$0.02 regarding the gyro sensor.  It's absolutely a challenge to work with
and can be inconsistent.  But, one of my teams runs very large, very
unbalanced, high friction attachments (think long arms that extend all over
the place as one example).  For them, the robot's balance changes
constantly and the way they've been able to keep things somewhat straight
has been with gyro drives/turns.  There may be other ways to handle that
type of condition though, that's just one way the gyro can be useful.  Now,
when the gyro doesn't behave, bad things happen. :-) ... they do have a
procedure to help keep that from occurring though.

--Michael


On Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 10:08 AM N K <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I agree. Gyro sensor was just not consistent. A balanced robot using
> odometry was always better. Color/light sensors always worked for us in the
> past 4 years. No issues with any of the tables at any tournament. No
> calibration was ever needed.
>
> On Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 10:04 AM Frank Levine <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> My team totally gave up on the gyro - the 3* accuracy was just too
>> inconsistent.  They found that with the right tires, odometry is definitely
>> "better" for them.
>>
>> I can also confirm that shielded light sensors work pretty well.  We've
>> used them every year (and will be using them this year too)
>>
>> -Frank
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 7:34 AM Jeff Borek <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> I agree with Skip, notably conditions will be different and mechanical
>>> shielding helps.  I’d just add that what worked for my team last year (I
>>> never used a formal calibration routine with my 4th and 5th graders):
>>>
>>> You probably can take a quick reading over black and white on a
>>> competition table [port view of on the brick] on the morning of the
>>> competition.  If your tournament doesn't allow you access to the table you
>>> can use some time in your practice round and then make necessary changes to
>>> set-points in the programs for the later rounds.
>>>
>>> Also probably obvious but my team found this year that is better to look
>>> for white than black given the dark background of most of the mat.  [Alas]
>>> they have given up on light sensor (and gyro) because they find odometry
>>> "better" this year.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 6:44 AM Skip Morrow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yes, you should absolutely expect the lighting conditions to be
>>>> different on each table you play on. Take that from experience! Now, that
>>>> doesn't mean it WILL be different--just that you should EXPECT it to be
>>>> different. That includes practice tables being different from the
>>>> competition tables and different from your tables at home/school. There are
>>>> different strategies for dealing with the variances, including mechanical
>>>> (shielding), calibrations, and strategies that avoid relying on the sensor.
>>>>
>>>> .
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Nov 9, 2018 at 5:13 AM LR <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Experts ... We are using light sensor in our model... We are testing
>>>>> under the normal household "White Day Light" lights to sense the white
>>>>> color on the poster.....Will there be any color variation on the
>>>>> competition ....meaning how to tackle the Reflected Light Intensity
>>>>> variation from household light to the competition place lights.  Any
>>>>> suggestion is appreciated.
>>>>>
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