Easiest way to program autonomous?

[Doug Frisk]

Originally Posted by GreyingJay

Last year I was surprised at how few robots at two regionals even tried to do autonomous. You got a few points just by moving yourself into the auto zone, and this year's game is similar - if you can get yourself to reach a defense, you will earn points. Reaching a defense can be as simple as "drive forward 6 feet". This should not be beyond the grasp of any team.

The simplest way is something called dead reckoning. Your software just fires the motors blindly for a set amount of time. For example, if you fire the drive motors at, say, 50% speed for 1.5 seconds, your robot should travel X number of feet. I say "should" because you have no sensor feedback to confirm that the robot moved where you hoped it would. It's like driving blindfolded. But it's a starting point. Measure how far it actually travels and adjust the timing and power levels to hit the speed and distance that you want.

Yep, this is going to be a good bet for a lot of teams. Drive forward into the defense and if you make it over you get points and if you only hit it or straddle it you still get points. Sit there like a potato and you get nothing. Don't be a potato.

It's ded (short for deduced) reckoning by the way.