Polytechnic Puzzle Pieces

Our robot had vertical and horizontal components, which worked together to collect the samples and score them. Our horizontal spin-take used rubber wheels to pick up the samples. Our vertical claw had two large pinchers that were powered by servos. Both were attached to linear slides. Our transfer was similar to a conveyor belt. There were lots of tiny wheels in it and they were powered by multiple servos to move the sample from the horizontal to the vertical component. The vertical claw could then swing out to the left to score samples. For wire management, we chose to use a coil cable.

We only had a program that allowed us to park in the Observation Zone.

We won 1 match. We lost 4 matches. We placed 14th overall.

Our robot design was very similar to its design in Meet 1. We still had the horizontal and vertical components working separately with the transfer in the middle. However, we used thicker wheels with gaps for our horizontal spin-take to speed up sample collection. We also upgraded our transfer mechanism. Now, it consisted of 3 axels with rubber spacers in between them, which allowed the transfer to spin freely. We decided to use a badge reel to manage our wires instead of a coil cable as well.

We still had a basic program that allowed our robot to park in the Observation Zone, but we also added the option of scoring 1 pre-loaded sample into the high basket.

We won 3 matches. We lost 2 matches. We placed 7th overall.

Our robot had major changes done to it between Meets 2 and 3. Our horizontal spin-take was replaced with a custom 3D-printed claw. It had 2 tiny pinchers and could rotate up to 360 degrees. Our vertical claw was also replaced with this design. Our transfer utilized both the horizontal and vertical components. Instead of using a separate mechanism to transfer the samples, we had the horizontal claw transfer the sample directly to the vertical claw. The vertical claw could then swing backwards to score the samples. We used a cable train for wire management. We also added a redundant power distribution system to prevent our robot from losing power during matches.

We had our basic program that allowed us to park in the Observation Zone. We also had a program that allowed us to score 1 pre-loaded sample and 3 additional samples into the high basket.

We won 3 matches. We lost 2 matches. We placed 7th overall.

Our robot still had the same horizontal and vertical components from Meet 3. We added a piece of plexiglass on the inside of the robot to prevent the samples from getting stuck in it. We also switched to using cable covers for our wire management. The cable covers were attached to the 2-bar linkages on the horizontal linear slides and the cable covers were attached to a scissor lift structure on the vertical linear slides.

We had 3 different autonomous programs at this point. Our first option was to park in the Observation Zone. Our second option was to score 4 samples in the high basket. Our third, and final, option was to hang 1 pre-loaded specimen on the rungs, and then hang 2 additional specimen as well.

We won 4 matches. We lost 1 match. We placed 10th overall. We made it into the finalist’s bracket, but we were knocked out. We won the Think Award, which allowed us to advance to State!

We will be attending the Michiana Premier Event in South Bend, Indiana this year! You can look at our Instagram (@polytechnicpuzzlepieces) for any updates.