Powerplay (2022 - 23)

FTC Powerplay 2022-23

Robot: Bumblebee

Strafer wheels enable flexible and sharp movement
Integrated Actobotics parts in attachments
Chassis made of U-beams; square shape with open side for claw
Easily navigates ground junctions and poles
Two attachments: Linear Slide and Claw with servos and DC Motor

Awards & Achievements:

2022 - 2023 Wilsonville Qualifier Winning Alliance Captain
2022 - 2023 Wilsonville Qualifier 1st Inspire Award
Qualified for Oregon State '23 Championships (Remote)

Intake Claw

Our first claw design struggled to grip cones effectively due to minimal padding on its two flat plates. To address this issue, we designed a new gripping mechanism using CAD software, incorporating yellow arms with curves to securely hold the cones. We also enhanced the claw by adding grip tape and foam, which significantly increased the friction and improved its ability to handle the cones. This updated design allows the claw to easily and efficiently pick up and cap cones.

Additionally, we equipped the claw with a color sensor positioned underneath. This sensor measures the intensity of objects within a five-centimeter range, enabling the claw to detect and pick up cones accurately. By combining these improvements, our claw mechanism is now more reliable and effective in our robotic tasks.

Rev Color Sensor

Under the Claw, a color sensor has been placed mounted to detect any cones within a five centimeter distance. The color sensor uses a light that reflects the color of an object (supposedly the cone) and uses a receiver to use the data and measure the intensity. This tool is helpful for the attachment driver as they don't have to grasp onto the cone on first sight even without having to drive with precision. The base driver just has to drive into the cone & the cone is automatically grabbed.

If the sensor doesn’t detect, the cone can always be grasped manually using button A on the gamepad. The attachment driver doesn’t have to hold on A the entire time it grasps the cone; the sensor automatically senses and keeps hold until the loop that the sensor is in overridden with another command. The command to let go is button B. This efficiency allows precision with our driving as well as maintaining a well balanced time and pace to grab as many cones and receive the points.

Linear Viper Slide

Our three-stage linear slide is the key to lifting the cones at the correct stages of the poles. With the tall, medium, and small poles, we can change and support the following lengths to score the points we need. The linear slide is rigged with an orange string that is attached to a spring, which creates tension, allowing for the up & down motion needed to deposit the cones. Last year's slide always unstrung and snapped everytime we created too much tension between the slides.

We came to the predicament that the string we were using, a certain Kevlar string, was not the correct type of string to use for the slide as it was much stronger and thicker. The new orange string we implemented fixed this concurring problem and allowed for a much smoother drive.

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