rogue-two-robots

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RogueTwo Robots currently has two active featherweight machines, and a few older machines that have either been retired or sold. Information on all of these can be found below.

DRUMROLL II

(Active)

Weight: 10kg

Drive: 2 x 16.8V cordless drill motors.

Power: 2 x 9.6V battery packs (3.7Ah) in series.

Weapon: A 2.8kg spinning drum with Hardox teeth bolted on. Spins at approximately 4000rpm.

Weapon drive: A 1650kv brushless 'Align' motor, rated at approximately 2kW.

Control: A Scorpion XL speed controller for the drive motors and a brushless speed controller for the weapon.

Chassis/Armour: 12mm RG1000 bulkheads with aluminium top and bottom panels. 8mm HDPE temporary outer armour.

Drumroll II is the successor to arguably the team's best ever robot, Drumroll. The power of featherweights is on the increase and it was felt that Drumroll fell just short of being able to be either a) upgraded to higher power or b) able to compete at a higher level (due to some design flaws). Drumroll II was to be the machine that makes that step up.

It has been designed to eradicate the niggles that beset the original robot. First of all, with large 130mm wheels, Drumroll II can run as comfortably when upside down as it can in its normal orientation. This negates the requirement of either a self-righting mechanism or roll-cage. The machine is also much nippier than its predecessor but it is also more controllable as it uses a Scorpion XL, a speed controller that provide an excellent degree of precision. While weight was a problem for the previous machine, Drumroll II currently weighs 10kg, which leaves 3.6kg spare for an outer layer of Hardox armour and some additional weight-gain for the drum. The drum itself now hits much harder, running off a brushless motor (currently using an Align model, this is soon to be replaced with a more reliable Scorpion brand model) and speed controller combo. The original plan was to also use A123 lithium batteries to save weight and deliver the power necessary for allowing the robot to reach its true capabilities but these are currently on the 'upgrade' list and a set of Nimh batteries are being used at present.

Drumroll II didn't perform as well as it could have done at the 2010 UK championships, with some self-inflicted damage sustained in the first battle hindering its performance for the rest of the weekend, but with some improvements and upgrades, it should be at the top of it's game for next time!

CARCINUS

(Active)

Weight: 11.7kg

Drive: 2 x 12V cordless drill motors.

Power: 2 x 9.6V battery packs (3.7Ah) in series.

Weapon: A pair of steel grabbing claws with a fully-open width of 60cm.

Weapon drive: A 24V Linak linear actuator connected via aluminium arms.

Control: Two Electronize 30A speed controllers for drive;

an Electronize 15A speed controller for the weapon.

Chassis/Armour: 12mm polypropylene used for the chassis, base and top plates, with a layer of bicycle tyre running round the outside to provide impact protection.

Carcinus is a relatively new robot on the team. Built in just under two weeks in September 2009 it quickly made its appearance at the 2009 UK Tag Team championships. The design of Carcinus was based around a robot called Pinsor, of Team Trouble, that was built earlier that year. The grabbing claws of Pinsor provided inspiration for a new robot and before long, Carcinus was born.

The name Carcinus (pronounced 'kar-sin-us') is Greek for crab and was chosen after it became clear from initial parts layouts that the robot would have a crab-like look to it. The build threw up some interesting challenges and setbacks that forced a redesign during construction. The power and drive for the claws, for example, was originally going to be done by a drill motor connected to a threaded rod. However, that setup was poorly designed and had a couple of possible failure points and so was replaced by the commercial actuator unit.

Carcinus' performance was average at its first event, but since then some upgrades have taken place which have improved the robot. A change of radio gear from 40MHz to 2.4GHz has eliminated interference and the claws, originally bolted together, have now been fully welded to improve their strength. The claw actuator is the next area for upgrade as the current model is quite slow and underpowered.

KAIZER

(Sold)

Weight: 11kg

Drive: 4 x 16.8V cordless drill motors.

