Should We Program Autonomous For the Y?

[WizenedEE]

I can either spend a few hours with the robot on a Sunday and possibly get it working or just go with the straight line.

What do you guys think? Will enough teams be doing autonomous to make the Y reasonable, or should we not bother?

[Dustin Shadbolt]

It's really up to you. I mean I know we are not worrying about it just because we know that we are just going to be happy with a working auton.

[MagiChau]

I would say don't go for the Y as of now. Get a reliable straight autonomous first so you have a means to consistently get points before you get more complicated. It should be fairly possible to have an entire alliance score just by going forward.

[davidalln]

I can foresee it being useful for Championships, but for Regionals it is too unlikely that all three of your alliance members will have autonomous that unless you're positive that you can get it consistently and quickly, it might not be worth the effort. Even in Eliminations, with the focus on defensive bots as the 3rd pick, I can't imagine all three will have scoring autonomous.

[Craig]

In the finals at FLR 217 and 2056 hung side by side in a straight line no problem, could have had a 3rd team use a 3rd peg at the far end of the rack no problem (1518 was until they got penalised during auton)

From my POV there is no need to use the Y since theres enough space to have straight line code use adjacent pegs

[Matt Krass]

Wow. Pessimists

In all seriousness, I can definitely agree with the sentiment of not wanting to add more on your plate, but if your robot is working (programming wise) then I see no reason not to try if you can.

I would ensure that you keep a copy of the working code set aside for matches, until you get some time on the practice field to verify your code.

If you have other things that need to be done, then obviously you should put those ahead of the Y, since it really probably isn't a big deal as mentioned above.

Good luck,
Matt

[2611.Shooter]

Don't forget, Y code will stand out in scouting. of course, if you have working Y code, you are probably not too worried about getting picked...

[WizenedEE]

Originally Posted by 2611.Shooter

Don't forget, Y code will stand out in scouting. of course, if you have working Y code, you are probably not too worried about getting picked...

Hmm, that's a good point. Even if it doesn't matter to the alliance, saying "We can hang anywhere in autonomous!" sounds much more impressive than "Well, we can only score on the outer pegs..."

I guess I'll at least try, especially since I already have something that will theoretically work, the main problem being sensing the Y, and the lack of a great testing area.

[MagiChau]

Originally Posted by WizenedEE

Hmm, that's a good point. Even if it doesn't matter to the alliance, saying "We can hang anywhere in autonomous!" sounds much more impressive than "Well, we can only score on the outer pegs..."

I guess I'll at least try, especially since I already have something that will theoretically work, the main problem being sensing the Y, and the lack of a great testing area.

Maybe some code that turns the robot when the outer light sensors detect the line but middle doesn't. I don't know what spacing you used.

[ATH1RSTYM00SE]

with experience from a week 1 regional, i can say for sure that you should DEFINITELY do a y autonomous. i believe that there was only 1 team in trenton that had it and everybody was impressed. Even though they weren't seeded high, they were picked for an alliance because it would give the alliance the ability to hang all 3 uber tubes. i say go for it for sure because teams will be way more interested in you. plus autonomous fail stories are fun.
Hope this inspired you

[Robby Unruh]

In my honest opinion, Y is a little overhyped on the programming side. I didn't think it was very hard to program at all, the hard part was setting the tape at the right angle, which we never really did get done. But it should work, and my team and I will find out during the practice matches/on mock fields.

[DtD]

At the KC Regional, very few (if any) robots did the Y. I'd go for it if you could. Our team's experimental Y support should be 100% by the time we go to Midwest. (We just need special conditions for the joints =/ )

~David

[davidthefat]

My philosophy regarding autonomy: do not do it if you are not doing real time calculations. I personally do not consider those "drive forward 10 feet and score" autonomy real autonomy. They are pre-written instructions; where is the autonomy in that? Consider getting a job and a written step by step instructions on how to do that job. Would you consider that an autonomous action? No I would not.

So the autonomy should be a challenge for the programmers to breathe some life into the robot, allowing it to make choices on its own.

The ideal autonomy should use cameras, I plan on using a camera, the photosensors and possibly the encoders.

[PatJameson]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

So the autonomy should be a challenge for the programmers to breathe some life into the robot, allowing it to make choices on its own.

The ideal autonomy should use cameras, I plan on using a camera, the photosensors and possibly the encoders.

I prefer to follow KISS. If it can be done simply and consistently, it should be done as such. A camera is not simple nor is it as reliable as other means of completing autonomous.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

The ideal autonomy...

The ideal autonomy is one which reliably scores the most points for your alliance. Whether it uses time-based motor control, encoders for position sensing, clockwork cogs, ultrasonic rangefinders, cameras, or telekinesis is not really important.