Blog

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