DEWBOT VIII Ball Collection and Storage

Ball collection and storage requirements for Rebound Rumble are:

• Quickly and reliably pick balls off the playing field
• Ability to top load at the Inbound Station
• Able to possess three balls
• Able to prevent possession of more than three balls
• Fast transport of balls to the shooter

Ulitmately, this system took the form of:

1. A 19" wide beater bar on the wide front side of the robot; pulling balls in and keeping them there;
2. An alternative top hopper feed; mechanism still works but hopper has degraded over time due to non-use;
3. A funnel to guide balls from the 19" beater bar to the narrow lift entrance;
4. A lift entrance, comprising: a) a driven Lift Wheel; b) a static pinch bar; and c) a flexible scoop; and
5. An angled lift, having a posterior lift belt and two anterior lift rails; (4) IR sensors register ball positions within the lift assembly; the lift is capable of storing (3) balls and tracking the number of balls stored; the lift top communicates directly with the shooter.

Key Technical Challenges

• The strategic decision to cross the barrier together with the drive-train decision to use Pivot Drive again leads to the practical requirement to keep all rigid ball lift mechanisms above 4.5" above grade (at least while crossing the barrier).
• The strategic decision to enable 3-robot bridge balancing led to the decision to be able to drive the robot in the wide orientation (the desire to also drive in the long orientation to facilitate barrier crossing influenced the Pivot drive-train decision).

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