Pioneer Robotics was founded in 2017 to give students a chance to further their skills in engineering, programming, design, and thinking is to provide members with the opportunity to learn many aspects of robot design, construction, programming, and competition experience from mentors and experienced FTC members. It seeks to instill FIRST’s ideal of gracious professionalism, which encourages best engineering practice through collaborative competition, serving the community through outreach activities and inspiring younger students to get excited about STEM fields.
When I first joined Pioneer Robotics in 2018, I used my previous experience with Arduino and FLL robotics to help design, then build the robot. I spent time learning how to use the various pieces of equipment in the lab.
After our return from the World Championships, the Massachusetts State Senate and House of representatives invited us to the state house to congratulate us for our representation at the global level. They noted our ranking of 12th overall and 1st in autonomous programming.
The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by descending from the Lander, collecting Minerals from the Crater, sorting and scoring Minerals into the Cargo Hold of the Lander, performing Autonomous tasks, and navigating to specific parts of the Playing Field. Teams are limited to holding only 2 minerals at a time
The intake system consists of 3 sets of synchronized tines that work together to collect minerals quickly and efficiently. The intake is also reversible, allowing the robot to eject excess minerals with ease. From here, minerals are sent to the holding area.
The chassis was designed with the crater (black slope at the bottom right) in mind. The chassis consists of 4 mecanum wheels chained to motors. There is a gap in the chassis to enable the robot to cross over the crater without scraping the underside of the chassis.
The mechanism sorts between silver and gold minerals on the dumping door with a diagonal bar going across the platform. This bar allows gravity to sort the minerals before they are deposited into the lander.
This Robot uses a Linear Actuator that raises and lowers the 32lbs robot 4 inches off the ground.
Winning Alliance Captain - 2018-2019 Lexington Qualifier
1st Inspire Award - 2018-2019 Lexington Qualifier
Winning Alliance Captain - 2018-2019 Hadley Qualifier
Connect Award - 2018-2019 Hadley Qualifier
Winning Alliance 1st Pick - 2018-2019 Massachusetts State Championships
Collins Aerospace Award - 2018-2019 Massachusetts State Championships
12th Seed - 2018-2019 World Championships
1st in Autonomous Programming- 2018-2019 World Championships
The Objective of the game is to use the Skystones (Blocks) to create the highest tower on a movable platform.
The chassis used a mecanum drive train with 4, 435rpm motors. We used timing belts and pulleys that were easy to maintain and repair.
We used 4 compliant wheels to guide stones into the center of the robot, where our 2 sets of linear slides grabbed it and transferred it to the tower stack.
We used 2 sets of vertical linear slides that gave us a max height of 52 inches. A single vertical slide extended the block 12 inches on to the tower
Finalist Alliance Captain - 2019-2020 Andover Qualifier
2nd Inspire Award - 2019-2020 Andover Qualifier
Winning Alliance 1st Pick - 2019-2020 Hadley Qualifier
1st Inspire Award - 2019-2020 Hadley Qualifier
2nd Seed - 2019-2020 Massachusetts State Championships
Semi-Finalist Alliance - 2019-2020 Massachusetts State Championships
The Objective is for teams to collect rings from the field floor and shoot them into towers 48 inches tall from a minimum of 60 inches far away
We have decided that we will start modeling the robot in Fusion 360 prior to build. This will help us create custom parts and truly unique designs. The chassis in this picture uses pieces that were fabricated on a laser cutter.
We are using custom cut pieces in acrylic to mount our adjustable intake. The pulleys and idlers are 3-D printed. This allows us to collect rings through the front and back of the robot
We are using custom cut pieces in acrylic to mount our adjustable intake. The pulleys and idlers are 3-D printed. This allows us to collect rings through the front and back of the robot
MSA connect form testing