Robocon 2017 - Tasks at hand
Hi all – Prasanna here from MathWorks. Last week’s blog post we talked about the Robocon India contest at a high level. This week, we take a closer look at the task. The goal is to stack discs at the seven designated spots within three minutes. If you break down the tasks, you need to –
- Identify a spot on the game field and throw a disc at that spot
- Throw a disc at an initial velocity and angle
- Knock-off the ball from the spot before stacking discs on the spot
- Detect the current status of the game field. e.g. How many discs of different color are present on various spots etc.
- Tune action plan based on the status of the game field
System Components
Each team will have a different strategy but will likely have the following components in the system:
- Mechanical System (Disc-throwing mechanism)
- Disc landing capability
- Knocking-off capability
- Computer Vision algorithm for
- Color detection
- Object detection
- Hardware Implementation
- Automatically generate code from MATLAB and Simulink on hardware
- Mobile robot that is able to move around the throwing area
In future blogs, we will cover specific ways in which MathWorks tools help you to model individual components. If you want to benefit from these blog posts, basic understanding of MATLAB and familiarity with Simulink is a must.
Today, let us cover an introduction to MATLAB with the help of projectile motion example. Rahul Choudhary – from the training department at MathWorks has created an app. This app will help calculate key parameters for projectile motion while covering an introduction to MATLAB. Rahul has shared the script and the MATLAB app as an attachment to this blog post. We have also included a few tutorial videos that help you get started.
Last but not the least - remember - all Robocon India teams can get
- Free access to MathWorks tools
- Consultation with MathWorkers
- A chance to win the much sought after MathWorks prize
Resources for getting started with MATLAB and Simulink
1. MATLAB hands-on tutorials
2. Simulink hands-on tutorials
3. Mechatronics with Simulink - hands-on videos