Robogames 2016 Mech Warfare Announcement.

[GhengisDhon]

We (R-Team) got the go ahead from Andrew (from Trossen) and Dave Calkins (from Robogames) to host the Mech Warfare event for 2016.

First we would like to get an indication on who thinks they will be able to make the event this year. (High Probability or Maybe). R-Team robotics will be showing up enforce. The event is just over two months away, so you really need a functioning or near functional mech at this time to make it.

Here are some of our thoughts.

A) The ruleset will be a reuse of the 2013 ruleset as close as possible. There will be no Hardcore League this year.

B) All mechs will be guaranteed at least two matches. We will structure the match play based on the number of Mechs qualified to maximize the number of matches that everyone gets. .

C) The Mech's will have to qualify, either live at the event or through video (preferred)

D) There are 3 acceptable scoring panels that will be accepted. 1) The Trossen FSR panels from past years. 2) The R-Team Piezo Panel 3) the Boston variant of the R-Team piezo panel. All of these have been verified to be functionally equivalent. There may be slight performance differences between these panels, but at this time we have not verified if any give an advantage. The Trossen scoring Transponder from past years will be used and all panels must be compatible with it. Since the event is so close we are assuming any mech competing is an existing mech and most likely already has one of these scoring systems. We can come up with a small amount of scoring panels/transponders/LED boards if someone is needing them.

E) We highly recommend the 5.8GHz Analog Video cameras. It really is a much more enjoyable experience. Due to the short timeframe we won't enforce this, but in the future it will most likely become part of the ruleset. We will provide a wireless router solution for those w/o 5.8Ghz cameras and will be working this over the next couple of months.

F) The arena is 15'x15'. The buildings are 3'x3' (which is slightly larger than previous years). Currently the buildings are all identical so it can get a bit disorienting on your location. We may add some identifying marks to the arena to help.

G) Currentyy there isn't a registration for thr Mech Warfare event yet on the Robogames website. Hopefully that will be soon but can't guarantee any date. In the mean time, get your Mechs ready!

[jwatte]

Which days would you run the competition? I'm already pretty much in for the Robomagellan rover competition which takes all day Saturday... but I do have a working 'mech.

[byi]

Great! Pending travel funding, expect Columbia to be bringing one or two mechs. Put us down for probably on the first mech, maybe on the second.

[Gertlex]

Shouldn't a magellan entry run itself?

[jpieper]

We'll be there with one mech from Boston.

[jwatte]

Shouldn't a magellan entry run itself?

I wish it would build itself, too :-)

My 'mech has three problems that need debugging:

1) When firing the right gun, the target boards trigger. I got by Boston MW firing only the left.

2) The 5.8 GHz analog transmitter fades in and out, and all the monitors I've found are really picky about the composite input, so I keep dropping the signal. I've tried multiple transmitter/receiver combos, and they all have this problem. (Also tried stabilizing power, cloverleaf antennas, etc.)

3) I had some bending damage after a fall from a table (my fault.) I compensated by adjusting the ground plane in the walk IK, but I'd rather make it straight again.

Oh, and I need to put threadlock on all the screws. It was a running joke to pick up parts left behind by Onyx after each match :-)

[GhengisDhon]

Which days would you run the competition? I'm already pretty much in for the Robomagellan rover competition which takes all day Saturday... but I do have a working 'mech.

Don't have all the details firm yet but I imagine R-Team will be getting out there Friday, set up the arena, make sure everything works, do any qualifiers for Mech's who didn't send a qualifier video, and let everyone dry run their setup.

Saturday would be the main competition, the match format will be dependent on how many mechs register. I imagine that will take all day.

Sunday will be any remaining matches to finish, as well as the Championship rounds. We could also do some pickup matches and let people experiment with other formats (2 vs 2, etc...), then break down and clean up.

[GhengisDhon]

I wish it would build itself, too :-)

My 'mech has three problems that need debugging:

1) When firing the right gun, the target boards trigger. I got by Boston MW firing only the left.

2) The 5.8 GHz analog transmitter fades in and out, and all the monitors I've found are really picky about the composite input, so I keep dropping the signal. I've tried multiple transmitter/receiver combos, and they all have this problem. (Also tried stabilizing power, cloverleaf antennas, etc.)

On your transponder board put a 10K pull up resistor between the 5V line and the signal. It helps with false triggers but the target plates still function correctly. I just directly soldered a 0603 directly between the pins.

RTeam has used several varieties of transmitters, receivers, and monitors. The only thing we have had issues with are some of the transmitters (they claimed to be Boscam but they were cheap chinese knockoffs). Beside the transmitter we've had no issues. We're all using 7" LCD monitors. I also tried an EasyCap USB video on my laptop and that work OK (just barely). I made a list of some of the item brands & where we bought them in the Tucson Mech Brawl post.

Can't help you with table drop or screws.

[Janis]

It is very possible that team ASDF with HD3 from Latvia will participate.

1) Bot is using WiFi for video and control, so it would be nice if you had "N" standard WiFi available. Ideally, with cable connection possible from laptop to router. Most likely we will not be able to switch to 5.8 analog within the given timeframe.
2) It is using Trossen scoring panels with xbee.

[Deimos]

I won't be able to get my mech up and running by then unfortunately. I keep getting sidetracked trying to optimize my gait engine and I never got around to milling the other three Tibia's I need. Ah well. If there is an event next year I will make sure to be there!