Design a Vex Robot for High Stakes
Budget: $750 – $1,500 USD
There are multiple conditions the robot must have in order to be competitive for this years game “High Stakes”, first, the robot must be able to score on all scoring locations quickly and efficiently , the scoring objects for this years game are plastic rings, 24 red and 24 blue. The scoring locations for the game involves mobile goals which can fit 6 rings each, alliance stakes which are attached to the wall and can only fit two rings of that color alliance, high wall stakes, which can also fit 6 rings each and are attached to the wall, and the high stake which is on top of the tower, which can only fit 1 ring. The robot must also be able to carry the mobile goal with enough strength so it can’t be stolen by opponent robots. The mobile goals may be placed in positive and negative corners, which either double or subtract the points on a mobile goal. The tower is a four sided 4 foot tall structure in the middle of the field that has three levels in which the robot must climb up to reach the high stake, rung skipping is not allowed. For scoring, each ring on a stake is worth 1 point, each top ring on a stake is worth 3 points, level 1 on the tower is worth 3 points, level 2 is worth 6 points, and level 3 is worth 12 points. The robot must start the match at most at 18” x 18” x 18” but may expand after the match begins, these expansion limits are as such, robots may only expand horizontally in one direction, and only one direction for the entirety of the match. Robots may never exceed an overall footprint of 24” by 18”. If the robot is under 18 x 18 the robot may expand to the 24 x 18 limit yet may only expand in one X/Y direction only for the whole match. The robots vertical expansion is limited to a measurement of 32 inches. The robot also has a maximum of 88 watts it can use throughout its motorized movement. The standard motor uses 11 watts and has cartridges that can range from 100, 200, to 600 rpm. Alternatively, there are smaller, 5.5 watt motor that can only spin at 200 rpm, and are obviously less powerful. The robot will also have a maximum of two pneumatic cylinders, each to be charged to 100 psi each. There are several pistons you can use yet only a max of 2 cylinders, the two cylinders may be tucked away inside the robot, as it is preferred to, we are utilizing the new kit. Robots may also descore rings from any neutral state so the robot must also be able to descore quickly and efficiently, more than once per match. Each stake has a rubber cap on the end, so rings require some force to be placed fully, and even more forced to be descored, yet rings may not leave the field so the robot must be able to descore wall stakes without incurring said penalties. The necessary components for the robot are the cortex or “brain” which is usually located vertically within the robot, as to not get damaged yet is easily accessible, next is the battery, this is preferred to be tucked away yet there is a very small cord that connects the two so it can't be that far away from the cortex, The battery must also be easily accessible to be removed and plugged back in, yet must never be able to move during matches. Lastly is the radio, which must be placed as high as possible to provide the best signal and have no blockages to the controllers. The robots drive train must utilize 8 2.75 inch wheels (4 on each side) geared to 480 rpm using a 48 tooth gear to a 60 tooth gear, with the shafts utilizing screw joints to reduce friction, the drive train must also only at least use 4 11 watt motors. The robot must also have slightly angles front side towards the intake to allow ring to corral into the intake so the driver spends less effort to collect rings, and have wedges on a hinge protecting the sides so we can't be pushed from the side as well as that rings can't get jammed on the side. The drive should look exactly like this. https://photos.app.goo.gl/BMCBEWe3paJC5ggR8
The robot must also have the ability to intake rings using all size light gray flex wheels from the ground and feed into the deposit mechanism, and also actuate up then be released down to grab rings off stacks. The robot must also be able to climb to the top level of the tower, not skipping a rung in the process. The robot should not have structural deficits and should be able to easily withstand multiple matches of slamming into other robots without major repair. The front of the robot must also be angled inward as to corral the rings into the intake and intake rings with more leniency to the driver. The mobile goal grabber must clamp the mobile goal at the base and be able to grab it in any orientation. It must also utilize pneumatics to have a strong grip on the goal. The robot must also have a goal cover, yet it should only be used once per match. The goes around the pole of the mobile goal and covers the places the opponent can grab onto the base with due to the fact that there is a shared mobile goal at the beginning of the match. This cover should only be used once to stop the opponent from grabbing the mobile goal then be retracted for the rest of the match. The robot must also have a passive tier 1 hang, which means a mechanism that lifts the robot off the ground without being powered, but only by pure driver inertia as shown here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8TN1uUPo7i8 The robot may also have a fast alliance wall stake ring score mechanism at the beginning of the match for extending the amount of points scored in autonomous. This should be performed in less than a second and not used for the rest of the match, while this would be a nice addition, it is not necessary if resource availability gets in the way. The robot must also have odometery pods using an optical shaft encoder and 2.75 inch free-spinning using a 2 inch omni wheel, they must be tucked away and contacting the floor at all times, there must be two and only two, one facing forwards and backwards, and one facing side to side. These should be in the middle of the robot. There also should be two inertial sensors for position tracking assistance, a distance sensor to detect how many rings we have in the robot, as you can only possess two at any time, and a color sensor to determine the color of the ring. The deposit of the rings should have enough force behind the ring to make it so that the robot won't have to manipulate the mobile goal, such as moving or going back and forth. The robot should be able to score rings on the mobile goal while the goal is in possession of the robot. Robots that I have seen often use a conveyor with a hook system as shown with this robot to achieve said function: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=karXrzGYBow , https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MKzWXgIUvSg , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJz0zOVji1c Despite the functionality of these robots, the submitted robot should not be a copy, yet an even better iteration of this. The hopeful end product of this project is that both the limits of the parts were given to master the game and bring us to worlds for the first time ever. It’s to be one step better than the field. You will also get extra bonuses if we make it to states and worlds. States bonus: 75 dollars, Worlds bonus: 250 dollars.
