Meie robot
Building drivebases 12.04 – 14.04
New and old members met for the first time, and the new team members tore apart the beautiful robot that competed in Singapore. Only the base of the Singapore robot remained, and we used the remaining pieces to build new drivebases. Each drivebase we built was thoroughly documented so that we could later decide which one we wanted to use in the competition.
Collection systems 25.04 – 27.04
To build collection systems, we gathered inspiration from competitions and the best teams of different years. Since we don’t know what we have to collect in the robot game at the moment, we built different object collection systems: balls, boxes and discs of different sizes. There is also proper documentation of each collection system.
Collection systems vol 2 – 25.05 – 26.05
We continued with the construction of various collection systems, which were left unfinished last time. When they were ready, we tested their performance and whether our theories actually work in practice. We recorded the results of the testing in the documentation.
First time in Tamsalu 26.06 – 28.06
We had our first meeting in Tamsalu. We found out what we have to do in the robot game and had a meeting where we discussed our strategy and what to do next for the robot game. We started building the ball lifting system and did some tests. We did an online meeting with Palestine to get to know their team and get their thoughts on the robot game. The new team members were able to try peljanka for the first time.
Tamsalu 2 electric boogaloo 02.07 – 04.07
Now that the new field is known, we focused more on the lifting systems. We went through and tested several rope solutions and chose the best one. A new drivebase was also completed, which is similar to last year’s, but is cleaner and with a different wheel arrangement. In addition, the most difficult part of the mechanics began – lifting and storing several balls.
Tamsalu 09.07 – 11.07
We started by building a ball storage system and the goal was to hold 4 balls.
Once it was finished we attached it to the lifting system side. After finishing the final touches to the drivebase, we connected them together.
But before the robot actually gets its first meters, the control and expansion hub, camera, battery and all cables must be attached.
Tamsalu 22.07 – 24.07
We attached the battery, control hub and expansion hub to the robot. We ran the wires and the robot received its first meters. When we started lifting the balls, we discovered that the lifting motors were in a bad place and we moved them higher. Since the REV bearings and covers are weird, we had to process them. The expansion of the ball retention system did not work well, so we fixed that as well.
Tamsalu 31.07 – 02.08
After working on the bearings and strings, the lift started working better. We increased the gear ratios when lifting. We also built a tensioner for the string so that it would wind nicely on the stick. We moved the expansion hub, control hub and battery to another place.
Tartu 05.08 – 07.08
This time we met in the Delta building of the University of Tartu. Here we met both younger and more experienced roboticists who told us about their experiences. In addition, they reviewed our current robot and shared recommendations.
Tamsalu 15.08 – 16.08
We got a new kit where we got the right balls and a new control hub. We attached a ball holder to the frame of the lifting system and made rope lifting reliable. We fixed the servo wires so we could eject the balls and fixed the rest of the cables. We tested the new balls with the robot and it worked as it should.
Tamsalu 21.08 – 22.08
We met for one last time in Tamsalu before heading for Finland to meet with FGC Team Finland to see how they were doing and have a few test matches. But before we could do that we had to make sure our robot was ready for the test games. We switched out the spooling mechanism for a single spool connected to two motors via a chain. After these changes we didn’t encounter any more issues with our lifting mechanism.
Finland 24.08
In Finland we met FGC Team Finland. We showed them our robot and explained how it worked and what systems were on it. We discussed the competition and strategy for the robot game. We also stress tested our robot and did a few test games.
Tamsalu 7.09 – 8.09
Our last meeting before the competition was held in Tamsalu. Our robot was working well but it didn’t look good so we gave it a visual makeover by building a “shell” around it. We also did a little bit of cable management and added servos with extrusions to push food balls reliably. The meeting was also used to pack up and get ready for the competition.