Team Strategy
After the team got together from the three groups and decided on a final design for the robot , we then split into four different groups to begin prototyping the design . The first group worked on ball pickup , designing a vertical double conveyor belt-like system to take in fuel balls from the floor . The prototype was made of two sections of PVC rollers set 28.5 inches apart and connected by 11 elastic cords . The second group was tasked with testing a climbing mechanism that would
The ball pickup mechanism allow our robot to climb the airships ' rope . This mechanism was a PVC roller wrapped The fuel ball shooter in Velcro material and mounted at the top of the robot . On the edges of the roller were plastic ends to prevent the rope from coiling around the motor when climbing . The third team was responsible for the fuel ball shooter . This consisted of a cylindrical drum that pushed fuel balls into a roller which helped throw the balls out of the top of the shooter . The fourth and final group created the prototype for the gear pickup . This prototype caught
The gear pickup mechanism
a gear as it fell from the retrieval zone and placed it on the airships ’ peg . The prototypes are still being edited but will eventually become the main functions of our 2017 robot .
The rope climbing mechanism
Issue 3 : January 30 , 2017 PAGE 4