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We sent two high
school teams to the Botball 2006 International Conference and Tournament.
We also sent a Beyond Botball adult team. The events were held July
8 to 10 in Norman, Oklahoma. Out of 50 teams, we came in about 19th and 20th. The competition was very good, compared to our regional competition. |
| We stayed at the Residence Inn in Norman. You can see more at http://www.botball.org/. | |
Our Teams:
We were also helped by other members of our program who could not attend. |
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Results
Team 06-0157:
Strategy: Get the balls off the shelf onto our side, along
with Botguy and a few Tribbles
Seeding Rounds: Average: 14.0 points, 20th place
Competition Rounds: One win, two losses, Overall about 20th place
| Seeding Round |
Score | Sideline Video | Comment |
| 1 | 8 | SeedingA1.wmv | Software problem |
| 2 | 4 | SeedingA2.wmv | Missed balls |
| 3 | 20 | none |
| Competition Round |
Score | Sideline Video | Comment |
| 1 | 23:4 | CompetitionA1.wmv | Win |
| 2 | 0:2 | CompetitionA2.wmv | Loss |
| 3 | 2:3 | CompetitionA3.wmv | Loss |
Team 06-0158:
Strategy: Pull the shelf with balls to our side, and
gather Tribbles
Seeding Rounds: Average: 9.5 points, 27th place
Competition Rounds: Three wins, two losses, Final 16, Overall about 19th place
| Seeding Round |
Score | Sideline Video | Comment |
| 1 | 8 | SeedingB1.wmv | Hook never launched, software issue |
| 2 | 6 | SeedingB2.wmv | Hook never launched, light sensor pointed wrong |
| 3 | 11 | none | Hook missed shelf |
| Competition Round |
Score | Sideline Video | Comment |
| 1 | 10:1 | CompetitionB1.wmv | Win, hook missed |
| 2 | 9:5 | CompetitionB2.wmv | Win, hook caught |
| 3 | 4:20? | CompetitionB3.wmv | Loss, hook missed |
| 4 | 11:5 | CompetitionB4.wmv | Win, hook caught |
| 5 | 10:12 | CompetitionB5.wmv | Loss, hook missed |
Lessons
- Using multiple robots is a better strategy than one large bot.
- We need to use more math, geometry, and physics in the design of our bots.
- Simplicity is better than complexity.
- We dated all our code and did better at code management.
- Be more careful with luggage in the airports and during travel.
- Separate out the development tasks and have clearer assignments.
- Use more sensors to solve the problem, not just dead reckoning and luck.
- Build many prototypes and experiment with the basics of the solutions.
- Take rulers to the table during testing and competition.
- No more building on the test tables!
Beyond Botball Competition
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Bob Ekman and
Paul Newell participated in the Beyond Botball competition. There
were ten other teams -- mostly advisors for Botball teams and KIPR staff.
The challenge was different from the student Botball competition, but the
operations of the competition were similar. We built three bots -- one to pick up Botguy and return him to Betty Bot; one to put two balls in a basket; and one to put two balls in the opposite zone. The three bots worked well together. |
| Our
average for the seeding round was 59, above our target of 50 points, and
more than twice the second place team. The competition rounds were
challenging, but we were able to win with some interesting performance. |
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| Seeding Round |
Score | Sideline Video | Comment |
| 1 | 49 | BeyondSeed1.wmv | Almost perfect score |
| 2 | 69 | BeyondSeed2.wmv | Perfect score, two balls in basket |
| 3 | 41 | BeyondSeed3.wmv | Bot recovered |
| Competition Round |
Score | Sideline Video | Comment |
| 1 | 36:5 | Beyond1.wmv | Win, missed Botguy, two balls in basket |
| 2 | 40:8 | Beyond2.wmv | Win, two balls in basket |
| 3 | 30:45 | Beyond3.wmv | Loss, one ball in basket, we gave them 31 points |
| 4 | 28:14 | Beyond4.wmv | Win, one ball in basket |
| 5 | 21:14 | Beyond5.wmv | Win, blocked shots, scoop flap problem, close win |
| 6 | 31:9 | Beyond6.wmv | Win, one ball in basket |
* The sideline videos were by Bob Ekman and Marc Fain.
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