[Dprglist] Idea - Line following practice courses

[jsampson at pobox.com]

Hi Clay,
Just a few thoughts. 
I don't know how the current maze is constructed. Maybe you have considered all of what I have to say...
The large sheets of paper are easiest transported by rolling them up. But then it may be difficult to get them to lay down flat. You could glue them to poster board. But then the size gets unwieldy (assuming you go with the 36" x 48").
Assuming the prints will be white paper, consider how long it will take to get them dirty enough that they are not usable.You really can't clean the paper with a damp cloth.
Also check what the printing technology is. If it is ink jet then check to see if it is waterproof. A small drop of water can quickly mess up an ink jet print. Maybe spray it with a drafting spray matte. Or a spray polyurethane. But check a sample before commiting to a full size project because those may mess up the print also. If they are sprayed with a coating then maybe they will be washable.
But in general it seems like a good idea.
Jeff Sampson  

    Message: 1
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2018 17:49:48 +0000
From: Clay Timmons <clay-timmons at outlook.com>
To: "dprglist at dprg.org" <dprglist at dprg.org>
Subject: [Dprglist] Idea - Line following practice courses
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I was at FedEx dropping off a package and I noticed they have a large format printer.    Aha!  An idea popped into my brain.  Print a small scale test course on the wide paper.  The prices are very reasonable.


I've been working on the line following courses and have tried a couple options for testing at home.    First I make some test courses out of white posterboard and black electrical tape.    I found that electrical tape is difficult to get to nice 6" radius curve and it is very shiny and can easily have bright glare from reflected background lights.    I also borrowed the official club course.    While this is the best for testing it had  a couple drawbacks.  The challenge course is very large and fun to fit that  large cardboard tube into my tiny car.  I also only had one place in my house where I could get the 7'x13' course on a wood floor.

FedEx, Staples,  Office Depot all  offer  "blueprints" /  "architectural" prints in color or black and white in standard sizes including 24"x26" and 36" x 48".    Here are some links.

Staples            https://www.staples.com/sbd/content/copyandprint/engineering-prints.html
Office Depot  https://www.officedepot.com/configurator/pod/#/product/blueprints<https://www.officedepot.com/configurator/pod/>



I plan to design and print some test course on paper.  My idea is not to reproduce the exact DPRG course layout but to print smaller simplified versions for testing purposes.

For the beginner / novice  I'm thinking a simple oval.    If your robot can follow a straight line and a curve with the 6" radius it "should" be able to complete the DPRG course.


[cid:image001.png at 01D47FFC.2F30F210]


For the advanced course I came up with this layout which has all the "elements" of complexity as described in the DPRG line following rules.
Offset,  90 degree,  Gap S,  6" Gap,  Notch.

[cid:image002.png at 01D47FFD.47D9DA60]
I'm working on my idea for a simplified version of the challenge course.  The challenge course has many complexities and it will be tricky to get them all into a 36" x 48" course.  For me personally I know where my robot struggles so that is what I really want in a test course.



I just wanted to share my thoughts for any feedback.  I plan to be at RBNO tomorrow evening and would love to have some help on a working out a simplified challenge test course.
I could also use some help laying out the course to get a PDF file for printing.    I used PowerPoint to cobble together my ideas but really need a drawing package like inkscape or adobe.  I have an artist friend who is a whiz with adobe and could knock this out easily but if anyone in the club can help with this let me know.


Cheers,

-Clay Timmons-
  
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