Zorgatron

While the simple design of our five-foot tall robot, named Zorgatron, was not technically sophisicated, our robot was consistent in its performance. Zorgatron was positioned and programmed, while in the autonomous mode, to seek out the closest ground-level goal, and dump its entire cache of balls. When control of the robot went into manual mode, Zorgatron was able to defend its goals and block other robots from scoring. That consistency, combined with a cunning defensive strategy, led to a winning performance.

Zorgotron was constructed of materials we could work with in a home setting: aluminum sheeting, plywood, PVC pipe for the frame that held the net. Built on the chassis that came with the FIRST kit, Zorgotron measured 26" x 36" x 5'. Custom wheels were purchased for IFI; we used magic sliders as nubs in the front, instead of wheels. CIM motors were used for driving.

More Facts

The footprint was 28" x 38"
The sliders in the front were machined HDPE nubs (HDPE is a type of plastic, stands for high density polyethylene),
the magic sliders died in the first round of the practice matches at wisconsin because the ramps tore them up
The gear reduction for the drive train was 29:1 because of the monstrous wheel sprockets we bought
It was designed to provide 52 lbs of pushing force
It had a top speed of 6.4 ft.