JVN Build Tip: Prototyping

[JVN]

So let's talk about that really successful robot. You know the one I'm talking about -- that one at the regional that seems like it can do know wrong. It just glides around the field almost twice as fast as our robots, picking up tubes without stopping and placing them on the rack almost effortlessly... what the heck! How did those guys do that?

The secret is simple... prototyping & continuous improvement.

On the most successful robots each mechanism is prototyped, thoroughly tested, and improved before it goes into the final design. Try it.

After you figure out WHAT your robot is going to do, and you come up with some ideas on HOW the robot is going to do it, you need to prototype your ideas.

When you're prototyping you need to focus on learning as much as you can about the concept to see how well it works. See how your design works in the real world, test how it interacts with the playing field. Figure out what actuators are needed. Test gear ratios out to see if your calculations are right. If you have two ideas and you can't decide... try them both and see which one works better.

Try it, break it, fix it, repeat...

You don't need to prototype everything, just the stuff you want to work.

Originally posted here:
http://jvengineering.blogspot.com/20...ototyping.html