A more autonomous teleop?

[Knufire]

Originally Posted by team-4480

Hi!
We want to really step up our programming and autonomous game for next year. Our idea is that if there less human invention with the robot, the better off we will be. As an example, the robot would automatically lift the tote to a height each time it grabbed one.

What we need your help with is which sensors we can play with before next build season that might help us achieve better autonomous periods as well as teleop periods.

So far, we thought of using a sonar sensor and push sensor but I image there are many more to play with. I really want to take our code to the next level with more and better sensors so any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

You've hit it on the nose. I'd argue that a lot of teams are more limited competitively by poor driving rather than their robot's capabilities. Making your robot easier to operate will go a long way to performing better on the field. There's two parts to this, picking the right sensor, and finding the right control algorithim.

If you're just starting out with sensors, I would highly recommend you start with encoders. Enoders simply tell you one thing; how far something has turned. Almost all off-the-shelf gearboxes for FRC have built in places to mount an encoder. For example, I noticed from pictures on your website that you were using the kitbot chassis this past season. You can purchase two encoder kits from AndyMark that will mount onto the drivetrain gearboxes on your chassis, and start experimenting with making your robot drive for a specific distance and stop.

The other side of this is software. The most common way to control something based on sensor feedback in FRC is called a PID loop. There are various tutorials and guides both on Chief Delphi and on the internet about how PID loops work.