Robot Arm C

[illusionist]

I don not have the rules yet, so are we allowed to use autonomous robots, or is it human-electronic control only?

[harryk]

Rule 7d is included.

I have an idea for an arm with a single motor; using a complex transmission to direct power to different joints, though I think this would prove to be slow, clunky, fragile, and hard to operate, so you probably wouldn't get full points and the advantage of having one motor wouldn't be reaped

Wouldn't you need a second motor to control the transmission?

You manually control the transmission, as far as I know it should be legal since you're not actually powering the arm, only controlling it

[28]

what factor will time play in the scoring/tie brakers?

[sachleen]

I have an idea for an arm with a single motor; using a complex transmission to direct power to different joints, though I think this would prove to be slow, clunky, fragile, and hard to operate, so you probably wouldn't get full points and the advantage of having one motor wouldn't be reaped

Wouldn't it always move in the same way every time? Meaning, it would extend forward the same amount as it goes down, and back as it goes up. I fail to see how a single motor could be used to make the arm move in different ways.

[twototwenty]

harryk's idea might work if there were two motors, one to power the whole arm and one to switch which piece of the arm the motor was controlling. But to make this type of arm work at all you would need a very high power motor to power the whole arm from one place ( not to metion a very well engineered gear system), and this type of motor would not have enough voltage due to the voltage limits for the competition (unless these limits have been very significantly changed, as I don't ahve the oficial rules yet).

[sachleen]

harryk's idea might work if there were two motors, one to power the whole arm and one to switch which piece of the arm the motor was controlling. But to make this type of arm work at all you would need a very high power motor to power the whole arm from one place ( not to metion a very well engineered gear system), and this type of motor would not have enough voltage due to the voltage limits for the competition (unless these limits have been very significantly changed, as I don't ahve the oficial rules yet).

I think three for the arm and possibly one for the gripper would be a minimum for a practical design. No need to complicate things.
I'd use one to rotate the arm at the base, and have 2 joints. That should allow you to reach anywhere and extend far enough to place objects in the goal box.

[chalker]

what factor will time play in the scoring/tie brakers?

None

[chalker7]

Note that while time doesn't play a direct role in scoring, last year a lot of teams (most, in fact) still ran out of time without attempting to move objects, so you should definitely consider arm speed in your design process.

[trp2011]

Will cost play a role in scoring?

[chalker7]

Will cost play a role in scoring?

It will not play a role.