Ball Trajectory Planning

[Dusk Star]

My team was actually planning on having a camera track the target, direct the turret to that target, use a laser rangefinder to determine distance, and have the turret adjust velocity and angle to adjust for that range. So, yes, some teams were planning on being able to shoot from anywhere.

We want to be able to get balls in the vicinity of the hoops from our player station, across the field, and were planning on a 70fps+ muzzle velocity. does that seem fast enough to range 55'?

[JamesBrown]

With a intitial velocity os 12m/s teams were able to shoot at a higher target from half court in 2006 with a ball of similar density, 70f/s should get you the whole way across the field. Keep in mind it will not be easy to shoot that far accuratly, and the faster you shoot the more effect drag has on the ball.

[GBilletdeaux930]

If you do the math, at 45-degrees, neglecting drag and air resistance, you would need to be going about 40ft/s to shoot 50ft. Probably going to need a little more to hit that top hoop.

I really don't think the variable here is the drag though. You can calculate for that, sure. But after the first match, the majority of balls are going to be ripped, torn, and not appropriate for your calculations.

Keep the calculations simple, like everyone is saying. Going for a consistent shooter is the best you can really do. Doing the 2d physics is plenty because after that you are throwing in variables that are going to change after every match.