Marvin II

Game Description

Lunacy is played with two alliances of three teams each competing on a 27' x 54' field covered in a low-friction "regolith" surface. Robots are required to use special, hard plastic wheels to further reduce their traction on the playing field. Each alliance attempts to earn points by scoring "moonrocks" in the trailers towed by each of their opponents.

Technical Details

• Innovative Martian Adaptive Drive (MAD). Four of the hard plastic wheels are independently driven and mounted to individual spring-loaded suspensions to ensure constant contact with the field. Using pneumatics the wheels can be switched between two configurations: The straight ahead or in-line configuration allows for the best acceleration and pushing effectiveness. The 45 degree or holonomic configuration allows for pivoting about the center the robot and left-right translation.
• An intake roller and a vertical belt allow Marvin to collect moonrocks off of the floor and store them in a hopper.
• The bottom of the hopper actuates allowing moonrocks to be dumped into an opponent's trailer.
• A PID control loop monitors wheel slippage and provides automatic traction control.
• Acceleration monitoring prevents Marvin's driver from spinning-out at a dead stop.
• Data from an ultrasonic range finder is fed into a Heads Up Display (HUD) allowing the drivers to know when to dump the moonrocks without having to take their eyes off of Marvin.
• Thirty-two different autonomous modes are available.