Meeting Log 3/19
Tags: innovatePersonhours: 28
Task: Get more drive practice before the UIL Championship
This weekend, we focused on on-boarding new recruits as well as getting more drive practice to get us ready for the UIL competition next month.
New Recruits Learnt to Create Blog Posts
Bhanaviya taught us how to make blog posts on different topics, and also showed us the most efficient ways to bug the experienced members to get the information we needed.
Drive Practice (we really need it)
Gabriel got in practice going straight and using the extension function to minimize the amount of turning. Different angles of blocks were tested to see how the gripper would pick them up. An average of 3 pieces of freight per round was achieved.
Build Improvements
To help prevent the turret from drifting, we were looking at two options: implementing a tensioner to one of the belts to prevent skipping or adding an IMU to help the turret know where it is. We also added a potentiometer to be able to reliably be able to tell the shoulder position. There was a lot of shaft left, so Trey used a dremel to cut down the shaft so he could add the potentiometer.
Code Changes
There was an issue with an intake. The intake was running at a very high speed so it would spit the freight back out, for lack of a better phrase. A distance sensor was added to slow down the gripper when a shipping element is located nearby. Finally, he worked on fine tuning the crane so the transfer is seamless, and he is currently working on balancing the crane so it doesn’t bump into the shipping hub.
Next Steps
We have to test our robot without outriggers to see if the robot starts to tip over. (NB - We tested it out, it didn’t work. Let’s see what happens at the next meeting.) We also have to fine tune autonomous, so we can have a reliable auton which regularly works. We also have to work on driver optimization using present positions, so it’s easier on our drivers to control. Automating the intake cycle is also on our todo list.