It depends. What Jeff is talking about is something like what we did for Overdrive, where we knew the speed we were traveling, the length of the field, and had a closed-loop steering system. This type of autonomous generall works best for situations where
- Variables are limited. Since this system can't account for outside influences, anything unanticipated,(like running into something) will cause severe error
- All the details can be programmed(and tested) ahead of time
- The maneuver involves few changes in velocity or heading(even assuming no collisions, a small amount of error will accumulate every time you make a change)
Because of this, I would actually recommend aginst this system for a game like this. A figure eight is relativley complicated, and it's likely that you'll hit something at some point, as well as the fact that every time you skid you're going to lose accuracy. I would recommend that you either
1.Pick a simpler manuever and use Jeff's method, or
2.Use a closed-circuit autonomous. You could, for example, use an encoder or accelerometer to measure ground speed and a gyro to measure heading, which would give you all the info that you needed.