Lab 8: Can-Pushing (or Catapulting) Contest Design, Part III

Introduction

This lab is the last in a series of three labs where you will develop and improve your mid-term contest robot.

Procedure:

Carefully re-read the contest rules to make sure your robot meets the specifications. As you are working, keep in mind that the robot must be complete by next Tuesday, so make it simpler than you had originally intended if you must. This concept of crafting a design that can be built in a certain amount of time is something that you must always observe, whether in software or hardware. Many companies fail because their products don’t hit the market on time.

Next Week

The contest on Tuesday October 16 at 11:00. YOU MUST BE THERE.

No lab next week because of Fall Break.

Lab Report

REPORT IS FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 (no report due on the 16^th; concentrate on your robot). This report consists of two parts, a short report describing the final design you used for the contest, as well as the pros and cons, as you see them. Did you make the right choice of strategy and design?

The second part of the report is a preliminary design for the labs of the week of the 22^nd. You’ll be building either an arm to grasp/hold objects (either plastic Easter eggs, blocks, or LEGO people; I’ll let you know) or a legged robot. The arm is likely to be used for the final project, but you are welcome to build a walking robot if you like. Please don’t just blindly copy a design from the book. Try to be innovative. In your report, write

· What you decided to do (an arm or a walking robot),

· How your design works,

· Why you chose that approach.

The reports should be emailed to your lab assistant (jmdenton@email.unc.edu or khanani@cs.unc.edu) as a Microsoft Word file. PLEASE ALSO COPY LASTRA@CS.UNC.EDU. Due Tuesday, October 23 at 11:00 AM.