Individual Competition

Preparations

For the Individual Competition, the robot needed to complete the entire course in under 2 minutes. This was comprised of starting on the start light, toggling the switches as needed, transporting the supplies to the receptacle bin, pressing and holding the correct fuel button for 5 seconds, and pressing the final button. A table outlining the points associated with each task can be found below.

Tasks and Points for Individual Competition (via www.carmen.osu.edu)

Tasks and Points for Individual Competition (via www.carmen.osu.edu)

In preparation for the individual competition, the switch toggling arms needed to be revisited. First, the shorter switch arm was moved to the side of the robot with the checkerboard in order to prevent the need for turning after releasing the supplies into the receptacle. By eliminating this turn, a turn in a section without RPS was removed, and time was saved. Additionally, the longer switch toggling arm was changed in that the paper on the end of it was replaced by an erector set piece with manually cut PVC strips on it. This was done to improve the strength and reach of the arm, allowing it to press both the red and white switches in one motion. Lastly, it was noted in testing that the robot consistently hit the red switch on the top of the course. To account for this issue, the code was changed to have the robot continue driving until it reached a specific RPS value.

The next major set of changes dealt largely with the use of the Robot Positioning System, or RPS. The first major issue appeared in testing on March 28th, where the robot started to drive the incorrect direction on the temporary access ramp. This occurred because the robot receives a value of -1 from the RPS here. To account for this, the drive until RPS functions were changed such that the robot will continue driving in its current direction if it is receiving this value. Next, it was discovered that the RPS values differ between each course and the day that it is tested on. In order to account for this inconsistency, code was added to the start function to log values that overwrite the default values. In order to ensure that the robot could be ready to run within one minute, the number of values logged was reduced to the three most crucial positions: the dumbbell pickup, fuel light, and main ramp. By logging these values, the robot was able to perform more consistently in tighter locations.

There were also other refinements made to fix other problems that arose during testing. First, a function was created that allowed the robot to read CdS values while driving. In doing this while driving up to the fuel light, the robot was able to determine if the light was red and act accordingly. If not, the robot just performed its usual light check. The inclusion of this code produced improved accuracy in reading the light and reduced time pressing the red fuel button. Also, a 30 second timeout was added in case the robot did not read the start light so that points could still be obtained. Lastly, it was noted that poorly insulated wires caused the Proteus microcontroller to short out and restart. To prevent this from being an issue during the competition, all poor wiring jobs were redone and reinsulated.

Results

Overall, the robot performed quite well in the individual competition; however, it did not fully meet expectations. The robot managed one perfect run, completed another run with a near perfect score, and needed to be killed in one of the runs. The point totals for these runs were 100, 92, and 90 in that order. A few major issues were discovered during this competition. First, the code that initialized RPS values for the robot at the top of the main ramp was not properly implemented. Additionally, the robot had issues with the top of the temporary access ramp. Also, the robot struggled to press the switches on one occasion, which needed to be sorted out in testing. A diagram of the course path taken is shown below.

IndividualCompetitionPaint

Individual Competition Path

As stated earlier, the robot performed well, placing first in Dr. Freuler’s 8:00 a.m. Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors course, earning the team 15 bonus grade points. Additionally, the team earned the 5th overall seed out of over 70 teams.