Introducing Zerkit
Zerkit, February 18
For the 2008 game FIRST Overdrive, Team 1816 is working on a design concept that involves a fork-like manipulator placed at the front of the chassis. This fork structure, attached to a four-bar linkage, will control the trackballs, helping to guide and “herd” the balls around the track. The linkage and the fork can lift, or "hurdle," the 10-pound, 40" diameter ball seven feet high, enabling the trackballs to clear the overpass, which is 6'6" above the playing field. The robot is able to consistently pick up a trackball, lift it in the air, and drop it over the overpass, which will be very valuable during competitions. The entire manipulator is powered by pneumatic cylinders and made of aluminum bars. The chassis of the robot is powered by 4 CIM motors, which are geared down through two-speed transmissions. This setup allows us to drive the robot in either low or high gear, depending on whether fine-grained control or raw speed is needed.