Robots
2011 Robot
The drive train is a six wheel skid –steer containing 4 CIM motors that power two SuperShifter transmissions. We designed the drive train frame to provide us simplicity as well as maximum strength. Our manipulator is a consists of a hand that we use to pick up the tubes off the ground and a lift that we use to raise the arm that has the ability to reach the top level… and beyond! We use PVC prongs on the hand to grasp the tubes. The first stage of the lift is powered by a threaded rod that spins at a high speed, the second stage that holds the arm and hand is lifted by a simple pulley system. In short, it’s tall, it’s strong, it’s simple...
2010 LiteStrike
The 2010 Robot is known as LiteStrike. LiteStrike has two types of kickers which consistently kick a range of 22ft. The “Big Kicker” has variable power settings and is powered through surgical tubing, chains, and pneumatics. Meanwhile the “Little Kicker” is powered by a combination of pneumatic cylinders and surgical tubing. There are also “Side Mounted Rollers” which allow the robot to manipulate the ball away from the wall through a system of pulleys, while “Bumper Style Rollers” which allow for manipulation of the balls with the robot and provide another method to push balls away at both a high and low speed. There is also a “Pivoting Trolley” that utilizes sets of Mecanum wheels and omni wheels—allowing for a unique maneuvering of the field including a strafing ability. This “Strafe Drive (Modified Holonomic)” has different wheel power options such as all-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, full front power, and half back power. Furthermore, the manipulators are automated to avoid penalties along with having a variable kick power. The camera is utilized to track soccer balls and track targets which is enabled through servo positions (which allow for a 360 degree review). The autonomous uses ball and target detection for all sections of the field. Furthermore, we utilize gyros which measure 180 to 180 to determine current heading.
2009 MoonLite
MoonLite, ILITE Robotics’ robot was designed to for the Lunacy Game during the 2009 FRC season. MoonLite was mainly designed to be an extremely maneuverable robot on the field. The robot utilized a drive train which allowed MoonLite to travel in virtually any direction (forward, backward, strafe, etc). In addition, a camera was implemented on the robot to rack all other robots on the field. Using this tracking system, the information retrieved would be relayed to the driver through ILITE’s custom Driver Station Interface.
2008 Paws of Steel
Battlefield’s FRC 2008 robot, Paws of Steel, was designed to drive laps around a center rack in the middle of the field. A 10 pound, 40 inch diameter ball was manipulated around the field and over the top of the 6 and a half foot tall rack. Balls were knocked down during autonomous and Paws of Steel was able to navigate three quarters of the way around the track on its own. That year, robots were able to operate through infrared signals, along with an infrared sensor which was added to the list of sensors. A more robust drive train was built to deal with the faster pace of the game. Pneumatics research was implemented for the first time into a season robot to allow the claw to quickly grab the ball as well as switch gears on the drive train to allow for variable speeds. Paws of Steel was selected by Team 384, Sparky, to be a member of the 4th seeded alliance at the NASA/VCU Regional.
2007 Batcat
BatCat, Battlefield’s 2007 robot, was designed to participate in the game, “Rack ‘n Roll.” The task assigned to this robot was to pick what tubes that were essentially found in the inner pool of the field and place them on a rack suspended by loose chains in the middle of the field. Points were scored for rings placed in consecutive rows. Special tubes called “keepers” could be placed on the rack and made permanent during the autonomous period. The teams could also score bonus points by elevating robots off of the field via ramps or other such mechanisms. Since it was ILITE’s second year, more emphasis was placed on advanced design and superior programming. More sensors, like those designed to measure rotation, part position, and distance traveled, were implemented to assist drivers and make autonomous code more reliable. Many of the points scored could be attributed to BatCat’s pair of well-designed ramps. It even participated in the year’s high scoring match.
2006 Frankencat
Battlefield’s FIRST Robotics robot, Frankencat was fairly basic in design since it was our rookie year. The game was designed for a robot to shoot balls into goals of about 8-feet high. The robot was also capable of pushing balls through lower goals in the corner of the court. In order to shoot the ball, Frankencat used a lift to move balls into position between two wheels spinning at high-speed so that it could be launch. Utilizing a camera, Frankencat was capable of shooting and moving in the 10-second autonomous period by locking onto green lights above the high goals. The rest of the game was teleoperated, where the players manually controlled the robot. Players along the sides of the field could throw the balls to the robot to assist in scoring.
