Then we went to visit the robot skeletons from past years (2007, 2008 and 2009). We talked about the different motors and looked at the way in which each of the components was controlled or actuated. We wanted to do this to make sure that people started thinking about the stages in between prototyping and the final robot design. Hopefully we can start to think more specifically about the implementation of our designs.
When we returned to the lab and split up into 5 different groups (2 for gripper designs, 1 minibot group, animation and some programming). I believe Mimi is all set up and ready to go so programming is going to start working on and thinking about the drive code for our new drivetrain. We ordered 4" omni wheels and the proper sprockets today, and we are hoping to get started on the chassis sometime next week. One of the gripper groups talked about using surgical tubing instead of rollers. A few advantages may be that the tubing could be in contact with the tubes the entire time, and we could likely add them in addition to the rollers. However, we still need to explore this idea a little more. The Minibot group discussed some new TOP SECRET ideas, which we will explore. I can't say anything except that our Minibot will follow all of the rules and will be named Mulan. (The reasoning for this name is the famous scene in the movie when she climbs the pole http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqIsB98a1E.) We have also decided that the main robot, or hostbot, is a girl, but we can't name her until we see the final robot (or at least the CAD version of it). Also, a group of perspective parents and students dropped by the robotics lab, so we talked to them briefly about what FIRST is and the competition for this year.
We are meeting again tomorrow the usual 5:30-8 and this weekend we will be meeting on Saturday (10-4).
1 comment:
Don't forget to have some ideas as to whether you would like us to drive and control the robot with joysticks, a steering wheel, a mini-arm, etc. :)
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