Timeline

Week of 1/4/08

Initial brainstorming
Scoop and container concept designed

Week of 1/11/08

Wall following code with bumpers completed
Collaborated on egg container
Prototype scoop built, motor not strong enough to lift scoop

Week of 1/18/08

Container completed
Finishing egg sorting code
Lifting mechanism designed
Lifting mechanism built
Moved light sensor so it points downward

Results

Overall I consider team RoboScrambler successful. Both Seamus and I put many hours into the project, starting immediately after vacation in December. Our late work-nights were a common sight in Room 302. We are almost on a first name basis with the nearby Wendy's. The project we undertook was more then our 60+ combined hours of work could handle, however. Having access to more advanced equipment and hardware would have drastically improved the sturdiness and effectiveness of our final product, yet these are factors that should have been accounted for ahead of time. Access to more powerful servos for our scoop and metal fabrication equipment would have without doubt made our robot significantly more successful. Given the supplies we had access to I would have made a few modifications if I had foresaw the final product we had created. I would have used a number of switches on the scoop and other extensions on the robot to prevent accidental destruction of said extensions because the bumpers were not being set off. I would also have more precisely constructed the scoop to allow it to lie level on the playing field and against the wall. This again reflects a lack of proper materials, however.

Lessons Learned

• Predict limits of available materials
• Construct physical devices before coding

Timeline

Week of 1/4/08

Planning/brainstorming

Week of 1/11/08

Find goal using light sensors code
Prototype navigation code
Collaborated on egg container

Week of 1/18/08

Finished container
Modified prototype scoop to improve movement of balls
Recoded movement to account for increased size of footprint
Designed and built hinging mechanism for scoop

Results

Now that egg hunt is completed, and the countless hours of hard work are put behind us, there are many things to look back upon. One, our go big or go home attitude did not go well with the actually materials used to try to achieve scoring points in the egg hunt. The concept was still a very good one however the instability of our structures could not withstand the roadblocks they encountered during the trial. The fact that we looked at the project from the coding point of view rather than a physical point might have been a mistake when it was our physical structures that failed us in the end. It was very rewarding to watch our robot attempt the egg hunt on time because even though it did not work exactly as planned many things did go right, and it was good to laugh at how pathetic some things looked.

Project Overview

Team RoboScrambler faced a number of difficulties over the course of its preparation. These were largely the result of insufficient or inadequate materials being available that would have improved the construction of our robot. Coordination was also successful, although there was much overlap between the tasks as each teammate sought advice and suggestions from the other. This was necessary because of the complexity and interweaving that existed between functions in the code as well as in the physical design. Procrastination was not an issue, as work began in earnest as soon as classes restarted after vacation, as could be seen by anybody in 302 in the afternoons and evenings during those few weeks. Identifying the exact bounds of each task would have improved efficiency somewhat as far as management goes, as it sometimes resulted in the team's convergence on single tasks. This improved the quality, however, and decreased the time necessary for final integration. The workload was very evenly divided, and there was never a point when only one member was present working on the project. The time contributed by each member was almost exactly equal.