O T I S 2018
OTIS was designed to maximize the number of points our alliance could score by being an all-around-robot that could score in all aspects of the game. Powerup is not based on points, but time which means our team had to design a robot that can transport blocks quickly. This meant a light robot, fast drivebase, and a fast and accurate cube manipulator. The manipulator also had to be able to reach all possible scoring areas, especially the scale and switch to help the alliance have the highest chance of maintaining control over both field pieces. Our design can aquire a block from any place on the field and transport it to any other place on the field. We also focused on having a simple and accurate climber where a rope hooks onto the bar and the robot climbs with a winch. We have this climber because if a member of our alliance does not have a climber, we give them priority for using the levitation power up , but if the other two robots on our alliance have better climbers than ours, we can use the levitation power up. Because of our tank-drive drive base, we can also play defense as needed. All this is to ensure our alliance could maximize time control over the scale, and points scored.
Drive Base:
4 CIM motors w/ REV Spark controllers
6 belt-driven, high grip wheels
Tank drive wheel configuration (defense)
Toughbox Mini Gearbox 8.45:1 Ratio
Low-weight, speed-optimized base
Max speed of 16 feet/second
Manipulator:
BACKUP GRIPPER
2 servo clamp-style gripper
Direct-drive HS-805bb servos
Hold block in â…” orientations
Aluminium frame w/ hinges
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MAIN GRIPPER
4-Wheel, chain-driven intake
(2x) AM-775 motors + Talons
1:1 planetary gearbox
Spring-loaded arms
Aluminium frame w/ hinges
Climber:
Steel ratcheting rope winch (ensure robot does not fall)
Custom machined mounts
3333lb capacity strap rope
80:1 CIM Gearbox w/ motor
Fast hook & release on bar (Climbing only from winch, frame distributes weight)
Telescoping Lift:
Made from lightweight aluminum
4-frame sections; Max height 9.5ft.
Max LIFT HEIGHT: 7ft - can deposit power cubes on all field components
3D printed sliding blocks for smoothness moving up & down
(2x) CIM w/ (1x) Toughbox 12.75:1 gearbox - Talon Controllers
Goes from 0 to max height in < 2 seconds
Maximum lift capacity of 10lbs
Built-in gripper fold-up brackets for starting configuration
Belt driven for motor protection in the event of a jam
50lbs shocks for mast impact protection during match
Software:
Autonomous - OTIS has two autonomous programs. The first just tells the robot to cross the baseline, scoring initial autonomous points. The second allows the robot to drop a cube on the scale from one side of the field and then cross the baseline. Both codes also raise the telescoping unit a foot so the gripper folding mechanism triggers folding the gripper into match-play configuration from storage configuration.
Preprogrammed Telescoping Heights - Our team did not have the knowledge to work an encoder as we are a rookie team. We did not have the time to learn over competition season, so our programmers came up with an ingenious and highly accurate solution called a Time Integral. Using integration, the program determines the height of the telescoping unit at any given time after the start of the match. Then when the operator presses one of the 4 preset buttons, (0ft, 2ft, 4ft, MAX) the program turns the motor the right number of revolutions to take it to any of the preprogrammed heights from any height. This even works our drivers use the joystick to control the telescope manually and then decide to use the preprogrammed heights. It has been tested, and works every time.