2009 is the 18th running of the FIRST Robotics Competition. The task this year is called Lunacy.
Just as in recent years, Lunacy is played on a rectangular field, with two alliances of three teams each, and matches lasting 2 min and 15 sec. Not as in recent years, however, robots will be forced to use special "rover wheels" (slick plastic wheels) on a surface that is mostly gel-coated pebbled Plexiglass. The coefficient of friction is so low that it mimics gravitational conditions on the Moon.
Check out the 2009 Game Animation here! (Courtesy of NASA)
The objective of the game is to throw 9" diameter toy "Orbit Balls" into trailers attached to opposing-alliance robots. Robots may shoot Orbit Balls into other robots, or human players (payload specialists) may throw them over a wall.
There are three types of game pieces: moon rocks, which are scored at 2 points apiece; empty cells, which are similar to moon rocks but may be swapped for super cells; and super cells, which are 15 points apiece but must be played during the last 20 seconds of the match.
TorBots played seven matches of Lunacy at the Los Angeles Regional, ending the competition in rank 33 with 3 wins and 4 losses. We didn't leave empty-handed, though: our Chief (Tor)Mentor, Mr. Ioki, won the Regional Woodie Flowers Award.
By Las Vegas, however, our robot became much more successful. Our shooter worked sporadically, so we relied on our human player to score an average of 30 points per match. The robot played heavy defense in most of its matches because of the change in strategy; it worked. We were picked to be part of the 4th seeded alliance, headed by Team 3006 and its partner, Team 330. We were able to beat several high-ranked alliances on the way to the finals, where we ended our season with the silver medal.
It's safe to say: this season is our best ever.
Team Hierarchy:
Pres. of Engineering: Brandon Ioki
Pres. of Finance/Administration: Brad Moylan
Pres. of Membership/Recruitment: Chris Koh
Pres. of Community Relations: Kirstin Kita
Our Robot
We named it Tormentor II. It picks up balls solely from the ground, where a bottom roller sends balls into our helix hopper. The central helix roller (we
call it the hairbrush) sends the balls up our helix to the feeder, sending them into the shooter and into the opponent's trailer (hopefully). The shooter can rotate 270 degrees (forward, left, and right) as a turret.
Specs:
- 4-wheel drive powered by 4 CIMs (two-speed Supershifters)
- two fisher price motors for the shooters
- RS-545 motor* for feeder
- Mabuchi motor* for helix roller
- Mabuchi motor* for bottom roller
- globe motor for turret
