pic: Enter the Dragons; KTOR 2010

[thefro526]

Chuck, these machines look absolutely brilliant.

Is there video? I hope so.

[KINGOFCLUBS454]

Video will be soon to follow, if you're in Dallas, it'll be playing in our pit, so stop by and say hello!

[Foster]

We had 5 weeks from our inception date to event and only being able to work on weekends, it was a "fun" build season.

They have done a great job. I know that they got a big batch of aluminum on Tuesday and had incorporated it into the robot (I think a total rebuild) and had it ready to play on Wednesday.

For their size the robot is pretty spry and it does an amazing job of picking up all three sizes of balls.

[Chuck Glick]

Here's a few specs for these bad boys.

Weight: 14.8 pounds... (is that a good omen? )

Size: 17.5"W x 23.5"L x 17.5"H

Max dump height: 24"

Can hold:
5 orange balls (max)
15 green balls (max)
3 white balls (max, and only if we happen to catch one with the wall)

Total number of gears used on each robot: 2 x 12 tooth and 10 racks

* Completely Modular, all systems are held in by 2 screws each.

* 10 motors total (4 drive, 2 lift, 4 intake/outtake; and we still have 2 we can add)

Drive:
*4 wheel killough platform, direct drive, sits on 4" omnis

*Each wheel module features optical encoders for feedback. (soon to have PID)

Arm:
*Lifted by 2 linear "actuators", 12 tooth pinions on an "extended" rack set up (they over hang on the ends for a longer throw)

*10 feet of surgical tubing per bot for lift assist

*48 x 0.5"x12" 1/16" polycarbonate strips wrapped in grip material to form the "super tread"

*4 motors power the super tread pickup on direct drive

[Chris is me]

Bots like these make me wish my college did VRC.

Do the arms "close" to pinch small balls? I'm confused as to how they grab them...

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Bots like these make me wish my college did VRC.

Do the arms "close" to pinch small balls? I'm confused as to how they grab them...

Chris, there's information in this thread on vex forums that helped to clarify a lot of things for me.

[Chuck Glick]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Bots like these make me wish my college did VRC.

Do the arms "close" to pinch small balls? I'm confused as to how they grab them...

The arms are actually resting on the white ball to make it look as if the bots are opening their jaws.

Another picture to show capabilities:

[Pjohn1959]

Sweet looking set of robots. The College challenge will be intersting to watch this year. I know that Rice and U of H will be bringing some good robots as well. I hope to get to see of the action on the college fields.

[MishraArtificer]

So...who's the Star Wars fan who came up with the idea of naming your team Knights of the Old Republic-(cough) um...Robotics?

The bots look pretty clean, I don't see a scratch on them...

[Foster]

Congrats to the team for winning the Excellence Award for the College Division at VEX Worlds on Saturday! From the sounds of the judges words they were very impressed with the design and with the team.

Nice job KTOR!!!

[Cynette]

The college VEX division was fun to watch! How long was that autonomous period?!

Congratulations on your Excellence Award! Coupled with the announcement that Steve Rhodes and Foster Schucker were named VEX Mentors of the Year, it looks like the greater Philadelphia area is the place for VEX!

[Chuck Glick]

Originally Posted by Cynette

The college VEX division was fun to watch! How long was that autonomous period?!

Congratulations on your Excellence Award! Coupled with the announcement that Steve Rhodes and Foster Schucker were named VEX Mentors of the Year, it looks like the greater Philadelphia area is the place for VEX!

It was a great weekend for STEMRobotics. After hearing that Steve and Foster, KTOR's biggest supporter and sponsor, received the Mentor of the Year award, we were ecstatic and couldn't have asked for anything more. Then the biggest surprise came on Saturday night when we heard that we were finalists for the College Excellence Award.

I personally cannot remember every word that Paul read as he presented the award, but when we heard him say "K..." we all jumped and screamed louder than we ever have before. From our inception date on March 14, KTOR had only 5 weeks to be competition ready. We didn't think that we would have a shot at the award, but still continued to do all the volunteer work and mentoring we already do. It was a great honor to receive this award and for myself personally it was even more special knowing that the mentor who started me on my path, was there to watch it as well.

I have to personally thank Rich Kressly for his 10 years of hard work and dedication to a program that he believes in and loves. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be the person that I am today. It was truly special to have him there to show him that "I get it". I hope to continue on the path that Kres has started me on as a tribute to his dedication. FIRST and VEX will never be the same without him.

Thank you to everyone who believed in us, Andrew, Pat, Joe, and I all are grateful for this tremendous honor and will continue to promote and help the program that we love.

-Chuck Glick

[penguinfrk]

Glad I visited your pits. The linear actuator design still has me in shock.... brilliant. I didn't get to watch any of your matches, so I'm looking forward to them as well. Hope to see you there next year