Phoenix (703) 2006 Inferno II

From FIRSTwiki

"Inferno II" was Team 703s robot for the 2006 FRC game Aim High.

A picture of Team 703s 2006 robot "Inferno II" in the pits at a regional event.

Pre-build Season

In the Pre-Build season the team went over some of the things that needed to be improved upon from the previous years robot Inferno. It was decided that the primary issue with the tread drive was a lack of speed and track slippage and breaking. During this time the team sought to solve these issues.

Build Season

The first few days were spent deciding on a design, though the chassis would remain about the same as the 2005 robot (with the exception of 2 additional large CIM motors) there was much debate over what the primary function of the robot should be. Most of the team agreed that collecting balls off the floor and being able to dump them back out was important. Some members wanted to have a launcher of sorts but the majority ruled that it would not be a primary goal and so other than the few that pursued it, the launcher was put low on the priority list.

One of the team members designed a type of collection system using Rollers to scoop balls off the floor, this design was quickly adopted to the robot due to the apparent high effectiveness of the system that was later proven on a full scale mock-up of the system.

During the design of the ball holding hopper, it was proposed that a system using a large belt at an angle on the back of the hopper could be used to draw balls up a tube and/or agitate balls in the hopper. This design led to more serious consideration of the feasibility of a launcher as balls would be able to move into an idea location on the robot to be launched from and was therefor looked into more. The belt concept was adopted in hopes of adding a launcher later on.

A few members designed a roller that would be mounted on the top of the hopper belt. This roller would allow balls drawn up by the belt to be propelled at about a 45degree angle by pinching the balls between the roller and the belt. The design worked, though not as efficiently as had been hoped. It was then considered that the system worked very well at shooting large numbers of balls into the center goal from directly in front of it on the ramp.

After the machining was completed came the tedious job of assembly, with limited time remaining, the team hurried to complete the robot in time to allow the programmers to test it. It was finished a day before the ship date giving the programmers and drive team just enough time to download and test the robot and get in a few autonomous functions too.

Accomplishments

Buckeye Regional

general description of how it went

• Seeding: ?
• Elimination Round: Semi-Finals
• Official Event Awards: None
• Awards From other Teams: "Drove it like you stole it award for best driver" from team 1675 Ultimate Protection Squad; "Technology Award" from team 494 Goodrich Martians; "The Best Bot award" from team 272 Cyber-Crusaders; "Best 3 Point Shooter" from team 174 Arctic Warriors.

Detroit Regional

general description of how it went

• Seeding: ?
• Elimination Round: Finals
• Official Event Awards: "Xerox Creativity Award", "Regional Finalist"
• Awards From other Teams: "Incredibly Inventive Idea" from team 33 The Killer Bees; "Most Innovative Design Award" from team 217 The ThunderChickens; "Most Unique Uniform Award" from team 47 Chief Delphi; "Dragon Award" from team 302 The Dragons; "Best Autonomous Award" from team 1188 Oaktown Crewz; "Alliance Partner Award" from team 1188 Oaktown Crewz.

Greater Toronto Regional

general description of how it went

• Seeding: ?
• Elimination Round: Quarter-Finals
• Official Event Awards: "Imagery Award"
• Awards From other Teams: "Autonomous Award" from team 4 Elements; "Best Corralling Robot Award" from team 229 Division By Zero; "Best Autonomous Mode Award" from team 378 The Circuit Stompers.

Indiana Robotics Invitational (IRI)

(Off Season Event) general description of how it went

• Seeding: ?
• Elimination Round: ?
• Official Event Awards: ?
• Awards From other Teams: ?

Kettering Kickoff

(Off Season Event) general description of how it went

• Seeding: 3rd seed
• Elimination Round: Winners
• Official Event Awards: "Top Dog" Award, Top Score Award
• Awards From other Teams: None

The Robot

"Inferno II"

General description of the robot

Team 703s 2006 robot "Inferno II" shooting balls into the center goal.

Robot Functions and Specs

• Drive Motors: 6 CIM motors; 2 large, 4 small
• Drive Type: Tank Tread Drive
• Ground Speed: approx. 6 fps
• Sensors: 2 Optical Encoders, one on each side, to track robot movement.
• Vision System: None
• Scoring Options: 3 Point, 1 Point, Ramp Bonus
• Autonomous Modes: Center goal & shoot 3 points; 2sec delay, then Center goal & shoot 3 points; Center goal & wait till RC mode; Close-side goal & 1 points; Far-side goal & 1 points; Defensive blocking.

Robot Strategy

• In autonomous mode, the primary strategy was to drive quickly up the ramp and fire into the center goal at point blank range. If an opposing team shows a pattern of blocking the robot, a 2 second delay would be added to the autonomous program to allow the other team to pass in front and miss.
• During the RC period the robot would go around collecting balls and almost always playing as Back-Bot, then about 5 seconds before the scoring round switch, would get into position and fire up to 10 balls in the center goal.
• If the opposing teams ramp area became to congested the robot could also score in the side goals by reversing the collection mechanism.
• If the opportunity arose, in the last few seconds of the match, the robot would return to its home ramp for the additional bonus points.