19-20 Skystone

The Robot


The Team


THe Task

In SKYSTONE, teams worked with droid allies to build a superstructure of the future. They topped it off with a crown of achievement—a final capstone to symbolize our reach into the sky, and dreams of a hopeful future.

Key game elements

  • Foundation

  • Stones

  • Bridge

design considerations

  • Need to account for alliance partner responsibilities and paths during autonomous

  • Need to correctly identify Skystone(s) during autonomous

  • Need to account for rectangular-shaped blocks that need to be collected from a variety of angles or positions

  • Need to minimize time to stack

  • Need to stack as high as possible

  • Need to move foundation smoothly



The Solutions

The SWITCHES

A single autonomous program was written that uses LED switches to to dictate the robot behavior based on:

  • Starting location (loading or building zone)

  • Parking location (next to wall or bridge)

  • Who moves foundation (us or partner)?

  • Alliance (blue or red)

Drive team would coordinate with alliance partner before each match to ensure proper switch selection.

The Webcam and easyopencv

We utilized a webcam on the front of the robot along with a software package called EasyOpenCV developed by FTC Team 4634 FROGBots to correctly identify the Skystone.

The Intake

Utilizing multiple spring-loaded flexible wheels for the intake, we are able to collect blocks from a variety of different angles, including blocks pressed up against the field walls.

The claw and arm

Once the blocks are injected into the robot, a servo-based claw grabs the block. The claw is mounted on an arm that rotates outside of the robot to place the block while maintaining a level orientation.

The lift

The lift uses two linear slides powered by motors and pulleys to stack up to 9 blocks high.

The hooks

Custom 3D-printed hooks driven by servos allow the robot to grasp the foundation firmly and maneuver it into position reliably.