Most years software lags early, having after all no robot to program on and being a smaller sub team. This year we have a large and enthusiastic crew working on programming and sensors. And we kept two drive worthy frames intact for them to use as test beds.
On the build side a somewhat different pace. Every year we've gone further in the direction of CAD design before starting to slap stuff together. That's good. Great really, but does give one a lapse of several weeks where the builders have to have productive things to do. Various logistics challenges had field element production set back a bit. And pending final decisions on drive train specs we could only prep those components that we knew would be called for.
Still, for new members learning how to do quality electrical connections and where to actually find everything has some merit.
A few pictures from Saturday. The long sessions on that day of the week fortunately have a tendency to get us back on track.
Until we have an approximate drive train to work with software has been working on various sensors. This one tells the RPMs of a motor. Others detect the revolutions of shafts, locate the source of reflected light or even - a sort of garage door sensor - can detect a beam break when a ball comes into the collecting system. This is more than we were able to do all of last season.
Most of the robot only exists virtually at the end of week one. There's some very interesting stuff being drawn up.
A couple of first time builders are making a practice drive base using the "H-drive" system we had going last season. Always fun the first time you build a "big" robot.
It's too soon for teaser photos but I can share that the long silver device in this photo is a gigantic pneumatic cylinder. The tank in front looks big...but what they have planned might need three of these!
And so it goes. It took them six days to finally settle on build priorities, and they are taking on two major and one minor engineering challenge that will be new ones. Fitting it all in the required space and getting the software able to semi automate all these bells and whistles is not going to be easy.
It's not supposed to be.
If they can pull this design off it will be a marvel.
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