Tank Ramrod is the latest in Lego technology. Ramrod features mechanical design light-years beyond anything seen with Lego technology and a brain that would make the best engineers of Sirius Cybernetics go batty with jealousy. All this technology is bundled in an attractive, rugged design ideal for golf-ball collection.
Tank Ramrod employs three features that set it apart from the rest of the pack. First is a treaded drive system which provides excellent traction and maneuverability. The treads made for an interesting design challenge. Our initial design was a pair of flat treads on either side. The motors are placed in the front, directly above the treads. A differential drive allowed respectable speed and amazing maneuverability. Unfortunately, as additional sensors and features were added, the weight severely limited maneuverability and battery life. As a result, a third idler pulley was added on the dreads and the weight loading pulleys (including the drive pulley) are placed toward the front of the robot. Rear weight is supported on sliding pads.
Levered bump sensor actuators provide unparalleled accuracy and flexibility. The main lever provides forward bump sensing while the extender allows sensing on the side. This provides Ramrod with a full 180 degrees of bump sensing. The rubber band keeps the lever off of the sensor when idle and provides crisp response.
An inverted gate requires no motor activity to keep it in the up or down positions. When down, there is no risk of the balls overcoming the force of the motor and escaping, allowing us to use a higher gear ratio on the gate toggle motor.
The almighty Tank Ramrod employs the same basic multi-threaded obstacle avoidance algorithm that has been the mainstay in the Ramrod series of robots. The minor change is that when a sensor is tripped, the gate closes for the duration of the avoidance then opens again. The software also checks the reflecto-sensors for the black circle. Once found, the almighty Tank Ramrod will stop and perform a series of backups and short forwards to release any balls that it carries onto the circle. The initial run is perhaps the most crucial of the entire program. By moving forward, checking for sensor hits, moving backwards, turning left 90º, and repeating the sensor check, the almighty Tank Ramrod will know it's orientation relative to the balls. At this point, it executes a final turn to face the balls, backs into the wall, and shuffles to make sure it is perpendicular to the balls before moving forward and collecting them.