Team 237 4 Recycle Bib Auto

[The other Gabe]

Originally Posted by Boltman

Wonder how many times made any difference at all apart form not getting any autonomous pts.

Even in the high score 196 match in Dallas today only ONE extra RC was used in scoring and the other alliance never topped even 3.


Hope 237 does make it because that would be nice at Einstein although I suspect they won't get all 4 too slow compared to other likely RC grabbers.

at the PNW Auburn Mountainview District, there was 1 robot that had a 2 RC auto (from the middle)- 1318. Probably the second best robot there, they were picked by 1983, the best robot. Them and their 3rd robot (who usually made a single stack of like, 3 in the game- it didnt matter, they decimated everyone else) did use those containers.

it's useful especially if you have robots that don't make 6 stacks (we're most comfortable with 3 stacks right now, and having someone else cap them)

[The other Gabe]

Originally Posted by Jared

Autonomous mode was very exciting in these matches with triple tote and 4 container grabs happening at the same time.

It's only a week one district event, and the container grabbers are already coming into play as both alliances were grabbing containers from the step in auto and teleop.

Heh. yeah. We had 1 container grabber, and over half the playoff alliances lacked a robot set in auto. no 3 tote autos at all (we have one, but it needs the containers to not be there in order to work properly)

Still some exciting matches, though

[nuclearnerd]

Amazing auto. Well done.
Just a small pet peeve. They're Recycling containers, or RCs or Cans. They're emphatically not bins (totes and bins are synonyms). OK, I'm done being *that* guy, but this game is confusing enough already

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by CalTran

That's pretty impressive. However, in comparison to 4 can grabbers like 4096 or even 2 can grabbing like 118, it seems like it's a little bit slow and might only grab the first can. Any plans on speeding up the extension/contraction?

Currently we have no plans to speed up our autonomous mode.

The simple reason behind this (which is subject to change of course) is that we want our Recycling Containers fully upright when we bring it to our side of the field. We are limited by our design in this aspect of course, but we feel it's a much better approach than just pulling them all over on our side of the field quickly and sloppy. Right now we have modes to skip the first RC altogether if another alliance partner is going to be going for it, but even with that we are pressed for time as well during auto mode. If you'll notice, our arm is ready to lift the 4th RC at the end of auto mode so our drivers can pull that one over. THe 4th one doesn't come over to our side during auto mode.

Slow & steady is our key factor here.

[IronicDeadBird]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

Currently we have no plans to speed up our autonomous mode.

The simple reason behind this (which is subject to change of course) is that we want our Recycling Containers fully upright when we bring it to our side of the field. We are limited by our design in this aspect of course, but we feel it's a much better approach than just pulling them all over on our side of the field quickly and sloppy. Right now we have modes to skip the first RC altogether if another alliance partner is going to be going for it, but even with that we are pressed for time as well during auto mode. If you'll notice, our arm is ready to lift the 4th RC at the end of auto mode so our drivers can pull that one over. THe 4th one doesn't come over to our side during auto mode.

Slow & steady is our key factor here.

Can it only do auto in one direction? Or can it start from the other side of the field and just drive backwards?

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by IronicDeadBird

Can it only do auto in one direction? Or can it start from the other side of the field and just drive backwards?

Good question! Not being part of the programming team, I'm only assuming it can, but we've never tried it.
Speaking for the mechanical aspect, it SHOULD be possible as everything is encoded properly to allow us feedback (drive wheels/arm extension/etc...)
There may be some slight nuances about the overall design that may limit it as I'm picturing it working in reverse.

I can have a more definitive answer after our next meeting (if I remember!)

[donnie99]

Some points that we did think of in the process of strategy and design:

1. Qualification matches are always important, which is why we are still able to stack, but showing consistency and usefulness in eliminations is also important. We lost to the alliance of the 1st Team 236, 2nd Team 230, and 34th Team 3464 (last) ranked teams in the finals. 3464 was on the wrong end of some unlucky situations in qualifications, but proved they were going to be good in eliminations, and were able to contribute a lot to their alliance! Showing that rank in this year's game does not always reflect ability.

2. The speed of the retracting arm is as fast as it can be, while still being effective. We ran into the problem of the arm moving too fast and knocking the RC's onto the other side of the field. It may not be the fastest, but it is pretty consistent.

