Ashley Oyervide
Portfolio
Bucky Basketball
In this Unit, you will learn how to play Bucky Basketball with your CatapultBot! Bucky Basketball is a timed trial competition, you against the clock. You will control the CatapultBot using the Controller to score points by shooting as many Buckyballs into the hoop as you can within two minutes
DEFINE
During this stage of the engineering design process, my partner and I defined and researched how to score, established game rules, constructed a catapult to start off the tournament, and finally examined game strategy.
Scoring & Game Rules
â—‹ Set up a 4’ x 4’ Field with walls.
Challenge Activity
Buckyball Baskets
How many baskets can you score in 2 minutes?
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â—‹ A basketball hoop should be placed on one side of the Field with three Buckyballs of any color against the wall on the opposite side, as shown in the image to the right.
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â—‹ The robot will start in the center of the Field, as shown in the image to the right. The robot can face any direction.
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â—‹ A driver will use the Controller to drive their CatapultBot to score as many Buckyballs as they
can in two minutes.
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â—‹ Each Buckyball scored is worth two points.
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â—‹ If a Buckyball is launched out of the Field, a team member can manually place it back into the Field at one of the Field’s four corners.
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â—‹ The team with the highest score at the end of two minutes wins!
Building the ClawBot
Using all of the components from the VEX EXP kit, which we learned how to use along the way, my partner and I built the catapult bot. Also, this catapult bot provided a foundation for the last robot that my partner and I built for the robot soccer competition. With two Anti-Static Omni-Directional wheels and two Anti-Static wheels, the clawbot could move easily around the field.
-To complete this challenge, my partner and I built the Catapult Bot first and studied every aspect of it, such as the components' functions and their interactions, before choosing to build the Clawbot.
How Does the CatapultBot's Intake Work?
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â—‹ The intake on the CatapultBot is a floating intake.
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â—‹ Some of the main components of the floating intake include:
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Two 4” shafts, which secures the intake to the CatapultBot on each side
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Two EXP Smart Motors that controls each wheel individually
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Two small wheels that spins together to intake Buckyballs
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A rubber band that connects the two sides of the intake and provides tension
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â—‹ The wheels spin inward to pull a Buckyball into the intake, as the floating arms expand and return to their original position to hold the buckyball in place.
What is an Intake?
-An intake is a mechanism designed to precisely, effectively, and adaptably pick up, hold, and transport objects.
Even though we were able to locate a place where the ball may land and score each time, we soon realized that it was taking up too much of our time because you can never be positive that it will land in the hoop.
We discovered that the game piece frequently got stuck in the sidewalls of our intake, blocking the mechanism, after testing the CatapultBot several times on the practice field. In order to remove the Buckyball from the intake, I would have to raise and lower the catapult, spin around in the field, or travel backward to force the Buckyball forward and activate the outtake button.
Due to this problem we decided to build the claw bot
CLAW BOT
Develop Solutions
Rubber bands would break, the catapult would not rise all the way, and after utilizing the intake, the buckyball would become caught behind the catapult, among other problems that my partner and I encountered with the catapult bot. After experiencing all of this we decided ti build the claw bot
After learning that we're not interested in using the catapult bot. We had three periods to design the claw bot, so my teammate and I decided quickly. This was an important choice because we had to play our match and couldn't practice.
Game strategy
our strategy was to go for the buckyball closest to us and score from the 2 point side and keep on using the notes that we already scored
Optimize
ROBOT DESING
The robotic components of the BASKETBALL basebot were its motors, brain wheels, and claw. Each of these elements played a part in enabling the robot to function at its best. Since green was my team's color of choice, the brain had to be that shade. We equipped the robot with an omni tire up front and a travel size tire at the back. Furthermore, split drive. My partner and I felt most comfortable driving these combinations as they gave the best outcomes during the tournament.
Despite the fact that my team did not proceed to the final round, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the challenge. I was able to coach the robot that my partner and I created together and compete against other fantastic robots using the strategy we devised. Not only that, but I gained more coding experience, learned more about how various robot mechanisms work, how to design an effective manipulator, and improved my cooperation and communication abilities. I am proud that we scored 10 points in the real match.