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Design :: The mechanical design of Kate

 

Code :: The brain of Kate

 

Strategy :: The way Kate thinks

 

Photo :: See Kate with your own eyes.

 

Strategy

We adopted two strategies. The first one was made before we realized that the sensors hated us.

 

Our main strategy is to capture the big balls on the board and lift them five inches into the goal; meanwhile we will knock the small balls out of the way to confuse the other team should they have a robot with the small ball positions hard programmed in. We will find the big ball on the corner closest to our starting location through the distance sensor, as that ball has the highest probability of still being in the starting location. In the event that the first big ball is not there, the robot will spin and pick up the location of the big ball with the light sensor. If a ball cannot be found, the robot will only search for a few seconds before moving on to the next one. If the last ball(s) cannot be found, the robot will go straight to spinning the flag. Gathering the big balls and scoring them will take approximately 61 seconds pending unforeseen circumstances. If all the big balls are lifted, the robot will start to spin the flag. As a safety, we will have hooked extensions at the front of the robot so that it will collect the small balls as it moves and score these small balls into the goal as it lifts the big ball at the goal. However, our primary concern is scoring all the big balls before the other team.

 

Adaptation to Mistakes: We have included and programmed a gyroscope to sense and adjust the course of the robot when it veers off course. It will also use the positions of the lines as a reference. At fixed time intervals it will recalibrate its sensors. In the event that the robot is lost, it will go forward until it hits a wall, turn and drive quickly beside the wall until it hits a corner. Because each corner is unique, this serves as a failsafe for the robot. The forklift will be able to sense if the ball is still being held. If it is not, the robot will locate the ball and lift it again.

 

Second strategy: Kate will quickly score one or two points and drive backwards to block the opponent's goal.