Control system

The Ü berBots’ Control System In order to successfully conquer Breakaway’s diverse and challenging goals The ÜberBots designed

multiple drive systems that provide various permutations to effectively control the robot in the numerous field positions and game situations. Additionally, The ÜberBots have implemented many automated functions to assist the drivers’ control, robot versatility, and reliability.

Drive System Aspects:

Driver Control: Joystick 1:

X-axis controls robot steering which depends on the current drive state Y-axis controls the speed of the wheels Z-axis: Sensitivity control; multiplies axis (from 0 to 1) by the X-axis of the joystick

to control sensitivity of joystick Switch Box:

First two switches on the switch box control drive states Second two switches sever steering motors from input to lock them in place

Drive Permutations: Swerve Drive: Turns front wheels in the direction of the joystick while turning the

back wheels in the opposite direction to increase versatility and maneuverability Traverse Drive: Turns all four wheels in the direction of the joystick by calculating

the angle of the joystick from the center Car Drive: Turns the front wheels in the direction of the joystick while locking the

back wheels in a straight position to give the driver more control over the robot, but with less maneuverability

Standard 90° Drive: Turns the robot 90° and slows down the wheels on the inside of the theoretical circle of rotation while turning the outside wheels inward

Traverse 90° Drive: Turns the robot 90° and steers the robot as if it were in traverse drive

Feedback to Calculate and Correct for Error: Gearbox Encoders:

Finds the rate of rotation of the wheels, and compares it to the speed that the joystick is trying to reach

Automatically corrects for the error to spin the wheels at the correct speed.

Magnetic Rotary Encoders:

Gearbox Encoder

Magnetic Rotary Encoder

Logitech Attack 3 Joystick

Finds the absolute position of the steering motors in volts and normalizes the voltage to be consistent for all encoders

Automatically corrects for the error of the wheel rotation to center the wheels or move them to the correct position given by the joystick

Arcade Integration: When the robot is in standard 90° mode, the wheels on the inside of the

theoretical circle of rotation slow down as a function of the x-value of the joystick to increase maneuverability.

Rate Limit: When the wheels are sent 12V from the jaguar, and then quickly shifted to -12V,

the jaguar experiences a fault condition All control over that wheel is cut off for approximately 5 seconds To fix this, a rate limiter is used to control the acceleration rate.

Motor Linearizer: The motors on the robot are not linear, which means that even if the motor is

receiving 30% power, it might only move 10% To fix this, a motor linearizer is inserted before the signal is sent to the motor, so

that when the motor is receiving 30% power it moves 30%. Drive Physical Robot:

A signal is sent from the cRIO to the digital sidecar where a PWM value is sent to the jaguars controlling the motor

Depending on the signal that is received from the sidecar, the jaguar allows a certain amount of power to reach the motor, which controls the speed of the robot.

Data Flow

Compact Reconfigurable Input Output System

Digital Input Output Module

Digital Sidecar 24 Volt Jaguar DC Motor Controller

DC CIM Motors

Kicker System Aspects: Driver Control:

Joystick 2: Trigger: The trigger on Driver 2’s joystick activates the light sensor on the robot.

If the light sensor is tripped, the kicker is deployed. Override: If there is a problem with the light sensor, Driver 2 can override the

light sensor by pressing a separate button which will deploy the kicker without light sensor input

Light Sensor: Detects Ball in Range:

On the side of the robot where the kicker comes out If it is tripped, then a value is sent to the cRIO, and if the trigger on Joystick 2 is

pressed, the kicker is deployed Automatically Reloading Pneumatic Actuators:

Each time the kicker is deployed, the kicker is automatically pulled back and locked into place

The kicker is then pulled forward to cock it, ready to kick again

Pneumatic System

Four accumulating pneumatic tanks

Adjustable Pressure Valve

Pneumatic Piston

Aluminum Kicker

Autonomous Mode Aspects: Camera Tracking:

The camera locates the x position of the target and determines if the robot needs to turn left or right

It then uses this value and inputs into a function to emulate the joystick turning left and right

This moves the robot towards the target. Sixteen Different Preset States:

A box on the robot with four switches controls the 16 different states that the robot can achieve

Some of the states: Camera tracking at different speeds Driving forward to kick the balls at different speeds and with different delays to

allow other robots to kick before us Drive straight forward at different speeds and delays to push the ball straight into

the goal Detection of Game Pieces via Light Sensor:

The light sensor detects when a ball is in the kicking zone and kicks it towards the scoring zone

Distance the Robot has Traveled Using Encoders: The distance in inches that the robot has traveled is calculated using the gearbox

encoders and the circumference of the wheels With this data, the robot can travel different distances during the autonomous

period.

Axis Camera