different type of balancing, which one do you like better?

[archiver]

Posted by Ken Leung at 03/19/2001 5:46 AM EST


Student on team #192, Gunn Robotics Team, from Henry M. Gunn Senior High School.



There are a lot of solution for the single proble: Balancing the bridge.

It's really interesting when looking at other robot trying to accomplish the same thing as you do, but using entirly different method.

Can people suggest the teams that have done the following method(s)?

The most basic method is to use the drive train and move the robot into a balanced position, while counteracting the momentum of the bridge as it swing down.

Then, there are the ones who use long arm to push the goal(s) to tip the bridge down, use the arm to pull them into balanced.

A third method is to use a "wedge" under the bridge to stop it from moving in the balanced position, then another robot adjusting the goals to keep it more stable.

Another clever solution is using the gyro chip and fancy programming to auto-balance with the drive train.

Our team came up with yet another solution by building two arm to help balance, and it works because the arms slow down the motion of the bridge...

So, there are many of these design, and I am sure there are more.

I am just wondering, which one of these are the "better" method? I am not so sure it is possible or appropiate to actually compare each one of them to another, and judge which one is "better". What do people think?

Maybe a better question is: Which one do the people like better?