Before I created this robot for Vex competition, I had to plan out the many movements and objectives for the robot to achieve. This is because after a few months, official competitions will start and this robot will be put to the test against other robots. This, of course, meant that not only would I need to get this robot to be able to complete these tasks, but also be the best at doing these. Designing the robot was hard, but taking inspiration from many other robots, the frame of the body was quickly built, and the mechanisms were created.
The goal of this year was to send a ball into many different targets above the ground. This was particularly hard because the ball was heavy and the motors that were supplied by vex were limited to a lighter weight. This presented many challenges, so I had to redesign the robot and experiment with different ways of launching the ball into the air. During this process, I also had to keep in mind that the motors were limited, and the robot had specified limits for the dimensions.
Not only were there difficulties while designing the robot, but there were also other problems like school work, limited pieces and other restrictions in time due to extracurricular activities. After creating a working base for the robot and adding the mechanisms, I had to tinker with the robot to make it the most effective version possible, like adding supports, making the robot smaller, and getting rid of unnecessary parts. I kept in mind that to be one of the best, I will have to work on this robot more than all others to improve it. Every extra point I can earn from completing the tasks could be the difference between a successful robot and one that cannot reach the top of the leaderboards.
Making the robot also had some annoyances like glitches in the software, but these issues had to be endured because no solutions were found to solve this. Taking inspiration from other robots helped my robot become better and improve, but having the motivation and determination helped this robot not only improve, but also helped me learn valuable lessons from this experience and creation. This is why this creation stood out today and how it improved me along the way.
