We were busy today making preparations for Saturday’s RoboFest ’09 with the Kansas City Robotics Society. We have a new base for our mid size labyrinth and decided to go with a golf theme for this version.
Adjustments to 3D Golf Labyrinth
This game is a little easier to play than our small wooden labyrinth but with the ridges and hills built into this course it’s not an easy game either.
3D Golf Labyrinth Surface
This picture shows the unfinished hole awaiting the cup for the golf ball to fall into. A narrow ledge and varying steepness leading up to the hole makes this approach tricky.
Come check it out if you happen to be in Kansas City on Saturday June 13, 2009. The RoboFest will be held in the upper level above the Harvey House Restaurant in the historic Union Station. The times are from 12:30 pm with robots competing until 4:00 pm. Awards will be given between 4:00 and 4:30.
Several competitions are planned including mini and 1kg sumo robots, line following robots and a dinnerware demolition competition. We plan to have solar rollers there too.
Its been over two months since my last post about the Robotic Labyrinth project for Science City. The project slowed to a more deliberate pace but has not stopped. We are still making progress but acquiring the materials we need have slowed things down quite a bit.
We now have our extruded polystyrene foam insulation board for our maze platform’s sandwich structure and the aerospace adhesives to glue the maze together. Our next big hurdle is getting aluminum to begin fabrication of the maze table.
Platform Actuation
Testing the linear actuators.
Richard found these great linear actuators that we are testing. They are providing quick response and an incredible range of motion.
Support Platform for the Maze.
We have a 4′ x 4′ platform constructed from two sheets of 3/4″ plywood. This is planned to support our maze table on top of the structure. We are still waiting for the labyrinth’s base to get out of the sheet metal shop so for now we’re using a spool with electrical cables for weight.
Universal Joint Mounting Plate
This view shows our universal joint mounting plate on the underside of the maze support platform.
Temporary Relay Switches.
We are able to move the platform with the joystick. It is temporarily controlled using relay switches.
This is my fourth year helping with FIRST but my first year without a team. I’ve volunteered the last three years as a mentor for Winnetonka High School Team 1752 but this year their school didn’t enter the competition. So, I wanted to capture some of the behind-the-scenes excitement that a casual observer could miss. Hopefully you can see how important it is for students to have an opportunity to participate in this great program.
Sights And Sounds From The Greater Kansas City Regional FRC Experience.
Opening day in Kansas City
A calm before the storm at the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), Greater Kansas City Regional February 26 through 28 at Hale Arena. FIRST means “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”. FRC is a varsity level sport of the mind challenging students to discover the rewarding life of engineers, scientists and researchers.
The Kansas City Regional was host to 61 teams from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin
As the competition heated up inside, by Saturday we were treated to a blast of midwest weather dropping about 5 inches of snow outside.
Lunacy Around The World.
Each year a different challenge and theme is announced simultaneously around the world at the Kickoff Event. High school students learn about the game and with only six weeks to design, build, and deliver a robot for competition. This year’s challenge theme is Lunacy. The official rules and information is available from the US First web site. Each robot must conform to the official competition manual.
Every team receives a kit of parts that comprise standard components for their robots but much of the design and construction is up to each team to acquire additional materials and parts as needed. You will see as many different designs as there are teams competing. One of the best sources of information and support throughout the year is the online community provided by another FIRST team , Chief Delphi #47.
These robots are about the size of a washing machine and weigh close to 120 pounds. These are surprisingly sophisticated machines with computerized components helping them operate in autonomous mode and under a separate driver operated mode.
The Greater Kansas City Regional
When I tell people what an FRC regional competition is like I tell them, its like a rock concert, a professional sporting event, and a NASCAR race all rolled into one. You’ll see students and adults dancing in the isles when a time-out is called on the competition field. The competition is second to none as fans cheer for their favorite team’s alliance. Throughout the competition you will find yourself cheering for nearly every team out there. If you’re around the pits you’ll see as much activity as any NASCAR pit crew when these robots are repaired and tuned up for the next round of competition.
