June 20 & 22 meetings: drivetrains & inspiration

At our June 20 & 22 meetings the last parts of functional drivetrain work were completed and some lengthy testing and driver training commenced.  Driver training thus far is comprised of "follow the leader" exercises with robots oriented in varied ways in relationship to each driver and some "obstacle avoidance" training has also begun to avoid sacks we cannot push and/or do not want to pick up.  While these types of activities seem somewhat insignificant, these are the initial steps in a steady regimen of driver and operator practice designed to have each of our drive teams know how to pilot their robots instinctively and as flawlessly as possible in the heat of competition.  Thus, this early and persistent focus on the interaction and relationship between robot and human is every bit as important as a hitter in baseball getting in tee and batting cage work or an artist practicing his/her craft until perfected.

Here is  a string of three videos that demonstrate some of our follow the leader activities:

With some extra time we had at these two meetings we discussed three accumulator designs we will start prototyping at our next meetings and the probability of using a 4-bar linkage to life sacks into scoring position. 

Lastly, for inspiration, we also viewed the documentary Atlantic Crossing: A Robot's Daring Mission
One of my former students is a part of this incredible team that is revolutionizing ocean exploration:
http://wh.rutgers.edu/collaborations/atlantic-crossing

Looking forward to see how things progress!
-Kressly