The individual competition was on March 31 located in Hitchcock 208. The robot had to perform every essential task. The team had some troubles during the first and second run, but after code adjustments, all goals were met.
Preparing
After the early success of Performance Test 4, the team wanted to go back and work on the arm design, since that was put off to focus on the antenna. It was decided to return to the original idea of a Claw. (See Developing the Arm). Time and design constraints led the team to conclude that laser-cut or 3D printed designs were not viable options. Instead, the team kept it simple; three erector pieces screwed together, as shown in the following exploded assembly.
After that was designed and built, it was tested. It was difficult to get to the core correctly with consistency, so the team decided that the goal for the individual competition would be to turn the satellite 90 degrees, press the button for five seconds, toggle the lever, and touch the core, which would amount to 83 points, both primary and secondary.
The Competition
The day of the competition was very nerve-inducing for the team. The night before had ended on a good note, with the robot obtaining all 83 of its projected points. However, out of the gate the robot missed many objectives and only obtained 50 points. After leaving the course, the team did a few code changes, which were unsuccessful, leading to a 40 point total on round two. With the last round looming, more code changes were enacted, and the team received a full 83 on the last round.
Moving Forward
Seeded at 49/81 teams, G6 wanted to focus on obtaining and controlling the core sample, as that was the most attainable option of the points that were missed.