Archetype Creation

We create full robot architectures to find what overall robot design is best, in the sense of packaing, simiplicty, and abilities. A good mechanism does not equal a good robot, many well meshed mechansims do.

  • Think about how to make the best robot, the simplist way to meet as many of our feature importance list criteria as possible

What is an archetype?

  • General 2D view
  • Often a whole archetype of past robot from different game, you can show pictures/videos in your presentations
  • Showcases bounding boxes
  • Shows types of motion (ex pivots/degrees of freedom)
  • Example: Think, this is where the intake will be, this is where shooter will be. This is how the elements go from the intake to the shooter. Here is space reserved for the climber.
  • Shows where base structures are/which ones - things like arms, elevator, drivetrain

Philosophy

  • Think if this scoring element is similar to a past game
  • Think if this climb is similar to this past game
  • Think if you can accomplish multiple tasks with one mechanism

Fundamentals List

  • What is simple
  • What’s quickest (intook to scored time)
  • What’s most reliable
  • What are failure modes
  • Invalid geometry
  • Collisions
  • Out of frame
  • What are failure points
  • Motors
  • Chains
  • Pneumatics
  • Sensors
  • Durability
  • Size/packing/weight/volume (extension limit/bumper rule)
  • Does it meet feature importance list criteria
  • Susceptibility to defense

Research Recommendations

How to research robot designs (suggested order)

  1. Find similar old games (FRC, FTC, VEX)
  2. Find successful robots from that game (TBA, champs)
  3. Match footage
  4. Watch robot reveals
  5. Behind the bumpers
  6. Look at Ri3D

When in groups

  • Get groups intial ideas
  • This process is discussion heavy, with tons of "napkin sketches"
  • Draw these on whiteboards/show videos of past robots
  • Think about why these would work for this game
  • Pull up feature importance list and try to see if those ideas satisfy all high ranked features
  • Keep making the archetype better
  • Put all findings in slides, use slides as a presentation tool, to pitch your archetype

General Robot architecture rankings

  • Present them, give descriptor name, 2-3 people present
  • Go in depth about each mechanism

Whole group discussion

To decide on designs, look at feature importance list, and see which easily accomplish the highest features are - add complexity (Quantified via fundamentals list), failure modes

  1. Which architectures are super similar? Which to combine?
  2. Ask about mechanism mergers/ideas, “ie this is a better version of what I found”
  3. Does it meet all requirements? (offseason only)
  4. How many 5 features, how many 4 features, how many 3 Features, 2 Features, 1 Features does it satisfy
  5. Add them up (Test)
  6. Add complexity rating to architecture, (test)
    • Define complexity, Ex # of pivots/motion
  7. Compare features vs complexity ratings
  8. Reduce down to two architectures,
  9. Make new groups
  10. Tailor this architecture to this game even more
    • Think additional functionality, pass throughs, etc to save cycle time
    • complexity reductions, combine mechanisms
    • Steal ideas combine mechanisms
  11. Present again
  12. Total up the complexity and feature totals
  13. Narrow down

Variable prototypes designs

  • Compression values, rough geometry
  • On slots, 8020, hole patterns etc.
  • Mounts to frame, for electronics
  • Made out of HDPE