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Eagle Robotics' 2011 FRC Competition Robot is named Murphy, in honor of Murphy's Law:
"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time."
This name was inspired when the robot's cRIO, a device which communicates with the other components of the robot, inexplicably broke on the last day of build season.
Murphy was designed during the 6 week build season for the overall purpose of being able to place large inner tubes, shaped like the FIRST logo, on a scoring rack that reaches almost 15 feet off the ground.
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At the end of each game, Murphy would launch a "minibot", propelled by a single large wheel, to climb a ten foot high pole. This wheel, with magnets imbedded inside of it, was a key component in our team’s receiving of the Xerox Creativity award for the fifth year in a row. The record speed for this minibot, dubbed Smurphy, was about 2.8 seconds.
Other features of Murphy include the ability to autonomously hang an "Uber Tube" on the top rack during competition.
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Murphy
Features:
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Drive Train: |
Mechnum drive allows for a full range of movement;
Can spin, turn, or strafe in ANY direction.
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Arm: |
Hinged at 2 points, and driven by Bane Bots motors. Plastic rollers on jaw
can capture, extrude, and change the position of a held game piece.
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Control Board: |
3 joysticks: 1 for control of the drive train, 2 to operate the arm.
3 buttons, used to activate the LED lights (Used to signal feeder),
and 1 button for minibot deployment |
Autonomous Operation: |
3 line sensors guide the robot along lines towards the
Scoring rack. Simultaneously, the arm extends and
places the game piece onto any level of the scoring rack.
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Minibot: |
Minibot is deployed on arm from the rear of the main robot.
Main wheel has embedded magnets that hold it to the pole as it climbs
to the top. Once it makes contact with the top of the tower, a light switch
Cuts the motors and causes the Minibot to descend slowly down.
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