Recycle Rush Rules - Upside-down totes?

[Mark3206]

What is a good way to pick up the upside down totes. and what is the fastest way to the recycle bins?

[Jacob Bendicksen]

As far as I can tell, the manual doesn't mention tote orientation for stack scoring, so I wouldn't think that it matters. It does seem like a good Q&A clarification, though.

Originally Posted by Mark3206

What is a good way to pick up the upside down totes. and what is the fastest way to the recycle bins?

One way to pick up the upside down totes would be to have two arms (pneumatic cylinders, probably) that come from either side and grab the tote. Then it doesn't matter which orientation it's in. The fastest way to the recycle bins involves moving a lot of totes - the exact route will probably depend on your robot's intake mechanisms.

On a similar note, we tried making a stack with some totes upside down today, and while it's not as stable as a properly stacked stack, it's still reasonably stable. Definitely not impossible.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Jacob Bendicksen

On a similar note, we tried making a stack with some totes upside down today, and while it's not as stable as a properly stacked stack, it's still reasonably stable. Definitely not impossible.

My team was also speculating on the usefulness of inverted stacking. We found that both right side up and inverted stacking were close in stability to where the difference between the types of stacking may be negligibe. What matters is that a stack has ALL totes oriented the same way. If there are totes that are stacked opposite facing, obviously they slide. We have a prototype started for a passive system that ensures all totes (and if strategically advantagous, containers as well) we pick up are stacked inverted for consistency.

[GKrotkov]

Originally Posted by Mark3206

What is a good way to pick up the upside down totes. and what is the fastest way to the recycle bins?

It's also not unreasonable to just build a plowie-type robot*, and simply run straight for the step in autonomous. You'd clear out some totes, and then when teleop begins, race for the bins, and pull them over to your side. I suppose the plowie model doesn't help for pulling the bins, but it's important to remember you shouldn't need to bother with stacking the totes if you're just racing for the bins.


* Yes, I know his name is actually dozer.

[seamushroom]

but the totes are backed by a wall, a plow wouldn't do anything.