If anyone knows people in the quad/hexapod forums building for Mech Warfare, direct them over here… but with the abundance of BRAT-Mech Builders I figured this was the best place to post this.
The new scoring system is just about ready. We’re actually waiting on a backorder on the FSRs and tweaking a few bits of software, but we are now taking orders.
Overview
The scoring system is comprised of a transponder board, and 2-4 scoring plates (1 scoring plate per leg on the robot).
The transponder board is mostly the same as last year’s. The board has undergone a few revisions before being released for retail as the MINI Robocontroller. For Mech Warfare contestants, we are offering a special, subsidized “Target-Only” configuration of the MINI, that will not have motor drivers or unneeded headers, for $30, assembled and tested. (Please note, for anyone wishing to re-purpose this board after mech warfare, that boards may be either a Rev C/D board or a Rev. E board).
The new target panels will be shipped assembled and tested. They consist of FSR’s mounted on a Lexan backing, with a thin lexan covering on the face. The panels have a small PCB on the back, with a 12" 3-pin servo-like plug, and 4 mounting holes (or you can use servo tape or velcro on the lexan panel).
Ordering
Orders will be paid through PayPal. Send me a PM with the qty’s requested, and I will give you the address to send to, and total for the order:
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How many transponder boards do you need? (1 per mech, if you have one from 2009, we can upgrade it for you). $30 each. You’ll also need 1 XBEE, series 2, with chip or whip antenna – $21.95.
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How many target panels do you need? (1 per leg per mech, everyone will need these, even if they participated in 2009). Priced as follows:
- Bipeds (2 panels): $40
- Tripods (3 panels): $55
- Quads & Hexapods (4 panels): $70
Please order ASAP, so we can get a handle on how many of everything we’ll need (at least PM us the qty’s even if you don’t checkout with Paypal right away). Shipping will be about $7 in the US, if outside the US, we’ll give a quote at time of payment. I’ll have further details on installation and setup ready quite soon. Don’t forget to also register with Robogames.
PLEASE NOTE, INFORMATION BELOW IS STILL IN DEVELOPMENT
Setup & Mounting
The transponder board is 2.4"x2.4", with mounting holes in each of the four corners, 0.15" in from each edge. Max height of the board is the height of a TO-220 regulator, standing vertically. Weight is approximately 35g. The board will need power applied to the terminal blocks, I recommend 7-10VDC, although the board can handle 6-16V. The only approved modification to the board, is to remove the LM2940 regulator and terminal blocks, replacing them with a suitable 5V power supply. The board must still pass any tests after modifications. Also note, if your power supply should dip, and the transponder resets, it will likely register as a hit (and possibly 2).
Transponder Boards look like this:
You will need to connect your scoring plates to pins <?>, order does not matter. If you have only 2 or 3 scoring plates, the remaining pins should be tied to VCC with a jumper.
When a hit is transmitted over XBEE, several types of pulses are output. A 200ms pulse is sent out on Digital 9 (PB1), which is connected to the LED in the upper corner of the board (near the power plug), which gives a visual indicator of board functionality. A pulse is also output on Digital 12 (PB4) that can be used to determine which panel was hit. The pulse on Digital 12 is 50ms*Target panel #, for a pulse of 50-200ms in length.
A scoring plate is approximately 3.5"x3.5" piece of lexan, with FSR’s attached, and each panel should weigh less than 30g. A small PCB is attached to the backside of the scoring panel, it is 1.5"x1.5". This PCB has mount holes in each of the four corners, 0.15" in from the edge (thus the 4 holes are on a 1.2"x1.2" square). The diagram below shows the relative sizes.
