Thetimehascome.

Sumobotseasonhasfinallyarrived.Ourassignmentistobuildarobotthatwill
beplacedinafightingringandwillhavetooutlastourclassmatesinahardcore
wrestlingmatch,usingonlytheitemswearegiveninalegoNXTMindstormkit.

Design:
PowerBot:MyfirstideaistobuildarobotsimilartotheHillClimberrobotthatfocuses
moreheavilyonpushingpowerinsteadofspeed.Ifeelthatitwillnotonlygivemyrobot
morepowertopushtheotherrobotsoutsideofthering,butwillalsogivemore
resistanceduetoitsweightandwheeltorquetopreventitselffrombeingpushed.The
robotwillbeequippedwithanultrasonicsensortofindtheotherrobotsandhuntthem
downandDESTROYthem.Whentheyseethebottheyarefightingthepowerintheir
wheelswillbepushedto100%untilitreachestheedgeofthering.Itwillhavealight
sensoronitsfrontsidepointingdowntodetectthewhitetapethatmarksoffthering.It
willstopthewheelseveniftheyaregoingat100%andreverttherobotspositiontobe
safefromtheedgeofthetable.
Setbacks:slowmovingandreactingtootherrobotsmovesmakingitdifficulttotrack
downtherobot.

Ilikethisrobotdesignbecauseofthejawbuildthatallowsittotraptherobotswhenit
goesontheoffensive.


IlikedthestructuralsupportoftheHillClimbersetupandthepushingpowerthatthe
torquebasedgearratiogivesthebot.Itmaymakemybotalittleslower,butthebotwill
bereliableandpowerful.

Ilikethisbasestructurefortherobot,beforeaddingthefightingextensions.Thebotwill
beclosertotheground,makingithardertodetect,itwillbeasmallertargetfor
attackingrobots,anditwillhaveasturdybuildandgoodpositioningforattackingother
robotsattheirwheels.

Crain:Thisideaistobuildarobotthattakestheotherrobotoutofcommissionentirely.
Thiswouldusecompoundgearratiotobuildsomethingsimilartoacraneorfishingpole
connectedtotherobotsbodythatcouldlifttheotherrobotsanddropthemoffthering.
Usinganultrasonicsensor,itwilldetecttheotherrobotintheringanddropdownand
snatchituptodropthemoutofthering.

Setbacks:difficulttobuild,poorforwardmobility,weightofrobotbeingfacedmustbe
considered

TheBlackKnight:Thisideaisbasedoffofthemedievalsportofjousting.Using
compoundgearratio,totrytogivetherobothighspeed,butalsoagoodamountof
pushingpower,Iwanttobuildmyrobotandgiveitabuiltinweaponmadefromblocks
puttogethertomakesomethingsimilartoalancethatstrongenoughtostaysturdyand
directtherobotsforwardpowerintoasingleareaontheopponentrobotandusethe
directedpowertopushtheotherbotmoreeffectively.Therobotwouldalsousethe
ultrasonicsensortolocatetheotherrobotandaccelerateslightlyaheadoftherobotto
timeupwherethelancewouldcomeincontactwiththebot.Thelightsensorwouldbe
builtintokeeptherobotfromflyingoffofthetable.
Setbacks:wouldneedastraightshotwiththelancetogetfullpower,increasedspeed
couldmakeitdifficultforthelightsensortodetectthemarkofftape,opponentrobots
mayhavetoomuchsizetobeaffectedbytheknightslance.

ThefirstbotIamgoingtoconstructandtestismypowerbot.Ibelievethatitwillbethe
easiestbottobuildandthemostreliableonceitistestedagainstothersumobots.

PostRound1:
OnaWLbasis,myrobotsfirstroundwasdisappointing,going02againstthe
otherrobots.Onadesignbasis,Iwasveryhappyhowmuchofafightitputupagainst
theotherbotsandthereliabilityofthebuildandprogramofthebot.Ibothlosses,at
somepointofthebattlemybothadtheupperhand,putitjustdidnthavethepushing

powertofinishthejob.ThefirstproblemItooknoteofwasmygearandwheelsetup
andtheplacementofthecrowngear(theleasttightfittingofthegearswearegiven).
Thecrowngearwasoriginallyattachedtothewheel,withtheotherstablegearsbehind
it,meaningthecrowngearbecamedetached,thebotwouldlosethemajorityofits
powerandmovement.Idecideditwouldbeamorestablepositionforitasthegearin
themiddleofthewheels,passingonpowerfromonewheeltoanotherinsteadof
receivingit.Thiswouldmeanifthecrowngearpoppedoutofplace,therobotwouldat
leaststillhave2wheeldrive.Onmysecondloss,thefinalblowwasashottotheback
ofmybot,havingnosensortofightback.Idecidedtoaddatouchsensor,thatifitwas
pressed,itwouldpushbackfullstrengthagainstthebotattackingitfrombehindand
spinningawayfromitifitreleased.ThefinaladjustmentImadewasswitchingthe
interiorlegoblockofmyfrontpushingbumpertoapiecethatangledtowardtheground,
givingmyrobotleverageundertherobotwhenattacking.TheonlyerrorIfoundinmy
programwasthatmybotwasturningtheoppositewayIwantedittowhenitsawthe
opponentbotwhichwasaneasyfix.Iamconfidentthatwiththeimprovementsthatmy
robotwillhavethetoolstowintheRound2.

PostRound2:
Thisround(happily)wentmuchbetterthanthefirstformyPowerbot.Ifinished
witha32record,losingoneofthemduetofaultyprogrammingandaresulted
suicide.Ibelievethatitwasmyultrasonicsensorbitofprogrammingthatcancelled
outthelightsensorprogramthatkeptmybotinthering.Afterfixingsomeofthe
programming,myrobotstayedintheringandwasstillusingtheultrasonic.Mysecond
lossinthesemifinalsdidinfacthappenbecauseofaconstructionerrorandtheother
robothadmorepushingpowerwhichultimatelybeatmine.Iusedacompoundgear
ratioof3:1:3becauseIthoughtthat4wheeldrivewouldgivememorebalancedand
unstoppablepushingpower,butJacksbotSvetlaniauseda5:12wheeldrivegearratio
andhadmuchmoremassthanmine,whicheventuallypushedmeout.Itdidtakehim3
roundstoeliminatemyrobot,however,thefirsttworesultinginstalemates.Weboth
hadwheels,gears,andsensorspopoutofourrobotsandbothendedupbeingstuck
clashedagainsteachother.

Conclusion:
Afterourcompetitions,myrobothaddefinitelyimprovedinstandingsandin
reliability.Iimprovedmyrobotsgearratioandtheattackextensionsinthefrontofthe
bot.Isawwhatmyrobotneededtoimproveonfromthefirstround,whichwasattack
power,becausemyprogramwasconsistent.Myprimaryproblemforbothroundswas
thatmyrobotdidnthavethepushingpowertogettherobotsandfinishthemoff.Even
ifitwaslineduptoattack,itwouldntbeabletogettheopponentoutoftheringbeforea
retaliationattackthatusuallyputmybotoutofcommission.IfIweretodoanother
challenge,Iwouldchangethegearratiotoa2wheeldrivewitha5:1ratio.Thisproject
taughtmehowtoadaptmybottoobstaclesthatpresentedthemselveswiththetoolsI
hadusingtheengineeringprocess.