| Before |
| After |
Our old driverstation was unsatisfactory for a wide variety of reasons but we decided to hold over a few features that we liked a lot such as the handle style and size.
Problems with old:
- Velcro controller straps are easily lost, ugly, and worked poorly
- Shelf mounting velcro was a strip of adhesive backed velcro that ran across the entire bottom and attached to the sides of the driver station
- Driverstation never had a consistent location at competitions
- Laptop charger cable had to be routed out of a hole on top of the driver station instead off to the side
Fixes/Improvements:
- Velcro controller straps are now nylon and have a plastic buckle
- 2 Wooden blocks underneath have velcro pads for driverstation shelf mounting
- Slots are cut on the sides so it can be attached to the robot cart handle
- Power cable hole on the side of the driverstation so the entire laptop charger cable route can be hidden underneath
- There are now 10 programmable LED pushbuttons on the driver station controlled by a TI launchpad
- Driverstation corners are now welded and seamless
- USB hub is now a triangular pyramid
- Front and back of the driverstation has a purple acrylic backing to highlight decorative cutouts
- Underglow
- The side cutouts are highlighted by a carbon fiber backing
- Laptop power cable can be stowed away by being attached to the USB hub
Critiques
- Pushbutton maintenance is doable but should have been a higher priority when being designed
- Should use a teensy board instead of a launchpad next time for space and easier wiring
- 3D printed wiring enclosures are a little too weak for the velcro
- Handles hang the driverstation low so putting it on the cart handle and field shelf is a little annoying for shorter people
- Retrofitting a camera pole to the driverstation would be difficult
- No solution for controller wires tending to twist and crimp
- Controllers still slip out of buckles
Click here for more details and documentation.
Click here for grabcad files.
– Spectrum
“Few ideas work on the first try. Iteration is key to innovation.” – Sebastian Thrun
Source: Spectrum
