What's your plan for Autonomous?

[Jared Russell]

Use sensors to collect data about the surrounding environment, then discard it and drive into walls.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Jared Russell

Use sensors to collect data about the surrounding environment, then discard it and drive into walls.

You downgraded to that? Last time I heard you skipped the whole collecting data and discarding it to just drive into walls. More efficient that way.



I think we're going to be moving. Not sure exactly what we'll be moving...

[Chris Endres]

score points.

[GeeTwo]

We do plan to have multiple autonomous routines, so we can adapt to our alliance.

• The simplest is basically the same as the "mobility bonus" from last year - just drive forward a fraction of a second.
• The main one is to build a 3-tote stack and carry it into the auto zone. We're already planning a largely automated "align/stack/lift" bottom-stacking routine for tele-op using a pair of Sharp optical range finders, a string potentiometer, the camera, and touch sensors on the lift; the algorithm should work equally well for grey and yellow totes. To score a tote stack, we just need to dust off our old reflective target code and use it to get close enough to each yellow tote to make the A/S/L work. We start behind the right tote (as viewed from our alliance wall), A/S/L, back up, drive to the next, A/S/L, back up, drive to the last, A/S/L. Then, to get everything into the auto zone, we spin 180 degrees (we have a gyro) and drive forward until our "curb feelers" find the back scoring platform. Then we back up a few feet, drop the load, and back away a bit more.
• More TBD. Our grabber should be good at getting a single RC, but not at moving all three, or at getting them from behind the landfill, so we just add some minor variations, such as a tote stacker that works on the alliance wall side rather than the step side, and a driver that also takes advantage of the curb feelers.

[Fields]

We have 2 modes this year.

1) drive forward (push a bin with us?)
2) grab bin 1, grab 3 yellow totes and stack, set bin 1 down (not tall enough to put on top of the stack)

[c.shu]

We plan on doing a 3 tote stack and 3 container set then pull all 4 containers off of the step and line up at the HP station for our full field stacking mechanism. And that's just the first 5 seconds of autonomous.

[EDesbiens]

Originally Posted by c.shu

And that's just the first 5 seconds of autonomous.

And then, the robot builds ten stacks of grey totes and, during the last seven seconds, it deploys a wall to block incoming litters...

[c.shu]

Originally Posted by EDesbiens

And then, the robot builds ten stacks of grey totes and, during the last seven seconds, it deploys a wall to block incoming litters...

Wow how did you know?

[Monochron]

In Auto we'll start by boiling tea and warming up crumpets using our always-on compressor. There is nothing that says 'gracious professionalism' like making brunch for your opponents.

[baumgartensam]

Our plan is to start our 3d printer right at the beginning of autonomous so that the robot finishes printing with enough time to stack all the yellow totes.

Yes, we are 3d printing all of the ICs as well

We use our flux capacitor in a non-traditional manner to speed up the chemical and physical reactions occurring in our robot and 3d printer allowing us to print a robot complete with electronics in under 5 seconds leaving us 10 seconds to stack the yellow totes. We decided it would be too ambitious and unrealistic to stack the gray ones as well

[aldaeron]

Robot uses 16 MiniCIM based quadcopter to float above auto zone and uses portal gun to stack all 3 yellow totes and get 3 cans into auto zone from step.

[baumgartensam]

In all seriousness, I've noticed a lot of teams are planning on doing a 3 tote autonomous and I will be interested to see at competitions how many can actually pull it off. Scouting, as always, will be extremely important.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by baumgartensam

Our plan is to start our 3d printer right at the beginning of autonomous so that the robot finishes printing with enough time to stack all the yellow totes.

Yes, we are 3d printing all of the ICs as well

We use our flux capacitor in a non-traditional manner to speed up the chemical and physical reactions occurring in our robot and 3d printer allowing us to print a robot complete with electronics in under 5 seconds leaving us 10 seconds to stack the yellow totes. We decided it would be too ambitious and unrealistic to stack the gray ones as well

I love the idea, but 3d printing an actuator that meets FRC standards (that is, a list) sounds pretty steep. To my ears, "How do you 3-d print a COTS part?" sounds a lot like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

[RyanCahoon]

Originally Posted by GeeTwo

To my ears, "How do you 3-d print a COTS part?" sounds a lot like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

The first thing you print is a big sign saying "all these parts are available for purchase in the lobby"?

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by EDesbiens

And then, the robot builds ten stacks of grey totes [at the tote chute] and, during the last seven seconds, it deploys a wall to block incoming litters...

Of course the robot is up to it ;->, but how do you get totes through the chute door in autonomous when the drive team must remain behind the starting line? Do you have an HP with telekinesis? No, even that would violate G21:

During AUTO, DRIVE TEAMS must not directly or indirectly interact with ROBOTS or OPERATOR CONSOLES.
VIOLATION: FOUL and YELLOW CARD

That leaves the landfill. Eight seconds should be enough time to move all of the totes out of the landfill and off the step, leaving two seconds to deploy the wall that you no longer need to cross except for the coop points. Those don't count in playoffs anyway.