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Unread 29-09-2003, 21:32
KenWittlief KenWittlief is offline
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Location: Rochester, NY
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putting a filter in the control path (one way or another) really is a tradeoff. If you let the driver slam the controls back and forth, and the SW tells the motor to do exactly what the joystick says, then you can break shafts, rip gears apart, your breakers can open (disabling you for a few seconds)

but on the other hand, if you smooth out the commands so the motors rev up gradually, then you never know when the drive might really NEED to slam the motors full reverse, or push the machine to its limits, to win a match.

At our last few matches at our last regional we told the drivers "Tomorrow this robot will have absolutely no value to anyone, so if you have to destroy it to win the next match, then so be it"

everything in enginnering is a tradeoff - you make the robot more reliable, and that will cost you in performance.