Our team is well underway with designing, building, and programming our robot for the FTC game "Power Play." We will post more information about the robot in February 2023.
We will post details about our final 2022-2023 competition robot after competition season is over. Please continue below to learn about last year's competition robot.
Competition Robot 2021 - 2022
The 2021-2022 competition robot was used for the FIRST Tech Challenge game "Freight Frenzy."
Our Design Details for 2021-2022:
The robot uses goBILDA mechanum wheels. These wheels have slanted rollers all the way around (as seen in the picture above). This allows the robot to move in any direction it wants -even without reorienting itself. The robot can rotate, move forward/back, or move side-to-side (without the chassis rotating). Along with higher RPM motors, this works wonderfully at helping the robot get into any position quickly. On the side there are carbon fiber panels with blue/yellow stripes. These help protect the wheels from the rigors of the game. The blue/yellow stripes match the colors of the Ukrainian flag for a small way to show our support.
To place a cup (what is called a team element) upside down on top of a pole (called a "shipping hub" to use game terminology), we used a 3D printed device that rotates and pitches a tape measure. With a magnet attached at the tip of the tape measure, the device can extend the tape measure out to pick up the cup (with a metal washer taped at the top). Then the device will move the tape measure with the cup to the pole. When the tape measure is retracted quickly, the cup is left behind on top of the pole.
For the Freight Frenzy game, the robot must be able to pick up balls and blocks and place them on the "shipping hub." There are three levels (trays). If the balls or blocks (called freight) are placed on the top level, then the team receives the most points. Our original design used a pincer (the picture on the left above). This device worked well enough to get the team to qualify for the Chesapeake Regional Robotics Championship. However, to become quicker for the championship, our team made a redesign. The center and right pictures above are of the final design we used. Chain and sprockets were used with a DC motor to spin a couple of "squishy" wheels (green). This very quickly sucked in balls and blocks. A spring was used to help hold on to the balls and blocks (seen in picture to the right above). The wheels would reverse to release the ball or block. The game rules only allowed the robot to hold one ball or one block at a time so care was taken to make sure it wouldn't hold more than one.
Skystone 2019-2020
A picture of the robot used for the FTC game "Skystone."