Power: 2 x 9.6V battery packs (3.7Ah) in series.

Weapon: A front-mounted set of lifting forks.

Weapon drive: A cordless drill motor with a threaded rod attached to transmit linear motion to the forks.

Control: Two Electronize 30A speed controllers for drive;

an Electronize 15A speed controller for the weapon.

Chassis/Armour: 12mm HDPE used for the chassis and base with aluminium chequerplate for the top panel. The rebuilt version will have outer armour protection consisting of Hardox.

Kaizer is in its third incarnation now. All three versions have been similar in setup; four-wheel-drive from cordless drill motors in a simple box chassis with a front wedge. Each version was designed to improve on the previous machine: Mk.1 was built in 2006 for the UK Robotic Games but couldn't really stand up to the rigours of full-on featherweight combat; the next rebuild (Mk.2) was supposed to see this problem rectified but a poor selection of materials for the robot meant that chassis deformation from a constant barrage of impacts was a regular occurrence; Mk.3 features the classic bulkhead construction method and thick HDPE armour which solves the deformation problem. It is also the first version of Kaizer to have an active weapon; a pair of electrically-powered lifting forks on the front, inspired by Panic Attack from Robot Wars.

The robot took a battering from spinners at the 2009 UK Championships and has sat untouched for months, in need of a rebuild. However its rebirth is on the cards. It will keep the four-wheel-drive setup and the front forks but the chassis will be considerably reduced in length, resulting in a more compact robot. With a change from a linear actuator to a lighter drill and threaded rod arrangement to drive the forks, the weight will be available to have Hardox armour running round the outside of the robot in order to offer more protection against spinning weapons.

UPDATE AUTUMN 2010: Kaizer was sold at the beginning of September to Ceri Jenkins of Team Psychostorm who competed with it in the 2010 UK Championships.

DRUMROLL

(Sold)

Weight: 13.6kg

Drive: 2 x 12V cordless drill motors.

Power: 2 x 9.6V battery packs (3.7Ah) in series.

Weapon: A 4.2kg spinning drum with Hardox teeth welded on. Spins at approximately 4000rpm.

Weapon drive: Two Speed 900 electric motors running at19.2V on a ratio of 2.4:1 through timing belts and pulleys.

Control: Two Electronize 30A speed controllers for drive; a Victor 885 speed controller for the weapon motors.

Chassis/Armour: 20mm Nylon 6 used for the chassis bulkheads and a combination of Hardox and HDPE for armour.

Drumroll was the first robot built by the team that featured an active weapon right from the beginning; with previous robots, any weapons were generally fitted as an afterthought. The design originated from a practice exercise in a CAD program and was never intended to be anything more than that but it soon became clear that it could work well as a featherweight. After constructing a drivable chassis, Drumroll was entered into a couple of events as a rambot before the push was made to get the weapon installed in the autumn of 2007. The first drum made simply had two strips of hardox running along the length of a piece of steel piping but this, coupled with some low-quality motors, was not very effective as a weapon. It was autumn/winter 2008 before the motors were replaced with better quality ones and a new drum was fabricated that had steel rings with protruding teeth welded over a piece of steel tube. This setup proved to be far more effective and destructive in both practice and competition, taking Drumroll to 4th place at the 2009 UK featherweight championships. Since then, it has had a brushless motor fitted to drive the weapon to provide increased power but the current components cannot allow the brushless motor to run at its full potential and so it has been removed and is being saved for Drumroll II.

Drumroll is now getting on a bit, it is showing signs of fatigue and with a lack of self-righting mechanism due to weight restrictions, struggles to be competitive against the most popular of weaponised robots - the flipper. As such it will most likely no longer feature in full combat competitions but will continue to fight in whiteboard battles.

UPDATE AUTUMN 2010: Drumroll was sold in August to Gary Cairns who ran it in the 2010 UK Championships under the name of Boner.

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