Objective
This discipline combines manual chassis control with manipulation using the robotic arm. The goal is to understand the mechanical and electronic parts of the arm and to practice smoothly grasping, carrying, and placing objects.
Robotic arm – parts and control
The arm has three degrees of freedom and is driven by three MG90S servos through a PCA9685 driver:
- Base (channel Ch0, range 0°-180°) – sets the orientation (rotation) of the whole arm.
- Arm / shoulder (channel Ch1, range 40°-140°) – sets the height and reach for grasping.
- Claw (channel Ch2, range 40°-140°) – opens and closes the jaws to grasp an object.
In the web interface the arm is controlled with sliders and numeric fields; changing the number automatically moves the slider and vice versa. Servo motion is smooth (a smooth-move function), and a Reset button returns the arm to its default position.
Manual control and object collection
- The competitor manually drives the robot to the objects (“garbage”) scattered around the playground.
- By rotating the base and tilting the arm, the claw is positioned above the object; the arm is then lowered and the claw closed to grasp it.
- The robot carries the grasped object to the marked collection zone and releases it by opening the claw.
- Recommended objects: lightweight items weighing up to about 50 g and up to about 4 cm in size (e.g. foam cubes or balls).
Rules and scoring
- 6 to 10 objects are scattered around the playground.
- Time limit: 4 minutes.
- One point for each object successfully delivered to the collection zone.
- Penalty for an object dropped outside the marked path or in a forbidden zone.
- Bonus for delivering all objects before the time limit expires.
Safety notes
- Do not pull or push the arm against an obstacle – this risks overloading the servo.
- When operating the claw, make sure fingers cannot get caught between the jaws.
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