GEneral Robot Description
The codes for these robot parts will be available on the "src" folder of "rushSkills" in my Github repository.
<Top View>
<Pneumatic Pistons>
1. Intake system
To shoot the discs, we first had to collect them. The following image is the intake system we built. It used one motor to power the three "flex wheels" and the conveyor belt chained together to spin them simultaneously. The system would bring the discs up to the container tray.
2. Roller system
The easiest way to score 10 points was to roll a roller against the wall to match the rolling cylinder's top color with the alliance team color. We used one motor to spin three flex wheels to score the roller and an optical sensor (located right below the flex wheels in the image) to identify the color of the bottom of the cylinder. The motor would stop when the optical sensor reads the opposite team's color since the team alliance color would be on the top.
3. Expansion system
Each tile covered by the robot during the last 10 seconds of the match was worth 3 points, and there were no size regulations at the time. We had strings stored in the 4 boxes, each of which are made of 2 C-channels, and loaded to shoot them across the field to cover the tiles. Pneumatic pistons, powered by the release of pressured air from the pneumatic tank, were used to release the elastics connected to the strings inside the box.
4. Flywheel system
To shoot the discs, we span with one motor the two black flex wheels at 3400 rpm at the minimum so that the 3 loaded discs could travel as projectiles simultaneously reaching the goal. During the driver mode, to be aware of when the flex wheels are spinning at the desired range of speed, we buzzed the controller when the motor's velocity was at 430 rpm. We also had a pusher mechanism powered by one motor to push the discs up to where they would be in contact with the flywheel system to be launched.
5. Four motor mecanum wheel drivetrain
Mecanum wheels are special wheels designed so that they allow the robot to move horizontally. Coding them was more challenging than coding regular omni wheels. For accurate turning and determining the heading of the robot, an inertial sensor was installed on the center of the robot so that it could be used in conjunction with the drivetrain. Both sides of the drivetrain has a tracking wheel linked to an encoder in between the two wheels. Another is located at the back of the robot. Encoders ensure that the program knows how much distance the robot travelled, which allows for knowing the robot's position and an accurate movement and stopping.