TEAM M.I.218B.

Meet the bot: Frank

Frank likes to keep things simple. From strategy to mechanism design, and even code, Frank was designed for consistency over complexity. 

His lift mechanism is a 4 bar linkage with a single degree of freedom, and the "grabber" consists of a permanent magnet with a pusher, requiring minimal actions to pick up, transport, and deposit cubes. His electrical and code design prioritized excellent line following, including automatic calibration, to minimize points of failure and the amount of edge cases to deal with.

His strategy involved only scoring points for our side, rather than spending time removing opponent's points. This proved to be a valuable decision, as bots—Frank included—often encountered unexpected errors, shutting down midway through the match. At the start of the match, Frank would spin until the beacon in the center of the field was located, at which point the side of the field was known. Then, he would automatically calibrate the line followers for the current light conditions, before setting off to place cubes in the nearest stack. Afterwards, he would navigate to the farthest STACK, where he would repeat placing cubes. Although this strategy was simple, it proved quite effective, claiming 2nd place in the final tournament.