2015 - Recycle Rush
The Game:
Robots this year had to create a stack of totes and place them on the scoring platform, capping them with recycling containers. In addition, litter (in the form of a pool noodle) can be placed inside the top opening of a container, with an addition of six points. Litter can also be thrown from the back of an alliance wall to the opposing alliance's field. Coopertition points can be scored by placing yellow totes (also used during autonomous) in the middle of the arena on the white-marked step.
Game Animation:
Our Robot:
Atlas is an external-stacking robot that led Team 20 to become finalists at the 2nd annual New York Tech Valley Regional and winners of the Carson Division at the 2015 World Championships in St. Louis, MO.
(Relevant images are above)
Elevator and Carriage Mechanism:
The Elevator System was made out of an aluminum c-channel frame to allow for the carriage to smoothly traverse up and down. The Carriage System itself contained two aluminum 'forks' that moved on a horizontal axis to allow Atlas to pick up and drop totes. The Carriage system moved using a worm gear powered by a MiniCIM motor. The Elevator System itself moved the carriage up and down using a belt system powered by four MiniCIM motors. To help counteract the weight of the carriage and totes, two lengths of surgical tubing were installed.
Chassis and Drivetrain:
Because of the shape of the scoring platforms this year, Team 20 decided to create a bent frame that would allow for all four mecanum wheels to be touching the ground while straddling and strafing along the platform. The drivetrain Team 20 used was made up of four mecanum wheels powered by four separate CIM motors that allowed Atlas to traverse at 11ft/s. The motors and gears used to move the wheels were put in a protective 3D-printed housing.
Tote Collection System:
Atlas' unique tray system is comprised of a pulley system underneath the tray that is made of rope attached to their corresponding motors/encoders. This included a tension control system that worked well for the rope added with a piece of HDPE added into the frame. The tray system allowed for Atlas to 'catch' totes from the human player station.
New and Interesting:
Recycle Rush was a very different game than the ones of years past. This was due to some of the many game rule changes FIRST made for this game. This year bumpers were optional due to the fact that there was no interaction with the opposing alliance. In fact this year featured a different scoring system which did not feature the traditional win/loss system where each team was ranked based on an average of their qualification match scores. The only time a team could win or lose was during finals matches where the traditional best two out of three system was still in practice.