Edina Robotics FIRST Team 1816-The Green Machine will resume work on its ambitious off-season practice robot, construction that was temporarily halted to work on the beta test of the new FRC control system, the cRIO. Completion of the practice “bot” is expected to consume much of the rest of the pre-season. The venture was begun early in the summer, with team members Andrew, Dan, Alistair, Sarah, Daphni, Emily, and Matt coming to the high school workshop three hours a day, three days a week to design and build the robot. This schedule continued until the start of the cRIO beta test in September.
This practice robot is designed to pick up trash and recyclables off the ground, a continuation of the Green Machine’s goal of promoting environmentally friendly activities. The team’s intent in pursuing the challenge of building another robot is to learn more about how to design, build, and program a more advanced robot than previously attempted. The chassis uses a mecanum drive set-up, meaning it can move horizontally in any direction, without the chassis changing orientation. The team has never used mecanum drive before, and its inclusion is a challenge to team programmers in getting the robot to move properly.
The robot’s manipulator will use motors to power its movement rather than easier-to-integrate pneumatics.
The robot’s manipulator will use motors to power its movement rather than easier-to-integrate pneumatics. The Green Machine has used pneumatics successfully in powering previous ramps and arms. Motors, however, provide much more control over the robot’s movements, but are again more challenging to program. In another step forward for the team, the robot was designed entirely using computer-aided drafting (CAD), giving CAD team members valuable experience.
In building the robot, many important parts, such as the compressor, were reclaimed from the team’s previous competition robots. However, the team did need to buy some new aluminum and the mecanum wheels.
The practice “bot” represents a technological step forward for the team and will be used as a tool in future demonstrations designed to promote FIRST. Its ongoing construction has helped and will help the team learn in many areas, notably in CADing, programming, and working with mecanum wheels. Now that building will be starting again, the team hopes to have it done by the January 3, 2009, FRC kickoff, to show to rookie and experienced teams alike!