Descripton of Astro
In normal operation Astro stays below a height of 27 inches so that it can pass under a “table” in order to more easily move up and down the field. Astro is controlled with a Roborio computer and a NavX gyroscope to track direction and encoders to track how far it travels. It can track where it is and what direction it is pointing until it has a collision. It can reset its tracking by returning to a home position.
Astro’s chassis is a six-wheel tank drive. It can move using a few pre-programmed routes which will be useful in the robot game, but most of the time it will be driven manually. The driver controls the robot with a joystick controller. A second operator controls the robot’s accessories also with a joystick controller. A laptop is used to monitor the robot’s internal parameters.
Astro picks up balls at the rear with a system of rollers and plastic cords that scoop up balls from the ground, or collects balls from the alliance’s wall feeder. Balls are fed from the back to the front of the robot to be shot at the goal. Astro can hold up to five balls at a time.
Astro shoots balls using a snail-shell shaped shooter. Balls are powered with rubber rollers which spin at 4000-5000 rpm. Aiming and ball speed is done automatically by the robot. A Limelight camera detects reflector strips which surround the goal, allowing the software to aim the robot, and estimate the distance to the goal. It is most accurate from a distance of about five to eight metres.
The climb at the end of the match is achieved with a three-segment arm that delivers a steel hook to grab a bar about 5 feet off the ground. The hook is connected to a ratcheted winch which then pulls the robot off the ground where it must hang for 5 seconds after power is disconnected.
Do students build the robots by themselves? No. We have skilled community mentors who introduce robotics engineering to students. Students work side by side with mentors to learn all aspects of work on the team: robotics, machining, software, business, communications, etc. The mentors serve as role models and walk students through projects, slowly allowing them to take on more and more responsibility as they show competence and understanding. This is old school mentoring! As well, this year our team had two specific training sessions of four weekends each (open to all Kingston teams) of Computer Aided Drawing and Robotics Instrumentation.
Astro’s chassis is a six-wheel tank drive. It can move using a few pre-programmed routes which will be useful in the robot game, but most of the time it will be driven manually. The driver controls the robot with a joystick controller. A second operator controls the robot’s accessories also with a joystick controller. A laptop is used to monitor the robot’s internal parameters.
Astro picks up balls at the rear with a system of rollers and plastic cords that scoop up balls from the ground, or collects balls from the alliance’s wall feeder. Balls are fed from the back to the front of the robot to be shot at the goal. Astro can hold up to five balls at a time.
Astro shoots balls using a snail-shell shaped shooter. Balls are powered with rubber rollers which spin at 4000-5000 rpm. Aiming and ball speed is done automatically by the robot. A Limelight camera detects reflector strips which surround the goal, allowing the software to aim the robot, and estimate the distance to the goal. It is most accurate from a distance of about five to eight metres.
The climb at the end of the match is achieved with a three-segment arm that delivers a steel hook to grab a bar about 5 feet off the ground. The hook is connected to a ratcheted winch which then pulls the robot off the ground where it must hang for 5 seconds after power is disconnected.
Do students build the robots by themselves? No. We have skilled community mentors who introduce robotics engineering to students. Students work side by side with mentors to learn all aspects of work on the team: robotics, machining, software, business, communications, etc. The mentors serve as role models and walk students through projects, slowly allowing them to take on more and more responsibility as they show competence and understanding. This is old school mentoring! As well, this year our team had two specific training sessions of four weekends each (open to all Kingston teams) of Computer Aided Drawing and Robotics Instrumentation.