3. At districts, there are a limited number of legendary teams like 118 or 148 (Batman and Robin robot) that can stack 6 high with a RC every single time without knocking them over. Every robot at the district experienced problems with balancing the stacks at one point, so a strategy of multiple smaller stacks works well. It forced the finals to a third match, giving the strategy some merit.

On a side note, seeing the range of picks this year from the different regionals, it seems as though any team could play in eliminations. Looking forward to see how the game evolves through the weeks!

EDIT* I started typing this before the other response, so a little different explanation here.

[IronicDeadBird]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

Good question! Not being part of the programming team, I'm only assuming it can, but we've never tried it.
Speaking for the mechanical aspect, it SHOULD be possible as everything is encoded properly to allow us feedback (drive wheels/arm extension/etc...)
There may be some slight nuances about the overall design that may limit it as I'm picturing it working in reverse.

I can have a more definitive answer after our next meeting (if I remember!)

That would be an intense and scary auto. Being able to attempt to contest a bin grab while still getting a fair chunk of bins... Great execution, great mechanism. You guys should be proud

[tStano]

In the elims matches I watched, there were plenty where containers weren't grabbed from the step at all. This robot would get all 4 in those cases. This could presumably also take any number from 0-4 containers if they have a fast grabber on their side. Plus, it might take the ones other teams miss from going to fast. I saw plenty of poor can grabbers which left cans there that this auto would end up picking up. I think this can grabbing strategy will have plenty of utility until maybe einstein. I like this very much. Great job guys.

[CalTran]

What's the degree of accuracy that your grabber has in relation to the containers? Is it vision driven or is it dead reckoning?

[Nzoner]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

We (237) won 2nd place today at the Waterbury District so I think our design definitely holds ground.
We couldn't do it alone of course, and our partners (558 & 4557) were spot on all match.
We can also stack totes as well in case anyone thought the auto mode trick is the only function we have.
Furthermore we did have (at least) one match where when we missed grabbing an RC the opposing alliance made use of it and won. Simple fix though.

Just an addition on the importance on their auto, without those litter (when placed in the can) and RC points our matches would not have gone so well. -Team 4557 Driver

[Navid Shafa]

Originally Posted by The other Gabe

Them and their 3rd robot (who usually made a single stack of like, 3 in the game- it didnt matter

It did matter, both 1983 and 1318 had issues in the quarterfinals, and their third robot was consistent for them the whole way through. A strong third pick often makes a difference, but never gets the glory they deserve.

This whole alliance was inspirational. You guys put up a great fight against them and all throughout the playoffs. The event was extremely competitive and the depth of the roster at Auburn Mountainview definitely showed, what a weekend...

[thatismytruck]

Originally Posted by Nzoner

Just an addition on the importance on their auto, without those litter (when placed in the can) and RC points our matches would not have gone so well. -Team 4557 Driver

Very true!

Several matches we were able to place 4 RC's with noodles and a one time had another waiting for a tote stack. In addition, with all the RC's on our side they could not be played by the red alliance. Defense!

The three of us fit together well. The practice we all got in this tournament will be quite beneficial in our next.

[nlknauss]

Love the arm and the use of the motor to actuate it vertically!

We have a similar design on our robot (check it out here) and received some feedback from inspectors that we should possibly redesign for the next competition considered rule R7. Did you get similar feedback from the inspectors? I'm wondering how this rule will be enforced at later events.

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by nlknauss

Love the arm and the use of the motor to actuate it vertically!

We have a similar design on our robot (check it out here) and received some feedback from inspectors that we should possibly redesign for the next competition considered rule R7. Did you get similar feedback from the inspectors? I'm wondering how this rule will be enforced at later events.

Originally Posted by R7

Protrusions from the ROBOT and exposed surfaces on the ROBOT shall not pose hazards to the ARENA elements (including
the LITTER, RECYCLING CONTAINERS and TOTES) or people.
If the ROBOT includes protrusions that form the “leading edge” of the ROBOT as it drives and have a surface area of less than 1 in. it will invite detailed Inspection. For example, forklifts, lifting arms, or grapplers may be carefully Inspected for these hazards.

Seems simple enough - don't have the robot claw look like a pitchfork.