Robot Architecture

This occurs the Monday following kickoff

Agenda

Monday

Time Duration
9:00 am 30 min Review weekend insights
9:30 am 30 min Re-watch game animation/field tours
10:00 am 1.5 hr Run a “robot” doing cycles on field
11:30 am 30 min Robot cycle analysis
12:00 am 30 min Add to feature importance
12:30 am 30 min Rank feature importance list
1:00 pm 30 min Lunch
1:30 pm 2.5 hr Finish Rank feature importance list
4:00 pm 15 min Break (Mentors create Architecture Groups)
4:15 pm 1.75 hr General Robot Architecture Creation - Round 1
6:00 pm 30 min Dinner
6:30 pm 2 hr General Round 1 Robot Architecture Presentation
Consolidation/Feature Importance Checkoff
8:30 pm 30 min Clean up
9:00 pm - Meeting ends

Tuesday

Time Duration
2:30 pm 15 min Review Team Updates (Manual Updates)
Re-watch game animation
2:45 pm 15 min Review feature importance list
3:00 pm 50 min Re-present concept ideas
3:50 pm 1 hr Break into two groups
4:50 pm 40 min Present ideas
15 min per group
Last 5 min,cover feature importance list
5:30 pm 15 min Break
5:45 pm 15 min Find similarities and differences
Similarities are locked in
6:00 pm 30 min Comparative analysis spreadsheet of differences (features vs complexity)
Define ACTIONS of contention
Break down by mutually exclusive mechanisms
6:30 pm 15 min Design Decided, Split Architecture into Mechanisms
6:45 pm 15 min Break
Mentors Make Mechanism groups
7:00 pm 30 min Work on base structures/variable prototypes in groups
Software creates base robot/structures code
7:30 pm 15 min Clean up
7:45 pm - Meeting ends

Feature ranking

  • assume solo robot
  • no difficulty
  • all features in isolation (one does not affect another) (most of the time)
  • rank 5 = Minimum Viable Robot (regional 1)
  • rank 4 = Competitive Robot (regional 1)
  • rank 3 = Optimizations (target regional 1)
  • rank 2 = try to do it but not too hard (optional)
  • rank 1 = if its free do it (optional)
  • rank 0 = not doing - wont even test

Philosophy

  • Say, this scoring element is similar to a past game
  • Say this climb is similar to this past game
  • Come up with a robot that does all of these
  • Each mechanism has video behind it, ex 2020 bot with, a 2019 climber
  • When they present the robots structure, “we are doing a 2020 style robot, with and under the bumper intake, elevator climber, and shooter in center with turret”

What is an architecture?

  • General 2D view
  • Bounding boxes
  • Types of motion (ex pivots/degrees of freedom)
  • Example: This is where the intake will be, this is where shooter will be. Intake is arm intake is elevator etc...
  • Base structures - things like arms, elevator, drivetrain

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

Fundamentals List

  • What’s quickest
  • What’s most reliable
  • What are failure modes
  • Invalid geometry
  • Collisions
  • Out of frame
  • What is simple
  • 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

Variable prototypes designs

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