It takes a lot of planning and work to host a regional competition site. The venue is staffed by volunteers determined to make this a safe and enjoyable competition for all the students, teachers, mentors, parents and audience members.
The Kansas City Regional site has one of the most spacious settings in the country. There are wide isles for people getting around the competition floor, team spirit areas just outside the competition floor, plenty of seating in the stands, and a large practice area for the robots.
The isles in the pit areas can accomodate the traffic but you still need to watch out for robots being transported from the pits to competition and practice areas.
When problems arise that require serious machine work, the teams have an on-site machine shop available to help rebuild or replace parts they need.
On-Site Machine Shop.
Safety Is Taken Seriously
FRC is compriesed of a series of competitions within the competition. Awards are given out for a variety of acheivements, one in particular is the Underwriters Laboratories Industrial Safety Award.
With the powerful robots, power tools, and electricty around so many students and adults, safety is taken seriously. During the elimination rounds on Friday I volunteered to make sure that anyone entering the pits had a pair of safety glasses on and made sure no one entered with open toe shoes.
A few years ago Devry University in Kansas City held a Robotics Bootcamp for area high schools. Some of the schools invited to the event have been bitter sports rivals for years. This caused genuine concern about whether violence would break out at the event. Its a shame this kind of atmosphere is prevalent and accepted in many schools today. The bootcamp event took place without any incidents, gracious professionalism was an important part of making this event success.
Strategy Among Alliance Members
One of the reasons gracious professionalism works so well is in the game’s design. It is easy to recognize the reason for cooperation among all the teams at a regional competition. There are six teams participating in each round of the competition. Team members are divided up among two alliances, the red and blue alliance.
While you are competing against members of the opposing alliance for a particular round, certain team members will probably be on your alliance in future rounds. Helping other teams to perform to their best ability will help your team at times throughout the competition.
Scouting to learn the strengths and weaknesses of your alliance members is an important part of the competition strategy.
Mentors As Team Members
The teams participating in the FIRST Robotic Challenge are high school aged students but an important member of many teams are their mentors. Many mentors are engineers, scientists, or other professionals from technical and non-technical fields of work. Parents may function as mentors but often mentors have no other connection to the students or school other than wanting to help promote inspiration in the fields of science and technology.
When I was in high school I was afraid to admit that I was interested in electronics because of the associated stigma and possible ridicule from other students. FIRST is a great program because it celebrates those interests and gives the students a great avenue to share with others. I wish there was a program like that when I was in high school!
Chris D. Locke
Senior Software Engineer
Garmin International
Helping as a mentor has many intangible benefits. The Winnetonka High School TeamTonka #1752 displayed this sign at their 2006 regional competition in Denver CO. They were originally discouraged from hanging this up but when I heard about it I wanted it to be displayed. It was a hit at their pit area and I’m proud of the work they did on their robot. It was signed by the team members and is one of my most treasured souveniers. It is touching looking over these names again knowing how many have gone on to college and universities. Especially those who went on to study engineering at the University of Missouri Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology). I really missed not being a mentor this year.
What Does FIRST Mean to Parents and Students?
Hopefully you can begin to sense that this is not just another school activity or club, it is the beginning of a lifestyle that can be carried on throughout every student’s career. This is the first and perhaps the only experience many students learn about life in a creative and technical world awaiting after high school. This is an important time in their life to become aware of career possibilities that are within their reach.
Dean Kamen, mentioned in the last video, has contributed so much to our world. In addition to starting the FIRST organization he is probably best know for inventing the Segway Personal Transporter. His company DEKA Research is known for developing products in the medical field including home dialysis machines, medical irrigation pumps, the IBOT mobile self balancing wheel chair, among many other inventions.
“You have teenagers thinking they’re going to make millions as NBA stars when that’s not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is.”
—Dean Kamen
The FIRST Lifestyle
The FRC build season lasts six weeks through most of January and February but the momentum carries on much longer, often with weekly meetings through the end of the school year. For some students, summer time is prime time for car wash, garage sales and other fundraising opportunities. Preparation gearing up to the build season often starts at the beginning of the school year as students are busy learning new technologies.
