Lemon Drop
2015
Our 2015 competition robot, named “Lemon Drop,” competed in Recycle Rush. Lemon Drop was part of the Championship Alliance in the 2015 FIRST Robotics World Championship.
drivetrain
In 2015, we designed a U-shaped eight-wheel West Coast Drive with a two CIM, two-speed VEXPro gearbox. The U-shaped drive allowed us to keep a large, stable base to minimize the possibility of tipping while being able to manipulate totes and rc’s within our frame perimeter. The base dimensions were the maximum frame perimeter in long-bot configuration.
Scoring
Lemon Drop was built to stack 5 totes with a can on top laid horizontally. The totes were loaded into Lemondrop through human players. Lemon Drop was designed make at least two 36 point stacks each game.
Intake
The intakes featured a four wheel mechanism on actuating arms that allowed us to quickly intake totes from the human player station as well as acquire recycling containers on the field. We used four VersaPlanetary gearboxes with BaneBots wheels.
Control/electrical system
Lemon Drop ran on the 2015 FRC control system package. Motors were driven with Victor SP speed controllers. The notable sensors were a pair of proximity sensors that detected totes in elevator positions 1 and 2. This allowed the robot to build up stacks of totes without operator control.
operator interface
Lemon Drop was controlled by two joystick controllers and a gamepad. The drive system used a simple tank drive. The driver controlled the base of the robot and the dropping of a stack, while the operator controlled the rest of the robot with a gamepad.