If you’re willing to change your design midway through, this event https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-robotics-competition/RE-V5RC-24-5557.html#teams on August 1-3 hosts the best teams in Vex to compete in an early season competition, which is really beneficial for influencing your design. The best to look out for are 229V, 169B-Y, 334W, 1010W, 2775V, 9364C-E, 8110, 5203G, 11101B, and other design factors that could be beneficial. The robot must utilize the following techniques for maximum structural integrity. The first is screw joints https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K218QdJ-IAs&list=PLZRLD8cMPkzYlZX8wlGdNchXWdfbnQgkM these using screws as shafts for rotational movement such as the drive base. For this project it is required that screw joints are used for the non directly powered rotational movement such as the wheels and/or gear that are powered by other gears. Next is boxing, which must be utilized throughout all subsystems and mechanisms of the robot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-0yOi3_DvY&list=PLZRLD8cMPkzYlZX8wlGdNchXWdfbnQgkM&index=2 This method takes the connection between two c channels and extends it throughout the whole thing instead of just one side, increasing structural integrity. Lastly is squaring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC_6j7vawfk&list=PLZRLD8cMPkzYlZX8wlGdNchXWdfbnQgkM&index=3 which utilizes shoulder screws for the optimal connection for c channel at a corner. Thank you for looking into this job! Once again, this job is not looking for a functional robot that can score, but to instead push further, to make a robot to compete, to make it to worlds. Once again, thank you for looking into this job, and good luck.
Here is extra resources
Game Reveal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx6HJSpopeQ&t=188s
Game Manual: https://www.vexrobotics.com/high-stakes-manual
Mobile Goal CAD: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/26901e13b69c270f102a6938/w/56e00cfca288f3347c45afe0/e/5bd4d1f2833c813c07e6afb6
Ring CAD: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/770862e419ae7197ac871e2b/w/4033b5fd57e405094d5a5ca5/e/6aca6d7e2ad9a5f72ef92a31
Field CAD: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6ff276890b87401a1fbde0c7/w/d75e777f9e26151a379d3c30/e/46a686ca4d5c85c07a51b845
Vex Parts Library Download on Onshape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rkEL2l4pvM&list=PL58YBuL9CL7KdaFquOuCasoTzGwnjHFUN
Best Robots: https://youtu.be/xIfhopi0T5Q?si=PoR-rr02Sj7UD97D
https://youtu.be/0lbh8jtKHxw?si=WllHukf3kNWjPO7E
Again, these are great robots, but we don't want a copy paste, we want robots like this with extra additions to put us ahead of the competition and make it to the “Worlds” Competition.