During build season I’ve heard teachers tell about getting cell phone calls if they’re running a little late getting to school in the morning. Students are calling wanting to get into the building to work on the robots.
I have attended weekly meetings after the build season ended and often heard teachers telling students they need to go home when the meeting time has finished. Usually it took several more times before they would actually go home.
I have witnessed some amazing transformations in students just over the three days of a regional competition. During Winnetonka’s trip to the 2006 regional in Denver I saw some quiet and reserved students really open up and become more outgoing and confident. Talking to their parents a few weeks later they said it was unbelievable how much their child changed.
Teachers Need Our Help Finding Resources.
I have a lot of respect for the teachers involved with FIRST. This is a huge commitment of their time, often with little additional financial compensation. More than once I hear about teachers buying tools and parts out of their own pocket. During the six week build period their families pay the price as they spend long hours keeping the school open for students working on their projects.
What does it take to build a successful robotics program at school?
Shaping a Robotics Team
FIRST provides a growth path up to the FRC varsity level activity. The FIRST Technical Challenge (FTC) offers a way of building robots on a smaller scale and using simpler technologies. Some teams think of FTC as a junior varsity level activity. It is less expensive to get started but competitions are not currently offered in the Kansas City area so travel expenses drive up the cost for teams participating at this level.
FIRST LEGO League
At the middle school age group the FIRST Lego League (FLL) is becoming popular. It is an affordable activity based on the LEGO Mindstorm NXT robot kit. A retail version of the robot costs around $250 which is within reach of parents wanting to encourage their child’s experimentation. This robot controller is currently supported at the FTC level too making the use of these kits even more attractive.
Opportunities For College and University Recruiters
Participation in FIRST provides important opportunities for students in the form of scholarships. When you attend a regional competition you’ll find information booths with recruiters from a variety of colleges and universities. There are over $9 million available for FIRST students.
University of Kansas
UMKC – University of Missouri, Kansas City
A Regional Competition Is About Having Fun
This is a great time to let loose and have fun.
You’ll find adults enjoying this experience as much as the students.
There is so much to see and experience at a regional competition. Of course it is the robots that everyone wants to see and getting up close on the action is a privilege these students earn.
Greater Kansas City Regional Championship Rounds.
First round of the championship competition.
When a time out get called a party breaks out too.
The self leveling topping poured yesterday still looks like it is going to work without curling. Our next concern is how to assemble our labyrinth platform and get the adhesives to cure properly. According to the 3M engineer Bob talked with, we want the temperatures for proper curing of the adhesives bonding everything together to be in the 120 to 150 degree Fahrenheit range. Our warehouse space is unheated in Kansas City in the winter time. This time of year we could see a temperature range outside from 0 degrees to 70 degrees. Maintaining 150 degrees will take some work.
First thoughts are building a small structure around the curing assembly. We should be able to heat a small space using incandecent or infrared lights. The biggest concern is from the concrete floor pulling heat out from the bottom.
PowerBlanket
Bob has been on the phone with David Naylor, inventor and President of PowerBlanket. These blankets are designed for curing concrete in cold or sub freezing temperatures. Because we are concerned about heat being pulled out through the floor I was worried about the weight being placed upon the blanket. Bob found out that Mr. Naylor leaves these blankets in his driveway to melt snow and parks vehicles on top of them. Our use of the blankets should be very minor compared to using them on a driveway this way.
“Going out on a limb”. This is more than a figure of speech that any kid who’s climbed in trees can explain. The further out you go; the more a tree’s limb bends or breaks. Either way, if you keep going you’re bound to fall.
The labyrinth game requires a surface for the marble to roll around on. With the Science City’s labyrinth game we’re designing it to support a #5 soccer ball. This ball only weighs about 1 pound so it is not very heavy, it is easy to handle and you can carry it around all day without much effort. But if you hold the ball in your hand and outstretch your arm it won’t take long before your arm begins aching.
