2024 - Charged Up
The Game:
Two alliances of three teams have to shoot foam rings called notes into their alliance's speaker and amp. The speaker is very tall, and harder to shoot notes into, while the amp is much lower, and easier to shoot notes into. In the final 20 seconds of the match, robots need to climb on a structure called the stage.
Game Animation:
Reveal Video:
Chassis and Drivetrain:
This year, we decided to stick with West Coast drive because of shortages relating to swerve drive. It uses six Colson wheels. The West Coast Gearbox has three stages, a final gear ratio of 9.4:1, a free speed of 5880 RPM, and a running speed of 13.9 ft/s. Our frame measures 24" x 30", which is smaller than the standard size. It also features a convenient pocket that facilitates the easy positioning and acquisition of game pieces.
Gripper:
We used a tapered flywheel grabber as our end-effector. It has a sensor on it to detect how far away the game piece is so the game piece remains in the grabber while driving. It also fits into the frame perimeter for secure game piece storing at the beginning and during matches.
New and Interesting:
Aster's frame received black powder coating thanks to our new sponsor, PVA!