OverviewTeams from Tulane University and Iowa State University were asked to design and build a robot that can shoot basketballs into goals of three different heights from six different scoring positions. Iowa State wins the 10-point bonus and the competition by playing a near perfect game of robo-basketball. Tulane makes several goals but it's not enough to catch Iowa State, who advances to the next round of competition.
The Teams
Iowa State University:
John Hughes, Junior, Manufacturing Engineering
Ryan Richter, Senior, Manufacturing Engineering
Axel Stromberg, Senior, Manufacturing Engineering
Tulane University:
Del Segura, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering
Michelle Dunaway, Senior, Mechanical Engineering
Justin Armstrong, Senior, Mechanical Engineering
The DesignsIowa State designed a sharp shooting robot with two main drive wheels, two castors, and a pneumatic ball kicker with a second pneumatic cylinder to modify trajectories.
Tulane designed a blue chip robot with two main drive wheels, two castors, and a second set of counter-rotating wheels that pitch basketballs into the goals. A linear actuator made adjustments for trajectory.
The Construction Host Chris Chianelli introduces the Tulane University and Iowa State University to their challenge: to build a robot that can shoot basketballs into three different height goals from any of six scoring positions. Buzz and the Iowa State Cyclones decide to build a kicking robot that will punt the balls, while Brian and Tulane design an pitching machine that uses to spinning wheels to propel the ball.
Chris introduces the balls and goals that will be used in the competition, followed by Buzz and Brian revealing the surprise household item: lawn mowers. John and Michelle outline the details of their team's designs and building begins. Both teams begin by constructing their chassis.
Del works on the pitching mechanism while Brian works on the electronics of the Tulane robot. Iowa State gets their punting mechanism assembled and test their robot.
With both teams deep into the construction phase, Chris Chianelli talks to Buzz and Brian about how their respective teams are progressing so far. Tulane makes design changes and wrestles with stability problems while ISU works to integrate pieces from the lawn mower.
Tulane is able to test but has some issues with accuracy and productivity while Iowa State runs into problems with their pneumatics fixes it and get in a lot of practice, makes some tweaks and both teams are ready to compete.
The ContestIowa State wins the 10-point bonus and the competition by playing a near perfect game of robo-basketball. Tulane makes several goals but it's not enough to catch Iowa State.
The Winners: Iowa State
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