If you imagine standing in the center of our 10′ x 12′ game platform and reach out to one of the far corners you would be stretching almost 8 feet. How much effort will it take to hold the ball up that far away? Our first problem is how do we extend our arm that far? What kind of materials can we find that will stay flat for a distance of 8 feet without sagging and letting our soccer ball fall to the floor? If we use an 8′ long wooden 2×4 it will support the soccer ball but it adds almost 13 pounds that we now have to lift along with the 1 pound soccer ball.
A Balancing Act
We are designing the labyrinth game to be supported from a single point at the center of the game platform. This requires a large surface that is self supporting across its entire surface. If it sags toward the outer edges it will cause the ball to roll away unexpectedly.
What kind of materials can we find that will provide a flat surface that doesn’t bend (much)? If we use 1/4″ steel plate it probably wouldn’t bend but if we use it for the entire surface it would weigh around 1,225 pounds. That would take some very large motors to make the game move.
We could try plywood in the 4′x8′ sheets. They weigh about 25 pounds per 1/4″ thickness but plywood that thin will sag toward the edges unless thicker sheets are used. If we tried building up a 2″ thick platform it would weigh about 750 pounds. This would be easier to move than the steel plate but it would still take larger motors than we want to use.
If while browsing the lumber yard looking for plywood you look another isle or two over you may find sheets of building insulation foam. A couple of similar products are the Owens Corning pink boards or Dow Chemical Company’s blue extruded polystyrene foam boards.When you pick up one of these boards up they are fairly stiff and very light weight. The 1/2″ insulation boards will sag toward the edges but if you try one of the 2″ thick boards it remains rigid across the boards length and width and at about 9 pounds it is much lighter than other building material options. If we could increase the thickness to 4″ the entire platform would weigh approximately 135 pounds. This could get us into motor sizes we’re more comfortable with.
We still have a problem when using the foam as our platform. It is not as durable as plywood or steel and pieces will begin breaking off. Inspiration for the game’s platform can be found in an office supply or art store when you buy foam core boards. These are sheets of cardboard laminated to both sides of a foam center. They make sturdy signs and art displays which are light weight. Cardboard is still not durable enough for our labyrinth platform but using outer skins of thin aluminum will give us a durable surface and relatively light
For more information about the Owens Corning Foamular brand check out this product information.
We are three weeks into designing the interactive Robotic Labyrinth Game for Science City This ten foot by twelve foot (10′ x 12′) game is being built by volunteers with donations from our growing list of sponsors.
Science City is host to over 30,000 school kids and 170,000 family members per year. It is located inside Kansas City’s historic Union Station which sees approximately 2 Million visitors per year.
Twists and Turns
Who would have thought a little wooden labyrinth game could take us in so many directions. What started out as an idea to modify this toy into a party game is turning into an educational journey. This simple game modification is an inexpensive way of introducing kids to concepts used in robotics. The game is controlled by standing on a Nintendo WiiFit balance board. A computer is used to interpret your movements when you shift your weight around. The computer sends commands to the popular Arduino microcontroller that tells servo motors how much to turn the knobs on the game. The Arduino is a great way to introduce kids and adults to the world of microcontroller programming for their own inventions. If you haven’t already seen it, this video on YouTube shows how the game works.
The video helped launch us into even more directions. The Kansas City Robotics Society (KCRS) donates interactive displays to Science City and we suggested including a robotic labyrinth game. Science City’s director liked this idea and suggested we scale it up to 12 feet. He wanted to use something kids are familiar with like a soccer ball to simulate the marble.
This project has us tackling some real world problems like building lighter weight structures. We are designing an aluminum skinned composite using rigid foam core just like the pink building insulation you get at the lumber yard. To build this game table we are working with Materials Science issues ranging from the selection of materials to finding ways of bonding them together at the molecular level. Key to this project is advice from 3M Engineers in their Aerospace Adhesive division about techniques needed to glue together our aluminum composite game table.
Henry's Design
One of the best examples of why we’re doing this comes from 12 year old Henry who submitted ideas on how we can put the table into motion using pneumatic cylinders. Hopefully this project will help stimulate the imagination and creativity of other young inventors, future scientists, and engineers.
