren't terrible. If you want something better then you could try out a COTS IMU (I Know sparkfun has a few).

Also as a note for analog sensors, you might also want to experiment with various filtering methods to reduce signal noise. Both hardware methods (ie simple low pass filter) and software (LabView is great for this).