20-21 Ultimate Goal

The Robot



The Team


THe Task

In Ultimate Goal, teams will attempt to score as many points as possible by launching discs at designated targets. This year, the rules and field setup are different based on whether teams are competing remotely or in-person.

Key game elements

  • Wobble Goal

  • Rings

  • Power Shot Targets

  • Towers

design considerations

  • Meeting and competing safely in a pandemic.

  • Solving design challenges quickly and improving between competitions.

  • Variations in battery power and effect on shooter trajectory.

  • Collect and shoot rings quickly and accurately.

  • Control and place wobble goals during critical time windows.


The Solutions

Pandemic Response

Take-home programming kits, kits of sanitized parts and tools, and a team Discord server for online meetings and CAD collaboration allowed the team to work at full-power during lockdowns.

While the pandemic prevented our usual interactions with other teams and our community, we were able to apply our 3D printing skills to make over 1,500 pieces of PPE for local schools and health providers.

Design Process

This season we refined our design process, with a weekly cadence of identifying issues/opportunities, brainstorming, design, building, programming, and testing.

The INtake

Custom designed intake flaps made with flexible and rigid materials pull rings into the robot where a silicone wheels lift the rings into the collection area. Surgical tubing on a servo keeps rings biased towards the shooter. A trigger wheel feeds one ring at a time into the shooter when needed.

Ring Shooting

A grippy wheel spinning at up to 4,500 RPM compresses the ring and fires it at targets. The shooter speed is adjustable for short and long-distance shots. The shooter uses custom designed 3D printed gears with safety guards and a weighted flywheel to preserve momentum while shooting.

Arm and Claw

An arm and claw allow the drive team to quickly lift wobble goals over the wall to score. A multi-stage gear train provides the necessary torque in a small package. Creative gear design allowed us to re-use existing motors, saving money and avoiding shipping delays.

Wobble Goal PUsher

A custom engineered support keeps the wobble goal upright and allows it to be pushed across the field at high speeds. This enables faster movement during autonomous and driver controlled gameplay.

The Controls

Controls are adjusted based on drive team feedback to optimize performance. Analog controls from early in the season were changed to preset positions and actions to allow the drive team to score more points in critical stages of the game.

Test software was written to allow rapid design iteration and identification of robot issues. This resulted in increased shooter accuracy and consistency.