Tabletop Design Schedule

It is sometimes difficult to pace the development of a table-top robot when working with a group and in a small time-frame (such as during a single semester). The following is a list of target completion dates based on the number of weeks passed from the initial start date. It is assumed there are roughly nine weeks between when you start and the competition date.

= Robot Development Schedule =


 * Week 1: Initial group meeting and design
 * Go through each person's specialty (Can someone program? Who's good with electronics?)
 * Write down reach person's name, phone, and email and create an wiki page to save it
 * Go through the competition rules (Trinity and Capture The Flag)
 * Research (Via YouTube, Google, etc) winning robots and get ideas
 * Brainstorm and write down your robot ideas and solution approach
 * Draw / sketch robot ideas


 * Week 2: Robot Chassis
 * Go through the previous ideas and choose a single design
 * Double check it against the competition rules (Trinity and Capture The Flag)
 * Gather materials (Wood, motors, sensors, micro-controllers, etc)
 * Choose your method of locomotion: Servo or motor? Will you need a motor controller?
 * Build your chassis and mount your servos or motors


 * Week 3: Locomotion
 * Have the vehicle move around
 * Interface with basic sensors


 * Week 4: Recognize Walls
 * Detect Walls
 * Start avoiding walls and turning corners


 * Week 5-6: Flag Capture
 * Begin Work on Flag Sensing and Capture


 * Week 7-8: Trouble Shooting
 * Try the robot out in the maze
 * Fix the issues that will arise


 * Week 9: Final Adjustments
 * Keep testing and optimize for the maze