We now have programmers curious about creating web applications so people from around the world can play the game over the Internet from their own home. Not satisfied with stopping there, we wondered, could we add a webcam and use motion detection to get a computer playing the game for us? So, we’ve also started an OpenCV Study Group to learn about image processing hoping to find a way to make this happen too.
Our completion date for the basic game was chosen to coincide with the March 2-7, 2009 opening of a new group called the Cowtown Computer Congress (CCCKC). This group is a grassroots organization of tinkerers, hackers, explorers, artists, inventors and technology enthusiasts in the Kansas City area.
Since the video hit, people who hear about this project are asking – “how can I help”? This project is made possible by donations of time, materials, workspace, expertise, and money from volunteers and sponsors. We are entering our building phase and still need materials to build with. For more information you can check the blog chronicling daily progress of the Robotic Labyrinth starting here.
If you would like to help you can contact us at: LabyrinthProject@KansasCityRobotics.org
Science City and CCCKC are non-profit organizations.
Today is a day for using two computer screens at the same time as I work through tutorials on Alibre. At our Robotic Labyrinth builder’s meeting Saturday, Richard Brull showed me a 3D part model that he designed using the Alibre Design System and suggested I give it a try. I have been dreading drawing the plans out with my usual Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools.
This is an exciting tool! Normally I avoid time locked demo versions of software but Alibre gives me a full version for 30 days then allows me to run the Alibre Design Xpress forever. At least the time I invest now learning their product is not all lost when the evaluation mode expires. I do have to hurry though, my favorite feature is part of their Professional Version upgrade.
Over the last year I’ve tried using QCad and an older version of AutoSketch I bought at a garage sale to lay out my sheet metal projects. They work and have improved my accuracy and precision when building small projects. I don’t have CNC milling machines but instead build using simpler tools like a drill press and band saw. My projects have come out fitting together pretty well because of the templates and patterns I’ve made using CAD.
I have fallen in love with Alibre’s SheetMetal workspace feature. This is going to be great for laying out the aluminum sheets for our labyrinth game platform’s top and bottom skins. We can model the foam core of the composite and design the close out end pieces to fit right into place. The close out pieces are dependent on the exact thickness of the foam and Alibre’s parametric design feature can easily adjust our design if the actual thickness of the material we receive is different from what was planned. Each of the pieces can be modeled separately then brought together as an assembly.
The metal bending feature takes care of the additional length needed just as the real bends are made. The designs can then be unfolded as a flat pattern used for cutting and drilling holes. Better yet, this can go directly to CNC equipment like a water jet for a precision fit.
Robotics Summer Camp For Kids
Robotics workshop mini-sumo's built from scratch
Last year I created a summer camp for kids session at the Kansas City Metropolitan Community College’s Blue River campus. The kids ranged in age from about 12 to 16 years old. We built mini sumo robots from scratch including cutting, drilling, and folding our chassis and then etched and soldered our own circuit boards. The best compliment I heard from the kids was:
“I thought this would be some lame class where the instructor sets down a kit then goes off for coffee and comes back about an hour later. This class is exactly what I wanted”.
Mini sumo robot
The complement was from a kid who’s hydrogen experiment blew up his basement. This was a fun session for me too.
Many possibilities for incorporating Alibre into these sessions include:
Creating a digital model of our robot
Design our chassis and digitally folding the sheet metal.
Unfold the design to reveal our construction plans
Model our jig assembly used to bend the chassis
A Reflection Of My Identity
People tend to identify who we are by what we do for a living. Throughout the last 20 years I was an independent contractor writing custom software for clients using MicroStation CAD systems. So my first choice in CAD was Bentley System’s MicroStation, simply because I’ve used it for so long and know it best. As Bentley’s Corporate policies changed, the markets began closing for resellers of MicroStation so my clients began going out of business one by one. Then Bentley began shipping programming opportunities overseas. Their licensing for software developers evolved into a fee of over $2,000 per year until I couldn’t justify that expense any longer. Clients stopped calling, my software license expired, traveling stopped, billing stopped, coding programs stopped, cell phone service stopped and one of the hardest things to come to terms with, it seemed my identity stopped too.
