Robot Design & Strategy Seminar Peoria FLL Group Abhijit Patkar 09-Sep-2017 Welcome to the HYDRO DYNAMICS Season - Robot Game Agenda Overview Robot Design Judging Mission Strategy Robot Building Robot Programming Table Competitions Wrap-up Discussion Overview Why FIRST? FIRST Programs 501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization Founded 1989, by inventor Dean Kamen International HQ in Manchester, NH 85,000 volunteers 3,000+ sponsoring companies 60+ teams in Peoria area Two qualifiers/competitions Bradley University, Dec 9th Lindbergh Middle, Dec 16th Two scrimmages Dunlap High, Nov 4th Daarul Uloom, Nov 18th FLL 2017-2018 Challenge 2007 POWER PUZZLE 2016 ANIMAL ALLIES 2006 NANO QUEST 2015 TRASH TREK 2005 OCEAN ODYSSEY 2014 FLL WORLD CLASS 2004 NO LIMITS 2013 NATURE'S FURY 2003 MISSION MARS 2012 SENIOR SOLUTIONS 2002 CITY SIGHTS 2011 FOOD FACTOR 2001 ARCTIC IMPACT 2010 BODY FORWARD 2000 VOLCANIC PANIC 2009 SMART MOVE 1999 FIRST CONTACT 2008 CLIMATE CONNECTIONS 1998 PILOT YEAR FLL Competition Three judged events & up to four table rounds Core Values Robot Design Project Table score is only used to determine advancement to State Tournament Tournament Day Regional Qualifiers All-day Saturday 8am to 5pm Three main activities for teams Pit area and practice tables Judging Events Table Competitions Award Ceremony State Championship – typically last Saturday in January What to Bring to the Tournament Team Information Sheet Three copies, one for each judge panel Team Roster - Consent and Release form Get it from FIRST registration system Robot, extra robot batteries and charger (if rechargeable) Robot attachments & starting jigs Laptop computer for program changes Food, drinks, and snacks Extension cord and power strip Setup kit & loose pieces We're all in this together! The robot does not do what it is Stop all new work on the robot 1 supposed to do (ideally 2) weeks before competition It worked yesterday; today it is all Rehearse presentations messed up Put together documentation for robot Preparing for judging sessions design judging Time management Include teamwork activities throughout BOTTOM LINE: You’re not alone! the season Every team faces these challenges! Follow the rubrics Practice giving presentations to parents Robot Design Judging Robot Design Judging Judging sessions are very important The robot is judged according to a rubric PREPARE and PRACTICE Evaluations are subjective and are done by a panel of volunteer judges Provide documentation for judges This table run is not scored, take your time, explain what the robot is doing Rubric – more than just the robot Mechanical Design Durability Mechanical Efficiency Mechanization Programming Programming Quality Programming Efficiency Automation/Navigation Strategy & Innovation Design Process Mission Strategy Innovation Mission Strategy Team Mission Your team must: Create a strategy to maximize points in 2.5 minutes Build a robot that interacts with mission pieces Program the robot to accomplish missions Explore the challenge theme in depth Share the fun of team based technical problem solving Get exposure to technical and professional career paths Engineering process Define problem Brainstorm solutions and select one Keep it simple Plan and create a flowchart Take measurements Test, Validate, Test Preparation Important to stop and think about WHAT your robot needs to do BEFORE you go and build it Understand and analyze the game Decide what missions to go for Sketch and brainstorm Print a copy! Read the document! Make sure to check the Game Updates once a week! Understand the Missions Wording is chosen very carefully in the document If it doesn’t say you can’t do it, then you can Look outside the box or the circle Print a copy! Read the document! Make sure to check the Game Updates once a week! Strategize How should we order things? Points – they are complicated Ease of accomplishing mission “Fun” What missions can we combined? Location (zones, just passing by) Same attachment Creating/removing obstacles for later missions Retrieving scoring objects for later missions Online scoring tool – End Game flltournament.com (Challenges tab) Strategize 2 Run 1 Run 3 Run 2 Field Setup Guide Placing your practice mat according to the field setup guide is CRITICAL STEP 3 - The Mat is smaller than the playing surface by design. Slide and align it so that there is no gap between the south edge of the Mat and the south Border Wall, then center the Mat east-west, with equal gaps at left and right. Follow the setup guide – pay attention at the scrimmages Robot Building Design the Runs Time on the field is valuable Robot can’t score when it’s in base Align the robot quickly Make attachments easy to put on/take off Strategy: Try to start with as many attachments ON, and take off as you go – it’s usually easier to take off than put on Use markings on the mat Use starting “Jigs” Practice, practice, practice Construction Smaller robot is more maneuverable Consider where to mount sensors Keep your robot sturdy and modular Three points