2009 Game: Lunacy



The goal of the game is to score as many of the game pieces in the opposing side's trailers as possible. Robots start out in front of the opposite alliances' human players. There is a 15 second autonomous period, during which robots operate according to programs that teams download to their robot, and a 2 minute Teleoperated period, where robots are driven and controlled by a human drive subteam at one end of the field. Empty cells (also worth 2 points) must be handed to a robot by the "payload specialist" at the mid-field position known as the "outpost." The robot must deliver the Empty Cell to their human player on one of the corners in order to get a Super Cell that is worth 15 points. A robot can only carry one Empty Cell at a time. Super Cells can only be put into play during the last 20 seconds of play, and only if the human player has been delivered an Empty Cell.



Robot



Vanderbuilt, named after one of our most helpful mentors Fred Vander, played in the game Lunacy. What out robot had to do was catch "moon rocks" (balls) and shoot them into other robots' trailers. We created our robot with a large open top to catch the incoming "moon rocks" which led to a container that could hold around 5-7 "moon rocks." Then the cannon on Vanderbuilt, powered by two rotating rubber pipes, would shoot the "moon rocks" into the opposing side's trailers. The robot ended up placing 28 out of 37 in the San Diego Regional and went on to play in the LA Regional where it received 44 out of 60th place.