[video] ThunderChickens 217 Auton REVEALED

[Grant Cox]

This is, in a way, our teaser and our reveal, at the same time.

This is the 2008 ThunderChicken autonomous mode sequence. I say auton because although it is during the "hybrid" mode, she is doing this 100% autonomously using only encoder feedback (for distances and angles) and an additional external processor to interpret the encoder data before sending it to the RC.

Keep in mind that what you see is actually the same movements repeated, and it ended in another almost straight direction, which would lead you to believe that it could (theoretically) do this multiple times..

No comment on any robot components other than hybrid enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcaYW-Ig39E

[thefro526]

Amazing-completely amazing

[Branden Ghena]

That was one FAST lap!!!

Can't wait to see you guys at GLR this year!

[Jetweb]

That is amazing but i would hate to see it if someone was in your way

[lukevanoort]

Originally Posted by Jetweb

That is amazing but i would hate to see it if someone was in your way

Believe me, that wouldn't end pretty. When we were trying out our autonomous, we accidentally slammed into 1533's practice field several times at near top speed (sorry guys), and some of those crashes were pretty dang hard. The thunderchickens seem to be going faster than us... I would really feel sorry for the robot on the receiving end of a "body check" from 217's autonomous. Besides that, its a very nice autonomous mode, by my count, a solid 16points worth and there isn't any chance of IR interference ruining it.

Nice! Very quick system!

I notice your ball seems a little... flat?

[Éowyn]

Holy cow! That is one fast bot!!

[Amanda Morrison]

Nice shirt... nicer sheet metal.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by CraigHickman

Nice! Very quick system!

I notice your ball seems a little... flat?

Hey, it's cold in Michigan. The balls deflate.

Originally Posted by GeeForce

Keep in mind that what you see is actually the same movements repeated, and it ended in another almost straight direction, which would lead you to believe that it could (theoretically) do this multiple times..

Meaning you get to stand behind the glass shield and cheer, because the robot drives itself?

Great looking autonomous. We'll try to stay out of your way in Detroit, especially if you're on our alliance.

[Uberbots]

That is some sheer speed!

works kinda like our autonomous mode, except we use a sonar sensor and a gyro in conjunction...
i like the encoder approach though... i assume your coprocessor is doing some fairly complex vector operations to get an angle out of the encoders?

[waialua359]

That is one impressive autonomous showing, especially the speed.
However, like in real life, a ferrari wouldn't look good fast and hitting a wall or another car. But also, like in real life, a good driver behind the wheel makes this robot a force at competition. Maybe it has some sensors that tells it to move and avoid other robots while moving fast.

[MasterChief 573]

How fast is that? We haven't tested ours on a course but it goes approx 15 ft/s. Just want to compare.

[Greg Marra]

Slick.

[petek]

That is a thing of beauty - besides the awesome speed, your rotation appears very smooth.

Memo to self: bring big hammers and johnson bars to straighten out the field.
Memo to drive teams: you may want to put extra velcro under your controls and bring ear plugs. This could get very loud.

[Alex Cormier]

er... stupid school blocking youtube... I want to see!

sounds like it's another great bot.