Junkyard Challenge C

[adam124218]

What do we think about Junkyard Challenge? Are we excited that it's finally an event? Are we glad that robot is gone?



Our school finally got good at robot this year, so it was somewhat disappointing that this was the year they took it away. Everyone at our school has perennially hated Junkyard Challenge and has been really pessimistic about it, but I read the draft of the rules a few days ago, and I'm actually really excited. The "mystery item" that you have to work into your "Autonomous Device" sounds like a really awesome twist and I'm really psyched for this event. It was an emotion I didn't really expect to be feeling about this, but I'm pleased that the rules have gotten so much better.

[penclspinner]

I for one am glad that Robot Ramble is gone. It had been going on for a good 5 years...a bit overdue for its rotation.

Junkyard is certainly going to tip the balance of power and is most certainly going to be a most interesting event to see develop.

[rocketman1555]

i would have prefered that they keep robots and change the rules, jyc seems a little odd and my team usually does ok in robots

[sachleen]

I still think it was a bad decision to replace robot ramble with JYC. Sure RR was long overdue for replacement as it was practically the same thing over and over again, but if anything, it should have been replaced by another robotics event. I don't like the idea that its replaced with an unrelated event. It was just getting fun too, in my opinion the proposed rule changes for RR were great and would have challenged everyone. I think they are going in the wrong direction by taking out a robotics event.

I'll admit that I learned a lot more about robotics and electronics in general from EV than I ever did with RR, but since I use the same controller for both, I was planning on programming my RR to do some things I thought were crazy difficult before. I think the two events went really well with each other, even with different rules and stuff, what you learned from one you could apply to the other as well.

[gh]

I'll admit that I learned a lot more about robotics and electronics in general from EV than I ever did with RR, but since I use the same controller for both, I was planning on programming my RR to do some things I thought were crazy difficult before. I think the two events went really well with each other, even with different rules and stuff, what you learned from one you could apply to the other as well.

Ramble was always more about the mechanical side of thing than it was about electronics. When you built your robot this year, how many changes did you make to the design or hardware? How many changes did you make to the software or wiring? Most of the electronics used in Ramble bots were either super simple and completely transparent—à la switches in a control box wired up open loop to motors—or too complicated to build on your own and had to be bought and used as black boxes—like radio components, servos, Vex controllers, etc.

Besides, EV is a robotics event, like none other has ever been. It's autonomous, programmable electronics are allowed, and sensors can be used to detect conditions. It also requires you to build and adjust a vehicle base with a high degree of precision and care. On the whole, I think the balance between the software side and the hardware side is better in EV than in RR.

I'm generalizing a lot here, of course. Obviously, there were exceptions like WrightStuffMonster's bot, which used BasicATOM or something for the automated balloon arm sticky pads, and EVs that used wingnut brakes. However, using a microcontroller on a Ramble bot has always been difficult and expensive since you couldn't send digital data onboard from your controller. Likewise, low-tech EVs with mechanically-activated brakes didn't cost much less (see this post for an example of how much this "microcontroller voodoo" costed) and were less competitive.

[vofbassist]

I'm not sure if anyone else has heard this, but my coach heard from another coach who went to the Science Olympiad national thing where they explained what the events for this year are, that the primary challenge for JYC is to build a scale and the secondary is building a coin sorter. So i was wondering if anyone knew a site where you could find instructions for building a scale.

[dickyjones]

The rules say they'll be posted on soinc soon. I'd guess that they'll be posted here sometime in the next few weeks.

[DeltaHat]

You are both correct.

[dudeincolorado]

well you never know i would wait for the the site to post them just to be sure

[vofbassist]

hey, dudeincolorado. I think you know something. something you shouldn't.