2014 - Aerial Assist
The Game:
Robots this year had to pick up and score 2' diameter exercise balls in the high and low goals on their end of the field. Bonus points on each goal are scored by having multiple robots on a three-team alliance all possess the ball before entering one of the goals, as well as throwing the balls over the mid-field "truss", and catching the ball after it has been trussed. Unlike 2011-2013 games, the field had no safe zones, and as such, heavy defense made scoring in the large goals not as easy as it may appear to be.
Eclipse has several unique features that make her an exceptional robot in competition, and a great alliance partner. Her features and consistency allowed Team 20 to win both the inaugural New York Tech Valley Regional and the Finger Lakes Regional as the first overall selection. She also made it to the quarterfinals of the Archimedes Division at the World Championships in St. Louis.
Game Animation:
Chassis and Drivetrain:
Since Cathy's 2013 West Coast Drive was such a success, Eclipse was equipped with another iteration of the Rocketeer;'s 6-Wheel West Coast Drive. Experience in the off-season taught us valuable lessons about two-speed drivetrains, and the open-field nature of Aerial Assist led to Team 20's most powerful drivetrain yet. Eclipse was loaded with a two-speed, 4-CIM 2-MiniCIM drivetrain on Colson wheels. The power and reliability of Eclipse's drivetrain made her a powerful defensive robot when she's not busy scoring balls or assisting alliance partners. She can move at 6 ft/s to push others around, or 16 ft/s to traverse the field quickly.
Collection System:
As many teams this year did, Team 20 took inspiration from Team 16, the Baxter Bomb Squad, and their 2008 robot in designing a collection mechanism. Eclipse's collector is comprised of two pneumatically actuated arms with a rolling axle on the end of it. The green Banebots wheels used on Cathy from 2013 were once again used for collection in 2014. The collection system and the catapult rotate about the same dead axle for packaging and purposes.
Catapult System:
Eclipse utilizes a powerful catapult on massive torsion springs custom wound by Jones Spring Company. The catapult is winched back with two CIM motors in a student-designed gearbox that engages a pawl inspired by our 2010 robot. The catapult then has two release modes. One setting is for a high goal or truss score, where both the pawl and the motors disengage to fire the ball to score points, the other setting only releases the pawl, slow-firing the mechanism so it can score in the low goal easily.
To fire the ball where we want to to go, there are a few points where Eclipse can be adjusted in the pits to change the arc of her shot. The "fingers" of the catapult, as well as the cross-webbing between them create different angles of release for the ball. The other adjustable piece is our pre-tensioners. These are located on an axle below the one that contains the catapult and collector. These attach to our springs with hose clamps and create varying amounts of pre-tension on the torsion springs, creating a more or less powerful shot. They also restrain the springs, creating a "soft stop" for the catapult so it doesn't put too much stress on the strap pulling it back. The packaging between the collector and catapult is very tight and took multiple iterations to get correct.
(Relevant images shown on below)
Catchers:
The catapult is surrounded by three "catcher panels" that expand out on pneumatic pistons to catch a ball thrown over the truss by a partner and to assist in human-loading. They are made of fiberglass rods, fabric, and foam peanuts to help deaden the ball's impact. To catch, all three catchers close at once like a glove. The two side panels also help to center the ball as it leaves the catapult. Between the Finger Lakes Regional and the World Championship, the back panel was increased in size to improve our catching and inbounding abilities. This change was inspired by watching footage of Team 33, the Killer Bees; Team 1024, the Kil-O-Bytes; and Team 2056, OP Robotics all being able to inbound and catch easily.
Our Competitors:
Team 20 in the finals of the Finger Lakes Regionals
New and Interesting:
The game required more cooperation with alliance partners than ever before! Because of the open field, defense was huge, and because of the exponential scoring nature of the game, many different strategies can be employed to win, including heavily defensive ones. Matches in eliminations can range from huge scores to small ones based on how each alliance decides to play the game.