FRC971 Spartan Robotics 2016 Release Video

[Caishin]

If I may ask, does the shooter "wrist" rotate independently of the arm or are the mechanically linked?

The wrist and the arm rotate independently. They each have their own gearboxes which I believe you can see in the picture from the original post.

[kevincrispie]

Originally Posted by jajabinx124

I like the steering wheel! Did your driver just prefer to control the robot that way? Quite interesting.

Looks impressive as always 971. Good luck at your regional's and I hope to see you guys at champs.

Many of the team members are likely busy practicing for Davis, so I'll try and answer a couple other questions and some students or Austin and Travis can correct me where appropriate.

The team has been using the steering wheel setup since at least 2009. The team has found that our drivers like this setup and it provides excellent maneuverability and is very intuitive. Having a steering wheel with good software allows a driver to very easily make constant radius arced turns. Many drivers who use two joystick tank drive, especially beginners, tend to have a jerky and less efficient path to certain points around the field. It can be pretty easy to tell what system people use just by watching people drive. With practice, we think that the driver station setup gives us great handling on the robot and many advantages.

Great job Comran making a fantastic reveal/promo video!

[Caishin]

Can we get a name for this monster? So much pivot.

The name is still a work in progress...

[Chris Endres]

Dang, truly another beautiful machine from 971.

[s_forbes]

You guys are absolutely insane! By far my favorite design this season. Just like last season... and the one before that...

[Caishin]

Originally Posted by kevincrispie

The team has found that our drivers like this setup and it provides excellent maneuverability and is very intuitive.

I was operator last year for the team and I believe one of the biggest advantages was that it's very similar to driving a car so people who have experience with that should be able to pick up easily on the controls. Sort of ironic because the driver for the past few years ran everywhere instead of driving but was a great robot driver.

[AustinSchuh]

Originally Posted by kevincrispie

The team has been using the steering wheel setup since at least 2009.!

If I remember right, we started using a wheel in 2006, and haven't looked back since.

Our tentative name for the robot is Geoffrey. That may change, but it seems to be the consensus.

The board is a Jetson TK1.

The shooter wrist and shoulder joints are mechanically independent, but the software ends up more complicated that way. Motions in one now affect the other, which causes no end of headaches... It wouldn't be a proper 971 robot if we didn't fix it in software

We are looking forwards to getting to see everyone at the Sacramento Regional, Silicon Valley Regional, and hopefully champs!

[frcguy]

Looks sick! It's really come along since I saw the frame sitting on your guy's table being put together.

[aphelps231]

Undoubtedly my new favorite robot. That thing is on a new level of cool.

May I ask what kind of mechanism you're using to push the ball into the shooter wheels?

[AdamHeard]

Amazing as always.

I count 5 control loops minimum to put a ball in the goal?

[Jean Tenca]

Wow that's an awesome design! One of the most unique robots this season.

[Basel A]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

Absolutely one of the most absurd robots I've ever seen - and I mean that in the absolute BEST way possible.

Way to go 971 - this thing is a work of art.

-Brando

Thought the same exact thing. This is a truly ridiculous robot and I love it.

[Sperkowsky]

Is that a radio mounted to your moving arm with electrical tape?

[barn34]

This is the most ingenious and inspiring design I've seen yet for this year's competition. Absolutely stunning. This is definitely a machine I'm gonna seek out for an up close look in St. Louis. Amazing job, guys!

[ComranM]

Originally Posted by Sperkowsky

Is that a radio mounted to your moving arm with electrical tape?

Haha, yes! (Gaffers tape though)

It was really the only place we found that was not covered by metal on 5/6 of the sides.