4/25/2017 Update:
This week was spent finalizing designs for our system. Some parts have been acquired including aluminum tubing, corner brackets, wheels, and a lazy susan bearing assembly. The gripper had been prototyped in Lego and is currently awaiting a 3D printed chassis. Preliminary computer vision has been tested and can identify blocks from a distance somewhat reliably given ideal lighting.
5/2/2017 Update:
This week we worked toward a complete inner frame. The wheel assembly and wheel motor mount have been prototyped. The poker has been prototyped using Legos. The frame prototype is mostly complete. The spinning donut has been laser cut and is ready to be attached to the lazy susan.
5/9/2017 Update:
This week we worked toward a moving frame. Wheel assemblies are complete. A wiring diagram for the complete assembly has been made. Several sets of holes have been added to the frame for the wheel assemblies.
5/16/2017
This week we completed the mechanical frame and associated assemblies. Coding for the microcontrollers and Raspberry Pi are in progress. We are currently able to make motors move but this motion needs to be associated to specific actions to strategically play the game.
5/23/2017
This week we have finished basic control and fine tuning of x, y and z motors. We also completed the gripper with functioning motors but they will still require adjustments. Each portion of the complete build has been successfully tested. Our goal for the coming days is to have everything fully integrated and tested for full user control.
5/31/2017
This week we made significant progress in the code and streamline of our turn taking. The robot can now move to the tower, extract a block, and proceed back to our designated player space from the tele-op commands. We would still like to make the process fully automated, but with the competition fast-approaching and the difficulty of automation significantly increased by things as simple as getting the robot to try to pick looser blocks (which is very hard for computer vision to visualize without a physical poker or sensor) we are concentrating our efforts in other areas.