in this video we will be analyzing different collection methods from teams that have done
well in the past we will be highlighting different types of collectors wide collectors collecting
from corners combining collecting and scoring mechanisms and moving debris inside the robot
this robot uses two vertical wheels in order to suck the cubes into a set position in order to
maintain the position of the cubes inside the robot they use a small roller this design is
great for when the cubes are all packed in a small space since the collection area is the
size of only one cube similar to the last robot this one has a small intake in the front but uses
foam conveyors instead of wheels like the last robot it has a small collection with but also
feeds the cubes in a single motion this system is also prone to jamming shown here unlike other
systems that have an active collection method this one has a scoop that pushes into the cubes
the benefits to this design are simplicity and no motors are needed the downsides are that once
again it requires the cubes to be in a set place so that active collection is not needed instead
of collecting the cubes in a scoop or wheel system this design picks up the blocks like a hand this
system lets the cubes be controlled throughout the robot but requires a lot of accuracy to collect
balls quickly this team used a foam roller that squishes over the balls to grip and roll them
into the robot it also uses small mecanum wheels on the corners of the roller which pulls the balls
in towards the middle for feeding this widens their collector this design is good for driving
over balls but does not reach out to grab them instead of using a foam roller for driving over
the balls this design uses a rubber band style collector that is much more space efficient than
a roller because of the flexible properties of the roller this robot uses a common style of collector
that has noodles that stick out of a horizontal roller which reach out and grab objects the major
downside to this design is the lack of feeding and size of the collector the upsides are the
ease of collection for the drivers and the speed of pickup by flicking cubes up a central shaft
this system flicks the cubes up into the hopper the main issue with the system is that the cubes
can sometimes get stuck in one of the rollers when the system works it is incredibly fast and
efficient unlike the previous design this roller has softer noodles which to push the ball through
the robot smoothly this system is slightly slower but has more control over the balls
other teams use small triangles on the sides of their collector to push the ball towards
the middle this team uses PVC pipe as rollers mounted between two channels
that run the height of the robot much like the robot before this team has the
same style of vertical channels but they push them beyond the wheels to make the
collection wider the two robots close to the camera are also examples of wide collectors
by pushing the intake outside of the robot this team was able to get balls and corners
the only issue is that the system requires the robot to sway around to collect in a
large area teams like Gluten-Free the white robot used longer noodles to reach particles
in the corner in contrast other teams like Brainstem the black robot have collectors
that stick outside of the robot's wheel base to reach corners it is also possible
to use spinners on the side of the robot to push the balls into the path of the main
collector unfortunately these propellers can also get in the way of the normal robot used
by flinging balls away from the robot at times by using a wider collector teams can also come
in from the side to collect balls in the corners but can't come from straight on
in order to have a more compact and simple scoring mechanism the collection
and drop-off mechanisms can be combined like what Cubix and Hotwire did during Block Party
when it comes to controlling objects inside the robot there are two methods one is having
a precise collector so that the objects are very controlled another is using a more brute
force style that collects objects randomly and then does a sort of sorting within the robot the
upside to the more accurate collection is ease of transporting objects inside the robot but
it often leads to a slower collection method the downside to having more random collection is you
need a separate method of sorting objects once inside the robot a good example of a separate
sorting system is the vertical roller system on Vulcan Robotics RESQ robot by funneling the sides
of their collector they were able to manage the cubes in a single position with fast collection
there are many mechanisms to move debris in the robot but the most common and simplest
solution is using a gravity-fed system the main downside to the system is that once the object
is falling on its path you cannot take it back out without ejecting it from the robot entirely
other options include using rollers or conveyor belts move objects around the robot the main
downside to this method is the need for a motor and added complexity we hope these examples have
been helpful in determining what collection system you want for your robot thank you for watching