s u i c i d e
S . P . O . C .
6 . 2 7 0 a u t o n o m o u s r o b o t d e s i g n
c o m p e t i t i o n ~ i a p 2 0 0 2
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s u i c i d e
S . P . O . C .
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S.P.O.C.'s Goals...From the start of our strategizing, we knew that we wanted S.P.O.C. to get as many points as possible in the first couple of seconds, and then go into a defense strategy. We decided to use two distance sensors to determine whether the obstacle was in the boxes nearer or farther from the starting box. When the position of the obstacle was determined, the robot would take the respective paths around the obstacle. In total, S.P.O.C. would get 5 balls into our own tube, worth 15 points, and then go into a defensive tactic. From practice runs, we were able to complete our entire offensive strategy within the first 13 seconds of the contest. As a defensive strategy, S.P.O.C. would then then drive over to block the middle and part of the opponent's entrance to the trough. In order to make S.P.O.C. fast and effective, we used a 25:1 gear ratio for the wheels. We used differential drive with two back wheels and a servo-controlled front steering wheel, so that we could make fast and accurate 90-degree turns. For driving straight, a combination of wall-following and shaft encoding was implemented.
A bit of robot drama...S.P.O.C. worked pretty reliably during practices but there were still small problems with the 90-degree turns. All in all, it oriented and scored the first point very reliably and advanced to the 6th round of the competition. Here's a summary of each round we competed in. ROUND 1We disqualified from this round in EVERY possible way...haha! S.P.O.C. false started twice, didn't fit in the starting box, and couldn't even move enough to score one point. Thankfully, after working out some kinks, we qualified later on in lab.ROUND 2This was a crazy round. S.P.O.C. worked perfectly, pushing all 5 balls in. However, 4 of our balls ended up getting stuck on top of the scoring tube and wouldn't fall in! This was rather upsetting because S.P.O.C. only pushed in 2 balls at a time, and we had been guaranteed that if you sent balls in 2 at a time, they shouldn't get stuck. So we ended up scoring one point, while the opponent had scored 3 points. The audience went nuts, boo-ing and shouting...which was pretty amusing.But they declared that we had lost since the balls didn't go into the tube. Afterwards, people were saying that it wasn't fair that we had lost. Some dude had caught the whole round on video and went up to complain for us (thanks dude!) =). So after the organizers discussed it, they decided that it would be a double-win, and we were able to move onto Round 3!
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