Orange Crush
2010
Our 2010 competition robot was named “Orange Crush.” Orange Crush was used in the Breakaway competition. It scored by shooting soccer balls into goals, and in the endgame, it deployed an arm to pull itself onto a tower.
drivetrain
Orange Crush had a eight-wheel drive train designed specifically for Breakaway. It had four wheels on each side with two in the center right next to each other and lowered slightly for better turning. Eight wheels were used instead of six so that the robot could climb over a 12-inch bump in the field.
Ball-handling system
Orange Crush was capable of controlling a ball without physically holding the ball. This was accomplished by using a piece of steel rod covered in traction material that put back spin on the soccer ball. It scored by kicking the ball across the field into the goal. The kicker was located on the bottom of the robot, behind the rod. The kicker was built from aluminum, and a winch pulled it back before it released, which launched the kicker forward into ball, sending the ball flying upwards of 60 feet.
Arm Mechanism
The arm was designed to be used in the last part of the match. The winch holding it in place would release, allowing the arm to extend, at which point we would then line up with a horizontal bar and engage the winch to lift Orange Crush off the ground, scoring two bonus points.
operator interface
Orange Crush was driven using two joysticks, one for each side of the drive train (referred to as ‘tank drive’). The kicker and arm was controlled by a second driver on a third joystick.