What Does Everybody Think About Using Sensors In The Competition For This Year?

[Noah]

Following the line isn't exactly the best thing to do when you think about it. The robot will move slower because it has to constantly follow the path, which is what you don't want.

I agree. While a line tracker is a good thought, I think it would be faster to go dead reckoning around and up the ramp. And besides, all the line is good for is getting you on to the ramp anyways! beyond that, if all you have is a line tracker, your a dead reckoning bot!

[Raven_Writer]

And everyone knows the majority of the teams are gonna make the robot go up the ramp first, so it's a matter of speed and strength.

On a side note though, it'd be sweet if we could do flippin' this year, does anyone know why they banned it since they already said "This game is not ment to be fair."?

[rwaliany]

Dead Reckoning...faster...so unreliable. I hope the materials are the same on the field as the ones you practice on.

I don't know, our team is going to have 2 bit switches for 4 automaton programs. The best way is to test it out, seeing if accuracy is more important to your team than speed.

What if your alliance team member has a dead reckoning program too. Do you guys run into each other and slow each other down, while the other team comes over the bridge. Better yet, you hit, your now off target and going the wrong way.

I'd say using the light sensors for the TURNING, then once your on the top use a yaw rate sensor to detect going up the ramp, to stop the light sensor turning.

Right now based on our opponents/allies we're going to have
One line follower,
One dead reckoning,
One seek and destroy,
and One salvager or something

[Raven_Writer]

Accuracy is a better power to have than speed, but it's true. It's gonna be like a demolition derby or something.

[Ryan Meador]

I believe an array of 5 sensors (probably not the normal optical ones, but "custom circuits") would make it very fast, if arrayed two on the outside, and three clustered together at the width of the tape between the other two. You can zip around and use the three for precise driving as much as possible, but if you lose the line at high speed, you've got the other set to follow the line more loosely. I haven't tested this yet, but I'm going to as soon as I get at last year's robot

[HolyMasamune]

That's why communication between teams is very important as well as multiple codes.

[Raven_Writer]

at least 3 (2 for automation (or however it's spelt), and 1 for the 2 min. part)