Last Monday with the donation of warehouse space I realized the responsibility of being accessible for this project. Even though I’m unemployed and volunteering my time, I borrowed some money to have a cell phone while spending so much time away from the house. I have lost a few slips of paper I was keeping notes on so I spent more money than I should on refill pages for my Franklin Planner. Then today working through the Alibre tutorials I had a brief sense of who I once was triggered by a phone, a planner, and a CAD system. Even if the cell phone doesn’t work after the end of the month and the CAD program looses its nice features in 30 days it was a nice moment reflecting on who I once was. I feel for the thousands of people who are loosing their jobs now and ultimately the identity they’ve become to know too.
The topic presented at our monthly Kansas City Robotics Society meeting was about soldering irons. The soldering tools on display ranged form inexpensive Radio Shack irons to variable wattage Weller soldering stations. Terry brought in his hot air soldering equipment used for surface mount components.
Tips for safety in handling the solder and hot soldering irons were discussed. Techniques for keeping your soldering irons up on top condition were explained too.
The soldering challenge was between Brian Turner, pictured in the red shirt, and one of our guests from Nebraska. They are trying different soldering irons to see which ones heat up the fastest and who can solder a wire first.
Weekly Labyrinth Build Meeting
Center pivot ball socket
Tom, Rich and I met Saturday morning to discuss more design issues. Tom brought steel pipe and plate to make a receiver section to support the labyrinth platform’s pivot point. Our current direction is to mill a ball shape out of a block of Delrin or similar acetal plastic. This plastic has a self lubricating property and is easy to fabricate. It is easy to work with using common power tools and normal milling methods.
Labyrinth platform center connection
I was explaining our concept for connecting the two halves of the labyrinth platform. We are building each half in 6′ by 10′ sections. The aluminum and extruded styrene foam will be glued together and allowed to cure. The assembly process will be to slide the two halves together and use a total of 80 flat head screws tightened into T-Nut fasteners as discussed on Day 9.
Soccer ball drop reinforcement
This segmented flange idea was discussed for a way to reinforce the holes cut through the labyrinth platform where soccer balls drop through. The idea with this approach is to have one side of the flanges left unfolded then once this collar is in place the remaining flanges can be folded into place. The flange will be glued in place against the foam and the flanges will be glued to the aluminum skins of the top and bottom platform surfaces.
Automated ball return.
Once the soccer ball drops through the game platform it needs a mechanism to return it into play for the next session. Today’s discussion was about using a conveyor system to return the ball. One trick we’ve seen at FIRST robotics competitions is using surgical tubing to grab the ball and pick it up. The idea pictured here is to build a conveyor belt with paddles to pick up the ball.
The students work on community service projects as part of their training and will be building the base supporting the labyrinth game platform.
Jay took us on a tour of the facility showing us the work areas and their CAD room. Tom requested a few minor changes to the design.
The design shown above is for the main shaft holding the platform. Leg extensions to keep everything from toppling over are not shown in the drawing.
Sheet Metal Workers Training Facility
CCCKC Weekly Meeting
With all the excitement of our first meeting in the new Underground Lab we still had time to discuss the labyrinth project too. I’m excited about the work Jestin and Ax0n are doing to get an embedded linux platform up and running.
Weekly meeting at Rich’s shop on Saturday. Here, we’re testing the amount of torque to see what the stepper motor can provide.
Visualizing the size of the game platform
Getting a visual clue into the size of the labyrinth game. Part of the design criteria is to make the platform about standard table height. The yellow tape measure is representing the floor while the lumber represents the platform at its maximum angle.
Initial tests with DC Motor
Looking into using a DC motor as an option to the stepper motors. I like the variable speed, quick response, and more power than the steppers. The down side to using DC motors is we loose the precision of the stepper motors and will need to add encoders and the software required to control how far and how fast the motors turn.
