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Originally Posted by Sohaib
I see, thats quite interesting. Any things in particular that you automate?
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In 2012, the big thing we automated was the dual sided collector. It was bit tricky, but with 3 banner sensors we were able to automate it so it would only collect 3 balls, so for the most part our driver just had to drive over the balls and not really worry about the 3 ball limit. It also handled spacing between balls, to help with consistency when shooting each ball.
Last year, thanks to the mechanical team, we were able to come up with a really simple setup. The collector and shooter were part of the same apparatus, so we only needed on limit switch in the collect position. Basically we had a pass button, a shoot button, and a lop (grenade) button.
When the mechanical team is working on designing the systems, it's important to keep the conversation open about what processes should be automated, and how to automate them. Figure out what sensors you'll need early on, and try to order extras.
Also the conversation is important to have if you're trying to with the IIC award. It takes a lot of cooperation and clever thinking from a mechanical, electrical, and software standpoint to win. That being said, if you design a robot to perform well in autonomous and target the awards, there's a good chance your robot will be good at the game as well.