t-13

chassis metal delivered to jimmy. chad 2.0 in the works.

cad stuff... also in the works? programming has written some theoretical cam code with an encoder and will test after divya does some camera stuff.
the camera is actually hooked up and though we may not use it during autonomous, it will be super useful just for general driving.

paiataaotgor still working on wood prototypes for elevation. their bimba stuff hasn't yet turned up. illinois-ING!

we have less than two weeks to go. commence concerned burst of productivity now.

---------
karlin here - wow, I don't think I've ever written on this thing...

cam update: worked on figuring out where to place the cam and estimate cam shape/dimensions. Cam dimensions are approximately 1.5 inch smaller radius with the "oblong portion" of the cam extending to about 4 inches from the center.

On Monday, used ghetto method to estimate the force necessary to push the kicking mechanism back. We estimate we'll need to generate ~8.5 Nm of torque maximum if we assumed the cam had the dimensions above. For details about how we got this number, ask Nandini and Anne ...and don't put the notebook w/the calcs in the recycling bin ;) Technically that means we could possibly avoid using a CIM motor to actuate the cam because it's not that much torque...

Anne drew up a CAM outline to give to Jimmy and will ask him to cut a piece of wood to test with- plan to attach a prototype cam on the shaft from last year's front brush mechanism to hook up the cam to a motor and rig up a semi-functional 80/20 prototype.

Other things to think about: where on the chassis does this thing go? how do you want to kicker to contact the ball (e.g. on an upswing? on the downswing? parallel to the floor?) Can we incorporate something that will help keep the ball in place/draw the ball towards the kicker to kick more accurately?

Also - Tobi had a different idea for kicker actuation that utilized a conveyor belt to pull back the kicker and release it. They had a prototype in the works, it'll be cool to see if they can get it to work.

----------