Game Description:
AERIAL ASSISTSM is played by two competing Alliances of three robots each on a flat 25’ x 54’ foot field, straddled by a truss suspended just over five feet above the floor. The objective is to score as many balls in goals as possible during a two (2)-minute and 30-second match. The more Alliances score their ball in their goals, and the more they work together to do it, the more points their Alliance receives.
Official Game Rules
AERIAL ASSIST is played by two competing Alliances of three Robots each on a flat 25’ x 54’ foot field, straddled by a lighting truss suspended just over five feet above the floor. The objective is to score as many balls in goals as possible during a 2 minute and 30 second match. The more Alliances score their ball in their goals, and the more they work together to do it, the more points their alliance receives.
The match begins with one 10-second Autonomous Period in which robots operate independently of driver. Each robot may begin with a ball and attempt to score it in a goal. Alliances earn bonus points for scoring balls in this mode and for any of their robots that move in to their zones. Additionally, each high/low pair of goals will be designated “hot” for five seconds, but the order of which side is first is randomized. For each ball scored in a “hot” goal, the Alliance earns additional bonus points.
For the rest of the match, drivers remotely control robots from behind a protective wall. Once all balls in autonomous are scored, only one ball is re-entered in to play, and the Alliances must cycle a single ball as many times as possible for the remainder of the match. With the single ball, they try to maximize their points earned by throwing balls over the truss, catching balls launched over the truss, and scoring in the high and low goals on the far side of the field.
Alliances receive large bonuses for “assists,” which are earned for each robot that has possession of the ball in a zone as the ball moves down the field. Points are awarded for each action per the table below.
| Action | Base | AUTO | AUTO & HOT | 1 ASSIST | 2 ASSIST | 3 ASSIST |
| LOW GOAL | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 31 |
| HIGH GOAL | 10 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 40 |
| TRUSS | 10 | |||||
| Mobility | 5 | |||||
| CATCH | 10 |
Our Robot
Overview:
Our robot is well rounded, both offensively and defensively, with a catcher, shooter, and blocker. The robot’s catcher can expand to give us 40 inches of more space. The drive system allows both high torque and high speed. We designed our shooter as a catapult.
Drive:
Tank drive
West coast set up
6 4-inch wheels with coefficient of friction of 1.2
Center wheels dropped 1/16 inch to allow for easier turning
Two speed gearbox with a gear ratio of 5.60:1 in high gear and 16.36:1 in low gear giving approximate speeds of 15.0 ft/s and 5.5 ft/s
Utilizes four CIM motors each with 337 watts of power
Pickup:
Roller actuated to twenty inches outside of frame with two, five inch stroke, pneumatic cylinders donated by SMC
Roller powered by Banebot RS-550 motor with 254 watts for power to a 64:1 gearbox
Roller forces balls over the bumper and into the shooter
Shooter:
Catapult style shooter tensioned with spear gun tubing
Driven with an eccentric cam connected to the shooter frame by two linkages donated by Zeman tools
Powered by a Mini-CIM motor with 229 watts of power to a 300:1 gearbox
Catcher:
PVC frame actuated by two eight inch stroke pneumatic cylinders
Catchers actuate out 18 inches beyond frame to allow for maximum catching area and actuate inside the frame to avoid accidentally catching an opponent’s ball
Programming:
‘Culver Drive’ system uses angle of turning stick to provide a more intuitive interface to drivers.
Hot goal detection ability allows the robot to make 10 point autonomous shots with very high accuracy
Autonomous provides for both sequential “actions” and long term background tasks.
Detects which goal is hot
Drives forward, and shoots
Driver station interface allows us to provide the drivers with real-time information on the robot subsystems, including the status of the onboard compressor.
General:
Weight 103.5 lbs (approximate)
Height 59.5 in
Width 27.5 in
Length 28 inches
Lightweight custom on-board compressor allows us to store twice the onboard pressure as pre-match compression systems
Versa frame and aluminum item construction
Competitions
2014 FIRST Championship
Where: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO
When: April 23-26
Championship Website: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/championship-event
From April 23rd to the 26th, the Championship competition will be held in St. Louis, Missouri. There, teams will compete to see who is the best of the best. Last year, C.O.R.E. went and competed in the Newton field. We hope to be able to go back this year!
2014 Midwest Regional
Where: UIC Pavilion Chicago, IL
When: April 3 – April 5
From April 3rd to the 5th, C.O.R.E. will be going, for the first time, to the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois to compete in the Midwest Regional.
2014 Wisconsin Regional
Where: US Cellular Arena
When: March 20 – March 22
Regional Website: http://www.wisconsinregional.com/
From March 20th to the 22nd, we will be going back to the US Cellular Arena to compete in the Wisconsin Regional. This will be our eighth year competing there. Last year, we won the Judges Award. One of our team members, Haley Bates, became a Dean’s List finalist. This was a huge honor.
