help me for robot competition

[foursking]

i am on a robot competition but it's my first time doing robot stuff.
can you give me some advice to build this robot.
i need the mechanics and the construction of this robot.

the robot will carry ten cubes,five is green and five is yellow, when robot is started you can't touch the robot or send information to the robot,
the robot need to put the ten cubes on the right place according to the cubes have been put on the middle of the area.
  (have a look at attach)
i have just read the 50$ robot and i still don't know anything. so be more detailed.
help me ~~thx
plus two questions:
I didn't have a good experience how to ask a good question.
1. I am confused how to scan the cube. we should not only identify the color but tell the position of cube,  how can I do this. what sensor can I use?
2. how to put the cube on the specific place, one by one. what structure/construction can take this job.

[foursking]

up...

[Webbot]

I think that the lack of replies is probably coz you are trying to do something quite complex and it appears that you are totally new to robotics.
So a 'useful' answer would be the length of a book.

Your only hope would be if someone has done exactly the same thing before - and they are willing to share all of their design/software/secrets. Which, for competition stuff, most people don't want to do.

Try researching the competition and see if previous entries have used 'pre-built' robots and try to find out what they are. You are going to have to do this yourself. After all - why would we do all the research/design etc, give it to you, and let you win the competition ?

If you get stuck with specific questions such as: "what motors do you recommend given that my robot weighs x, the wheels have a radius of Y, and needs to accelerate at Z", or "how can I tell the color of a brick" - then we may be able to help.

Otherwise its like 'I need to build a rocket to send a man to the moon so that I can win the space race - please tell me how to do it including all design/construction/physics etc. I have looked at the NASA website but don't understand anything'.

[foursking]

thx webbot.
I didn't have a good experience how to ask a good question.
1. I am confused how to scan the cube. we should not only identify the color but tell the position of cube,  how can I do this. what sensor can I use?
2. how to put the cube on the specific place, one by one. what structure/construction can take this job.

[Metal Slug 2]

i have just read the 50$ robot and i still don't know anything. so be more detailed.

I hate to break it to you, but the $50 robot is actually very detailed, and has hundreds of threads on this forum pertaining to just about any question you may have on it.  I mean offense foursking, but if you cannot understand the $50 robot tutorial, then trying to build a robot that identifies and then stacks cubes in a seemingly specific order is going to be Extremely difficult.

[foursking]

I am sorry, the 50$ is really detailed ,i was saying i don't know how to build that type. I am reading the article provided by this website.
you know,the competition one will be my first robot .
i think i can do better in electronic and compiling. But I don't know how to design the mechanic construction.  I don't know what sensor to use or how to use them together to finish the task.  cuz i really have little experience in it. and i have not found the similar robot..(i hav programming experience)
i am willing to learn, i just wanted to find a shortcut..

[ballbreaker]

i am willing to learn, i just wanted to find a shortcut..

if you want to make something and learn from it you can't take shortcuts i recommend if there is a similar competition next year go to that and until then get as much knowledge and experience as you come.

like Καβάφης said "'Σαν βγεις στον πηγεμό για την Ιθάκη να εύχεσαι νά ναι μακρύς ο δρόμος, γεμάτος περιπέτειες, γεμάτος γνώσεις."

which the point of that is roughly
 don't rush to go to your destination learn as much as you can on the way .

[wilder3300]

First of all your way over your head. You'll first need to keep the body (tranportter of the cubes) simple. do something like the $50 robot. three wheels two motors.
the only thing else i can tell you, START READING UP ON SENSORS, color sensors, line sensors, light sensors. Another thing is to read all you can on programming. because you CAN run a robot just on programming. EX: my friend programmed a map of his house into his robot and ran it around the main floor 5 times. Remember: sensors and programming.
Good luck

[foursking]

thanks all the above
time is adequate, i have about 4 months to finish it.
now the problem is that if i can think of a way to handle the task.
i don't know if it will work...
and first of all mechanic is now seem more important to me.


 

[Maltaeron]

Here is my recommendation from personal experience. Forget the competition just for a little while and build the $50 dollar robot and make it work WELL. Then, once you are satisfied there, you will have a chance at doing your competition, but there is no way you will be able to skip that and go straight to making the competition robot, you are too inexperienced.

[123laurens]

for finding the cubes,you can youse sonar or sharp IR,and run what i call a "distance flux algorithm". it scans from left to right and compares the distance found to the distance previously scanned. if the new scan has a much bigger distance than the previous scan,then an object that is not a wall has been detected. the robot then turns and faces the square(relative to the current scanner position)and drives towards it(relative to the distance the scanner returned),and pics it up with some arm and checs the color and brings it to the right place. i use chud use that algorithm i a lot of  my robots, but it can be very hard for a beginner,especially figuring out where it currently is and where the box drop off zones are,relative to the robot position,you chud youse mapping but that is even harder!i still cant get that!this seems very hard for a beginner,i say take the 50$ robot,build the original,get the ir upgrade and make some sort of 2 way grabbers out of 2 L shaped cardboard pieces and 2 servos to "hug"the box and look in the site for a color sensor tutorial.also get the rangefinder upgrade to see where the boxes are.that whud probably be the best thing to try,but not all at once!