Early Analysis and Prototyping
Like mentioned above, we started our afternoon with prototyping based on the skills list and rudimentary cycle analyses. For this, we first needed to expand the skills list.
Subsystem skills list
As a team, we love prototyping everything. However, we only have limited resources so we have to spend them wisely. Therefore we assigned one or multiple requested prototype fidelity levels to each skill. We defined 5 possible levels:
- Concept study presentation
- 2D layout sketch
- KrayonCAD
- Simulation
- Physical prototype
After assigning prototype levels to all skills, we defined several different subsystems, each comprised of a subset of robot skills:
- Drivetrain
- Intake
- Outtake Speaker
- Outtake Amp/Trap
- Climber
By splitting all skills into separate subsystems and assigning robot skills to them, we make sure that all of these subsystems get tested on all relevant parts. We also made sure to prioritize different skills for each subsystem.
| Rating | Definition |
|---|---|
| 1 | Very important to prototype and should have multiple ideas |
| 2 | Still important to prototype, but should be done after rating 1 skills |
| 3 | Not very important to prototype, but can still be tested if there is some time left |
Finally, we have 5 subsystem skill lists that each give a clear overview of what skills should be tested with the prototypes. This information is added to the existing skills list giving the following complete overview:
The complete sheet can be found here!
Extra field definitions
This game has a lot of different field elements and most of them our already defined very well in the game manual. However, for the convenience of making our strategies, we added/changed some definitions to the field to help with explaining robot cycles/paths better.
| Location | New definition |
|---|---|
| Center line notes | CONTESTED NOTE # |
| Spike marks in wing | FREE NOTE # |
| Subwoofer sides | SUBWOOFER # |
| Source | SOURCE SPOT # |
| Outside wings | NEUTRAL ZONE |
| Wing | WING # |
| Stage (right-left) | STAGE # |
Auto cycles
Our autonomous analysis starts with writing down all possible auto cycles. This is a list of 164 rows of unique cycles which all have a starting, collecting and scoring position. Theoretically, we would want to know all times for each cycle, but timing this for all 164 is not feasible for the time we have. Besides that, some cycles are very inefficient and have way better alternative cycles. Therefore, we added a column “Not worth it” which is marked when the cycle is not worth the effort of further analysis. After filtering out these cycles, we’re left with 37 viable auto cycles for which we want to collect cycle times.
We will measure and publish these times tomorrow.
Complete autonomous cycles sheet
Teleop cycles
For teleop cycles we are doing the same thing as auto. We listed all possible cycles and filtered them based on feasibility and relevance. We started with 105 rows and filtered it down to 65 unique cycles. An important note to add is that for teleop we split the cycles in half. Driving from wing to source can be a row and source back to speaker is another row. This was done to reduce the complexity and amount of each row/cycle.
Tomorrow we will measure cycle times for the relevant cycles and will share the results here.
Stage analysis
Additional to the auto & teleop analyses we also worked on a stage (endgame) analysis. This analysis specifically focusses on what options exist that allow the ensemble RP to be scored. This analysis made it clear to us that most likely the 2 most common options for scoring the RP will be:
- Two robots ONSTAGE with SPOTLIT on same chain
This combination relies heavily on the human player being able to throw the HIGH NOTE on the MICROPHONE and 2 robots on the same chain with SPOTLIT to get just enough points for the RP.
Upside of this option is that a TRAP mechanism is not needed and thus saves a lot of resources during build season. These not spent resources can be used to improve other subsystem performances
- Two robots ONSTAGE with 1 TRAP NOTE
This combination almost guarantees the ensemble RP because if one robot climbs and scores 1 (potentially more) note in the trap, only 1 extra robot is needed ONSTAGE to achieve the RP. This option scores a lot of STAGE points and makes the ENSEMBLE RP very doable.
However, this approach also has a significant downside. Building a TRAP mechanism can potentially be a very large resource drain, which in time leads to unreliable competition performs because of a lack of practice time with the robot.
In conclusion, making a decision on which approach you want to take as a team depends on your resources and initial prototypes of the TRAP. The most important takeaway for all teams is that being able to hang on the chain (ONSTAGE) is very important during qualifications and it’s very much needed for your alliance to achieve the ENSEMBLE RP.
Old games
Besides looking at this years game, we also looked back at old FRC games. The game that instantly comes to mind is 2013 Ultimate Ascent which has a lot of similar game elements:
- Discs instead of rings
- Full-court cycles
- Shooting in high goal
- Climbing
- Human player loading
The most important data that can be extracted from 2013 matches is cycle times and match strategies. We’re currently still working on collecting old game data, but for now we estimate to see 10-12 sec. full court at einstein level matchplay.
Prototype Progression
For the rest of the team, today was mostly focused on prototyping. The team split up into five groups, one for each subsystem. By this point, 3DM had already assigned the relevant skills to each prototype. This meant that every group had a clear set of goals to aim for.
Drivetrain
Drivetrain prototyping was mostly software focused as a lot of skills for this subsystem are alignment based. They have been focusing on two types of alignment:
- AprilTag alignment — using a Limelight with default firmware
- NOTE detection — using a Limelight with Photonvision to detect orange circles.
- Kitbot code — programming the code needed for the Kitbot.
Intake
The Intake group focused on having a versatile intake system, that would work with the touch it- own it principle. They worked out the different possibilities for the intake, such as: inside/outside of the bumpers and wheels/or a conveyor belt. Furthermore, they worked on configuring parameters and creating a prototype that could test all the parameters.
Speaker Outtake
The Speaker Outtake group focused on creating a versatile test setup that allows for quick tuning of individual parameters such as width, height, angle, compression and motor RPM.
Amp/Trap Outtake
We looked into possible scoring options for scoring in the AMP/TRAP. We combined those 2 game elements because they are very similar in shape. We started looking into designs that use a SPEAKER shooter for scoring NOTES in the AMP/TRAP, however, this turned out to be a difficult approach, so we changed to focusing on a AMP/TRAP only mechanism. The most promising concept is called the “Drainpipe” and basically lifts the note vertically to make a 180 degree turn into the AMP/TRAP.
Climber
First we split up the design of the climber in the attach mechanism and movement mechanism. For the attach mechanism we wanted no lateral movement on the chain. Therefore, we thought of wedging something in between the links. This resulted in the following design, shown in the figure below. It is a simple hook where we use a pin such that the hook does not slide on the chain. For the movement mechanism we decided some linear actuator which still has to be determined.
Building Swerve Kitbot & Field
Our hardware department wasn’t just busy with prototypes today. They have also built a SDS swerve variant of the Kitbot and the whole field. Having the Kitbot and field early in the season allows us to quickly start with testing out game mechanics and figuring out how the robot interacts with the field. Another advantage is that we can start with driver practice for this years game from week 1. We believe doing driver practice for the upcoming 7 weeks allows us to perform significantly better at regionals.
Special thanks to our parents and alumni! Without their help we wouldn’t have the field fully build in one day.
Written by:
@Bjorn - Lead Data Driven Decision Making
@Nigelientje - Lead Outreach