of contact Big wheels vs. small wheels What are the pros/cons? Will a robot with big wheels move faster? Will a robot with big wheels move more accurately? Organize your parts into sorters Team needs to reach a consensus on design decisions Chassis What are your constraints? Start with what you know Space Try using an existing design Rules Adapt and go from there What do you want to Build a variety and take them accomplish? for a test drive Sensors How fast was it? Motors How accurate was it? How to attach tools? Is it repeatable? Robot is the means to deliver the tool Consider designing attachments first Attachments How does it work? Passive Mechanical Motorized What is it like? Example: quick Examples from the real world connect attachment Make attachments as few as possible and easy to attach/detach Think of simple ways to accomplish missions Don’t have to use a motor Don’t have to approach from the “front” Axles slide into holes in bars. Axles can also be fixed to the robot Attachments Example: trigger mechanism Rubber band positioned To snap hooking beam To a vertical position Pivot End of beam hits vertical part of platform causing beam to tilt up capturing the loop. Attachments Example: trigger mechanism The robot stops rotating when this piece hits the mission model BEFORE You Build Think about BASIC ACTIONS PUSH, PULL, LIFT, CARRY, etc. Categorize missions that you want to do into one or multiple of your BASIC ACTIONS Sketch sample attachment designs for each BASIC ACTION Positioning Accuracy The robot is only a means to deliver a tool If the robot does not go to the right location, it cannot deliver the tool The robot will never move really accurately. Plan for +/-0.5” The robot has to be AUTONOMOUS A fly swatter can be off x & y axis by 50% and still It has to use sensors or some means of positioning itself on the field hit the fly! Trying to rely only on Moves and Turns will not be reliable Most teams only rely on moves and turns How far off can the robot be and still accomplish the task? FLL Examples? Docking & alignment jigs, Guides, Rakes, Funnels, Boxes, Shovels Sensors – Motor Rotation Use sensors to improve accuracy “View” a sensor reading on the NXT or EV3 Rotation sensors Inside the motors What does the sensor actually read? Wheel rotations/degrees is different than distance on the mat What if the wheels slip a little? Sensors – Light Sensors Lines on the field do not “change” Help your robot “find itself” when “lost” in the field What does the Light Sensor actually read? What happens when you put the light sensor flat on the mat? EXPERIMENT Can it tell the difference between black & white? What happens when the lights in the room get brighter? TAKE DATA How can we get around this? Light calibration routine More advanced software Light sensor shield Removes “variables” Robot Programming Tips Divide program into small steps- use comment boxes Program one step at a time Action should be consistently repeatable (3x in a row) Use my blocks (saves memory) Pick a simple mission first that is close to base. Software – EV3 or NXT EV3 software recommended over NXT software EV3 Software Windows Laptop or OS X Full Functionality iPad or Chromebook Limited Functionality Table Competitions Table Competitions The contest is held in a main gym or large area There are 3 to 4 rounds of robot table runs Best single score determines winner Teams need to be queued up at least a match ahead Teams return to the pits after the match Pit Area and Practice Tables The Pit is where we come to find your team for all activities. Each team has a half table (~4 ft x 2 ft space) Practice rounds and final tune-up of robots is common Typically you may get 3-4 practice rounds Sign-up for practices Pay attention to the schedule Judging events take precedence over table runs Wrap-up Resources Challenge, Updates, Resources https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/fll/hydro-dynamics-challenge-updates-and- resources Peoria FLL Yahoo Group https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PeoriaFLL/info Online scoring tool http://flltournament.com/ChalList.aspx Mindstorms EV3 – Learn To Program https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/learn-to-program Recommended Reading Coaching & Mentoring https://sites.google.com/view/fllil-coach-mentor/home Strategy & Design Additional slides in this presentation – Courtesy of FLL Credits Matt Birkel, Peoria FLL Group, 2015 Kevin Reed, Washington FIRST Group, 2011 FIRST Website, 2017 https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/fll IL FIRST Website, 2017 http://www.firstillinoisrobotics.org/fll.html This presentation was created according to the Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ Discussion Strategy, Design, & Navigation – Slides by FLL Strategy Know the rules Start with the Challenge Documents Paper and Video - study both Everyone on the team should know the rules! How the game works Goal: Design, build and program a robot and attachments to score as many points as possible in 2-½ minutes.