[Dprglist] Idea - Line following practice courses

Mon Nov 19 10:53:30 PST 2018

The previous line following course was constructed using 12"x12" white
flooring tile.  This allowed creating 6" radius curves rather easy.. 
Just mark the midpoint on two adjacent sides of the tile and connect
them with a radius of black tape.  (a compass really isn't needed).  I
bought a box of flooring tile to create a course, and have supplied tile
to two other individuals.  As others will tell you, wrapping the tape
around the edge of the tile will help prevent it from coming off /
lifting up. 

I'm still on the lookout for better wheels and motor/shaft encoders. 
The cheapo robot kit from Amazon is a great starter kit, but it's been
difficult taking the next step. 

Cheapo Kit: http://a.co/d/f1CuSu2 

---
Jim Merkle
Carrollton, TX 75007
jim at merkles.com 

On 2018-11-19 12:21, jsampson--- via DPRGlist wrote:

> 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 
> Message-ID: 
> <CY1PR15MB07951BC915D79A1B3067AC0489D80 at CY1PR15MB0795.namprd15.prod.outlook.com> 
> 
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" 
> 
> 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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