[FONT=“Arial Black”][/FONT]im getting a new vexplorer and im planning on going all out to win science olympiad any ideas out there
plz help:cool:
Can you link to what the competition is?
why???
Well I’m betting that most people don’t know what the Science Olympiad is, I don’t if you want anyone to give you ideas they need to know what they are giving you ideas for.
It isn’t very easy to find a description of the competition on the internet, as teams are supposed to buy the coaches manual before they get any useful info on the competitions, but I’ll explain what the competition should be like as well as I can. They dropped the competition from high school this year, and I’m not sure of all of the numbers and dimensions, so bear with me.
Essentially, the robot starts in a square area on one side of the field (field is either 2x4 ft or 4x4 ft depending on which rules they are using this year) and the goal objects are on the other side. with either set of rules, the robot must be able to fit inside a 30x30x30cm box. Goal objects consist of:
rule set 1:4 tennis balls ate each corner of the far half of the 2’x4’ field, three D cell batteries at each corner of a triangle taped off in the center of the far half of the field, and a stack of five note cards in the center of that triangle, and four balloons, (two red and two blue) inside the goal box two of these must be popped, and two must be removed from the box.
rule set 2:1 tennis ball in the center of the far quadrant of the 4’x4’ field, four tennis balls centered on the sides of the square formed by the far quadrant of the field. 4 D cell batteries at each corner of said quadrant, and 4 (2x4) lego bricks halfway between each corner of the square and the center.
In the first set of rules, the goal is the 30x30x30 box that is placed over the robot for size restrictions. this is placed in the center of the field, and the balloons are place inside it in any configuration by the player.
In both sets of rules, the players have three minutes to compete.
I managed to find the official document for the second set of rules. Here it is.
Here’s my advice for either set of rules.
Don’t go for an arm bot. they may be able to get the job done, but unless they’re powered by magic and have theoretical future-motors from space, they won’t beat the really fast robots out there. If they are using the first set of rules, then try to build a robot that can manipulate the goal box instead of the objects. Otherwise build a sort of object collector that can pick everything up and dump it in the goal without having to stop driving (kind of like a street cleaner).
For an example of the latter, take a look at this robot.
ya pretty much wat he said its pretty easy as that but i need some cool ideas
go to soinc.org for science olympiad
sooo any ideas out there
I would say this is the best advice. I would look at the pictures on this forum or videos on Youtube to get some ideas. A robot using a scoop, or one using either the tank treads or intake rollers to pull objects in might be best. You will probably have to buy a few extra parts, but they are all available on the VEX website along with the VEXplorer.
Believe me, I know how hard it is to come up with ideas! You just have to start experimenting or try coping something that you’ve seem and go from there. If you get stuck and need some help - just ask.
:)ya thanks but i was thinking i would do a crane like robot that i would use the arm to put the objects into the bucket behind it then i would dump it in the can all at once that would be the fastest thanks for ur help tho