The robot must also have the ability to intake rings using all size light gray flex wheels from the ground and feed into the deposit mechanism, and also actuate up then be released down to grab rings off stacks. The robot must also be able to climb to the top level of the tower, not skipping a rung in the process. The robot should not have structural deficits and should be able to easily withstand multiple matches of slamming into other robots without major repair. The front of the robot must also be angled inward as to corral the rings into the intake and intake rings with more leniency to the driver. The mobile goal grabber must clamp the mobile goal at the base and be able to grab it in any orientation. It must also utilize pneumatics to have a strong grip on the goal. The robot must also have a goal cover, yet it should only be used once per match. The goes around the pole of the mobile goal and covers the places the opponent can grab onto the base with due to the fact that there is a shared mobile goal at the beginning of the match. This cover should only be used once to stop the opponent from grabbing the mobile goal then be retracted for the rest of the match. The robot must also have a passive tier 1 hang, which means a mechanism that lifts the robot off the ground without being powered, but only by pure driver inertia as shown here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8TN1uUPo7i8 The robot may also have a fast alliance wall stake ring score mechanism at the beginning of the match for extending the amount of points scored in autonomous. This should be performed in less than a second and not used for the rest of the match, while this would be a nice addition, it is not necessary if resource availability gets in the way. The robot must also have odometery pods using an optical shaft encoder and 2.75 inch free-spinning using a 2 inch omni wheel, they must be tucked away and contacting the floor at all times, there must be two and only two, one facing forwards and backwards, and one facing side to side. These should be in the middle of the robot. There also should be two inertial sensors for position tracking assistance, a distance sensor to detect how many rings we have in the robot, as you can only possess two at any time, and a color sensor to determine the color of the ring. The deposit of the rings should have enough force behind the ring to make it so that the robot won't have to manipulate the mobile goal, such as moving or going back and forth. The robot should be able to score rings on the mobile goal while the goal is in possession of the robot. Robots that I have seen often use a conveyor with a hook system as shown with this robot to achieve said function: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=karXrzGYBow , https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MKzWXgIUvSg , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJz0zOVji1c Despite the functionality of these robots, the submitted robot should not be a copy, yet an even better iteration of this. The hopeful end product of this project is that both the limits of the parts were given to master the game and bring us to worlds for the first time ever. It’s to be one step better than the field. You will also get extra bonuses if we make it to states and worlds. States bonus: 75 dollars, Worlds bonus: 250 dollars.
If you’re willing to change your design midway through, this event https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-robotics-competition/RE-V5RC-24-5557.html#teams on August 1-3 hosts the best teams in Vex to compete in an early season competition, which is really beneficial for influencing your design. The best to look out for are 229V, 169B-Y, 334W, 1010W, 2775V, 9364C-E, 8110, 5203G, 11101B, and other design factors that could be beneficial. The robot must utilize the following techniques for maximum structural integrity. The first is screw joints https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K218QdJ-IAs&list=PLZRLD8cMPkzYlZX8wlGdNchXWdfbnQgkM these using screws as shafts for rotational movement such as the drive base. For this project it is required that screw joints are used for the non directly powered rotational movement such as the wheels and/or gear that are powered by other gears. Next is boxing, which must be utilized throughout all subsystems and mechanisms of the robot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-0yOi3_DvY&list=PLZRLD8cMPkzYlZX8wlGdNchXWdfbnQgkM&index=2 This method takes the connection between two c channels and extends it throughout the whole thing instead of just one side, increasing structural integrity. Lastly is squaring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC_6j7vawfk&list=PLZRLD8cMPkzYlZX8wlGdNchXWdfbnQgkM&index=3 which utilizes shoulder screws for the optimal connection for c channel at a corner. Thank you for looking into this job! Once again, this job is not looking for a functional robot that can score, but to instead push further, to make a robot to compete, to make it to worlds. Once again, thank you for looking into this job, and good luck.
Here is extra resources
Game Reveal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx6HJSpopeQ&t=188s
Game Manual: https://www.vexrobotics.com/high-stakes-manual
Mobile Goal CAD: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/26901e13b69c270f102a6938/w/56e00cfca288f3347c45afe0/e/5bd4d1f2833c813c07e6afb6
Ring CAD: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/770862e419ae7197ac871e2b/w/4033b5fd57e405094d5a5ca5/e/6aca6d7e2ad9a5f72ef92a31
Field CAD: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6ff276890b87401a1fbde0c7/w/d75e777f9e26151a379d3c30/e/46a686ca4d5c85c07a51b845
Vex Parts Library Download on Onshape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rkEL2l4pvM&list=PL58YBuL9CL7KdaFquOuCasoTzGwnjHFUN
Best Robots: https://youtu.be/xIfhopi0T5Q?si=PoR-rr02Sj7UD97D
https://youtu.be/0lbh8jtKHxw?si=WllHukf3kNWjPO7E
Again, these are great robots, but we don't want a copy paste, we want robots like this with extra additions to put us ahead of the competition and make it to the “Worlds” Competition.