All very cool ideas and thoughts about ways to have the robot
navigate and cover specific distances repeatably.  My one concern,
especially for the newer coaches, is that these methods shouldn't be
handed to the team "pre-packaged".   At best, they should be observing
the problems with using a timed setting and brainstorming ideas for ways
to make it better.  They will learn much more and incorporate those
learnings more easily in other areas than if you just hand them a
solution or what you as the coach thinks is a more efficient (or
"correct") way of doing something.
	Don't mean to put down the ideas and great thoughts being passed
around but don't want to lose the main focus of the whole exercise.
	Good luck to all!
	Joe Kaperick

-----Original Message-----
From: First Lego League in Virginia and DC
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lloyd O'Hara
Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2010 10:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] using sensors

For older team members, that's great, my team is all 4th graders and
they 
are having issues with ccntemplating that 1 rotation = 360 degrees.  If,

like me, you want to make it a little easier for them, measure the 
circumfrence of the wheel directly (cloth measuring tape works wonders)
or 
you can just go to the view function (motor degrees) and use the bot as
a 
measuring device by pushing it, with the wheels turning, from point A to

point B.  In the end it's all the same just different ways of
approaching 
the challenge, much like the multitude of bots and challenge solutions
you 
will see at a tournament.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Swayne, Dominic - swaynedd" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2010 10:32 AM
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] using sensors


>I recommend they try another method for distance.  Time (10 sec) will 
>remain
> constant but the distance traveled will vary with the power of the
> batteries.  You'll find the rotation sensors (rotations or degrees)
will
> give them a much more reliable metric.  You can incorporate math
(Diameter
> of the wheel x pi = circumference for one rotation) to calculate
degrees 
> of
> rotation to achieve a given distance.
>
>
> On 10/8/10 10:05 PM, "Heather Houlden" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> It is my first year as well, so we are learning too. However, my kids
are
>> measuring the distances the robot needs to travel.
>> We programmed the robot to travel in a straight line for a set time
(I
>> think it was 10 sec). Then they measured the distance travelled, and
I
>> had them compute the seconds per inch travelled.
>>
>> Then they just multiply the seconds/inch by the number of inches the
>> robot needs to move, so that they can program the number of seconds
>> to move.
>> So far it seems to be working OK for them. There may be an easier way
>> to do it, but this is what they came up with.
>> Hope this helps!
>> Heather
>> Team Blockbusters
>>
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