Remote controlled: We initially wanted to make an attacking-defending robot. The design was that resembling a ramp for a shield, and an arm for a sword, powered by a motor. These were mounted as part of a standard car. This arm transitioned to four on an axle, resembling that of a Buddhist swastika. During the tournament this was mounted on the side, then changing to a large arm on the front. Both spun in an attempt to flip the other robots. Both variations worked to varying degrees. The remote controls using Bluetooth were a large part of people’s horrendous matches, as the steering was relatively off with minimal control if a robot had more than just movement controls.
The automated robot was a massively scrapped version of the “Disabled German”, in that we initially wanted to look towards the winning sections of the competition. So, we looked at the “Swiss Cheese”, Harry’s robot. It seemed to deliver on the fantasy of being a large skirt disabling robots from moving and charging it. This was our initial take before we realised we needed to mess with the wheels further. So, instead, we looked to the true winner, and google images. It appeared that a flat design was the best idea, whilst turning the brick upside-down, utilising the slight tilt the brick brings to the joints it allows for off the side.
The “Mock 1” as dubbed by Steve, allowed us to elaborate on our own design whilst simultaneously keeping to a ‘winning’ design. Our sensor at the front allows us to detect robots ahead. We had issues with detecting the ‘ring’ we fought on. It worked after some time of adjusting the range. We modified where we put the light sensor, to detect the edge of the ring. We put it to the front, allowing us to detect if it was going to go over the edge after going forward, turning, backing off, repeat.
We did relatively well in the standings, strategically outsmarting many an opponent, only falling short to the one of which it attempted to remake. We sub-named it Lucifer due to the weight being 666 grams.
Andrew & Joe
