[Ri3D] BOOM DONE. We're not done...

[Joe Johnson]

Well, we ARE done, in that we've put out our reveal video (watch it here) but we are not done in that we are still planning to put out more how to videos, CAD data drop, CODE drops, improve the performance,... Stay tuned...

If you watch our reveal video: caution I have to speak fast to get in all the cool features of this robot.

Highlights of our robot:

1. A robot that (I believe) could pass inspection at a FIRST Competition (only known violations I am aware of is that we didn't build a red bumper and I forgot to order one of those indicator lights that are required on every robot)
2. Catapult. Motor powered, HIGH Release (a.k.a it can shoot over robots trying to push you away from the goals) with programmable range. We can vary release speed & release angle. Two distances are programmed now. More are just a matter of time and tuning.
3. Vision system (working! really, working in 3 days!) to do a killer autonomous (using RoboRealm + camera to sense hot goal and provide range to goal).
4. Acoustic Range To Target (again, also done in 3 days. We had not even touched the sensor until kickoff, Scout's honor).
5. LARGE 3 Digit ON ROBOT display which (currently) lets us show time left in match and distance to goal wall, but it can be used for many more purposes (e.g, motor current or battery voltage). Being on the robot gives the drivers useful info while keeping their eyes where they belong (again, none of this was done before kickoff)

In short, I think BOOM DONE. has earned your vote as the best Ri3D Team & Robot.
If you agree, please, vote BOOM DONE. ... NOW


Joe J.

[JB987]

Kudos to you and team! Inspiring, to say the least. Would you please share what the wrap on your el torro sticks is?

[David Brinza]

Great job, Joe!

I really like the idea of a combo range display/timer on the robot!

The motorized catapult is very cool, too! It avoids having a lot of potentially unsafe stored energy found in spring-powered catapults.

You've probably already heard enough about building a robot with an arm tied behind your back, so I won't go there.

[JohnSchneider]

Does your number display interface directly with the sidecar, or what kind of magic are you using?

[Brandon Holley]

I was mega impressed with BOOM. DONE.

The robot appears to play the game quite well, and the amount of sensor integration and "extra features" was impressive for a 3 day build!

We may be borrowing a few of your ideas

-Brando

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

We may be borrowing a few of your ideas

-Brando

I'll be crushed if people don't build on these ideas. Borrow away.

Joe J.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

Does your number display interface directly with the sidecar, or what kind of magic are you using?

It can be done 10,000 ways but we settled on an Arduino looking at pins on the Digital Side Car. We put the range finder software in the Arduino (could be otherwise but we were out of analog pins on the CRIO). So the CRIO wiggles pins to tell the Arduino to sync the count down and/or display the range data.

More info on this to come - part numbers, code, wiring diagrams, board layouts (if you want to make a PCB -- you don't have to).

Joe J.

[MrRiedemanJACC]

You guys did an outstanding job! And no offense to your team members, but you had a lot of rookies! Congrats and thank you!

[wilsonmw04]

about the camera:
Are you using the driver station to process the images? If so, how are you dealing with the bandwidth limit?

[JohnFogarty]

Will you release your robo-realm settings? I really would like to know how you tuned it to work well in finding the hot goal.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

about the camera:
Are you using the driver station to process the images? If so, how are you dealing with the bandwidth limit?

I have heard mixed reports with respect to bandwidth affecting processing on the driver station. Sorting through it all, I believe that this is no longer a major issue.

BUT, even if it IS an issue, the HOT or NOT call is an application where we will have time to make a decision. We have odometry from the wheel plus range finding via sonar to get our distance right (and detect a blocker in front of us -- which we can avoid using our gryo-stabilized omni-motion provided by our mecanum wheels -- have I told you how much i LOVE the feature set we put together on this robot ;-)

Joe J.

[wilsonmw04]

Dr. Joe,
Thanks for spending the time answering all these questions. I have on more: what us your current weight of the robot as it stands right now?

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

Dr. Joe,
Thanks for spending the time answering all these questions. I have on more: what us your current weight of the robot as it stands right now?

109 lbs WITH the battery & bumper so we are 40-50 lbs under the limit.

Oh a clarification. Someone asked on Twitter if the bumpers were removable. Yes, the are (or would be if we had guarded the pop rivet gun from Nate -- we'll have to drill out the one rivet he got off before I smacked him upside the head -- we were almost all rookies on the team after all ;-)

Joe J.

[pilum40]

Dr. Joe:
I'm the coach for Team 3355 in Arlington, Texas. My team is frankly open mouthed about Boom Done. We did have a couple of questions please...for now...
1. When you use "green cord" in your shooter", what kind of cord do you use? Did you custom make the pulley for this cord or is it off the shelf?
2. What was the gauge of wire you used for your catapult/shooter? Did you hand form it or have it made?
3. What was the material you used for the "Toro Horns" please? We have a running bet (lunch) that it was rough sports tape or something similar. Please let us know, we're all hungry!!

Thanks in advance!

Steve Miller-Coach
The Purple Vipers

[magnets]

Wow. I'm really, really impressed. For three days, and a crew of non FIRST engineers, you guys did an epic job. All aspects of the robot are incredibly innovative, and I think, the most impressive of the RI3D teams. Even though your team came into this with little FRC experience, your design is refined and seems really durable.

I'm a massive fan of the bumper/frame design, as well as the pickup. I think we'll see a large number of these out on the field this year, because they really are a great solution.

I'm also blown away with the software that you guys have going with the camera and the arduino rangefinder display thing, which is super neat.