{A-level} Your robots (info needed, please (urgent!))

[Adam Hargreaves]

Thanks to everyone who's done this so far-keep it up guys

[Remote-Controlled Dave]

Question1: How much would you be willing to pay for this type of product?
A: under ?20

Question 2, how long do you practice driving at a time?
C: 1 Hour to 2 hours

Question 3: would you want standard batteries (ie Alkaline) or Rechargable
B: Rechagable (AAs or AAAs)

Question 4: Would you want a weapon on the trainer bot?
D: interchangeable weapons

Question 5: Would you use your weapon against the device?
B: yes (I have a lifter)

Question 6: Which weight class would the device be used with?
A: Antweight

Question 7: Is weight an issue (as long as it fits in size for class)?
A: yes, it must be in the weight limit

Question 8: What material should be used for the chassis/armour
D: no preference

[petec]

Question1: How much would you be willing to pay for this type of product?

C: ?40-?70


Question 2, how long do you practice driving at a time?
A: 30 mins or less

Question 3: would you want standard batteries (ie Alkaline) or Rechargable

B: Rechagable (AAs or AAAs)


Question 4: Would you want a weapon on the trainer bot?

B: Lifting device
(PeteC: You need something to avoid - doesn't really matter what though!)

Question 5: Would you use your weapon against the device?

B: yes (I have a lifter)


Question 6: Which weight class would the device be used with?
A: Antweight

Question 7: Is weight an issue (as long as it fits in size for class)?
B: no, not really
(PeteC: but it needs to be within reason - I use a can of coke for driving practise, so I reckon 300g for ants is reasonable.)

Question 8: What material should be used for the chassis/armour

D: no preference

[Adam Hargreaves]

Product specifications:
Size and Weight
The product should fit within a 4? cube. This is dictated by the rules set out for the Antweight class of fighting robot, which this product is intended to be used against.
The product should weigh as close to 150g as possible. This, again, is set out within the Antweight rules. However, because of the nature of the product, some leeway with weight would be acceptable, and it may be heavier than this if necessary.

Materials
The materials used for the product should be able to withstand the knocks and bangs that this product will probably gain through standard usage to enable the product to have a long lifespan. This includes and is not limited to: damage caused by flippers; spinners; claws; spikes; and damage caused by falling onto the floor from the arena. This resilience to damage will be tested before manufacturing the prototype.
In addition to the point mentioned above, all glues and fixings should also be able to withstand this type of punishment.
Materials used should be designed to last for the useful life of the product and be recyclable when the product is disposed of.

Function
The product should be able to function within a 3? square as dictated by Antweight rules, and should be able to detect when it is nearing the edge of this to avoid driving itself out of it. This is the standard arena size, and it is therefore sensible that driving practice is limited to this area.
The product should be able to detect another robot, and move to push it out of the arena or attack it. This is to simulate the behaviour of another robot while in combat.
The product should be able to self-right if flipped over (or run while inverted). This is to avoid human intervention, (for safety reasons) and also to simulate this occurrence which happens often in battle.

Power
The product should be powered by rechargeable AA or AAA batteries. This information has been gained from my online survey and it is the desire if my potential users that these are used. An onboard charging jack could maybe be provided to aid charging of batteries and remove the need for the product to be taken apart.

Usage Environment
The product will be designed for use indoors, as Antweight combat takes place indoors. This means that the device should not interfere with any electronic equipment such as TVs or stereo equipment, which may be present in the room.

Safety
The product will have functional sharp edges. These must be painted a suitable bright colour to avoid injuring a user. This is specified in the Antweight rules.
The product should not generate any radio interference. This is in line with British Standards, which rule that it should not cause electronic interference.

Cost
The product should cost between ?20-30. This is based on information gained from my questionnaire.

Manufacturing
The product prototype should be capable of being manufactured on the range of machines available at school.

Time
I have the Christmas and Easter terms to design and build, test and evaluate the prototype. This is in accordance with exam board deadlines.

Aesthetics
The product could have any colour scheme, but this could be dependant on the material used. The shape of the product is dependant on the chosen design.

Ergonomics
The product should have some form of remote off switch to allow it to be picked up safely during use. This is a safety measure to prevent injury to a user.

[BeligerAnt]

Adam, it looks good. Just a couple of points:

I think you mean a 3' (feet) square arena, not a 3" (inch) one!

I think you might struggle a bit with the 150g weight limit and AA or AAA batteries. You can legitimately go to 225g as this is the maximum weight of an ant. It doesn't mean your trainer needs to be a walker though.

There is no rule about painting sharp edges a bright colour! The rule states that covers shall be fitted when the ant is outside the arena, and the covers shall be bright red. No harm in making your sharp edges/points visible, it's just not a requirement of the antweight rules.

As regards British standards etc, the product would need to be CE marked in order to be placed on the market in Europe. This means it would need to comply with all relevent CE-marking directives. There are lots of them, the ones I think might be relevent are: EMC (definitely), Machinery (maybe), Toys ( I think you might get around this one by declaring that it isn't!). There may be others I don't know about!

You are right about not causing interference, that's half of the EMC directive. The other part is that you must not suffer interference from other equipment (PCs, mobile phones, TV's, electric motors etc etc). There are a set of generic European standards, and then there are some product-specific standards. You need to comply with the appropriate standards.

Hopefully your teachers can give you some guidance on what you need to do for this project, since ensuring product compliance is a nightmare and would take longer than you have for the whole project.

Good luck with it!

[Adam Hargreaves]

Thanks Gary, that's just the kind of feedback I wanted you're a lifesaver-I need that kind of thing for the paperwork! Thanks, and I'll add EU directives and stuff...

[Remote-Controlled Dave]

I'm not as experienced as Gary as you know Adam, but should there be something about how easy it is to beat the trainer?
Too easy to beat and you dont get enough training.
Too hard and people wont get chance to correct their errors.
Maybe incorporate some kind of difficulty setting/learning curve to allow beginners and experienced drivers to both get use out of it.
Could have a setting to make any sensers more sensitive, would this make it more difficult to beat?
I dont know if thats any help, its the only thing that struck me (cept the 3" arena! lol)

[BeligerAnt]

I think the practical solution to difficulty levels is a fast/slow switch! Seems to me it will be more than enough work to get the thing roaming the arena without falling off whilst hunting and attacking another 'bot, without trying to artificailly create multiple performance levels.

Mind you, it's a good one to put into the "future developments" list at the end of the project...

[Andrew_Hibberd]

The hardest thing to ever do would be to tell the difference between a wall and another ant, autonomous sumo would be an easier thing to make.

[Adam Hargreaves]

This is a request, purely for coursework purposes, and I wouldn't normally ask: Please could you folks give me the specs of ur robots in as simple terms as possible, and, possibly give me any pictures u have of the insides, showing how they're put together. YOu can PM me if you don't want everyone knowing what u use...

Example:
Franz FerdinANT
Drive: 1*SD200 servo, 1*Naro servo, used in PDS formation with 2 wheels
Armour: thin Polycarbonate
Uses Feather radio reciever, 40.685MHz
No weapon

The paperwork requires that I act really stupid, and like I don't know anything!! I need as many as possible, please!