1. business and industrial
2. automation
3. robotics

FEZZIK Product Brief
Overview
FEZZIK is Team 2530’s robot design for the 2015 First Robotics Competition, Recycle
Rush. Team 2530 operates in subgroups of programming, CAD, mechanical,
electrical, business, and strategy. We began meeting in the early fall, and built our
robot during the “build season,” which lasted from January 3 until February 17, 2015.
After build season, we continued strategizing and planning for the Wisconsin
Regional Competition on March 19­21, 2015.
Features
Drivetrain
Tow Mater
The robot has six wheels
with a dropped center for
zero turn radius capability.
The large, 6” diameter
wheels allow the robot to
easily traverse the scoring
platforms. The tank
drivetrain offers higher
traction and greater
maneuverability than
mecanum rollers. An
added benefit is that the
tank belt system requires
only two gearboxes to
power all six wheels.
What truly sets our robot
apart is Tow Mater, a 57”
extension that reaches out,
grabs, and stacks the
recycling cans located on
the step in the middle of
the playing field. The long
extension is able to pluck
the cans from the step
without disturbing the
landfill, thus not
interfering with our
alliance mates’ strategies.
Elevator
In the competition’s two
minute long Teleoperated
Period, time is in short
supply. Our versatile
Double­Stacking Elevator
was designed with this in
mind. Stacking two totes
high, two totes side by side,
or a can high in the air
allows for quick moving
and fast building of stacks
of up to five totes or four
totes and a can.
FEZZIK Product Brief
Our single motor assembly
operates both the Elevator
and Tow Mater. No
additional pneumatic or
motorized components are
required! This keeps
things as simple as
possible for our robot
drivers and pit crew.
To minimize horizontal
displacement of Tow
Mater, we created a
stabilizing cable system for
the extension, greatly
reducing shaking and
instability.
A CAD image of FEZZIK
Autonomous Mode
In order to further
cooperate with our fellow
alliance members, we have
four pre­programmed
autonomous modes to
complement the abilities of
any alliance members.
Driver Assistance features
To assist the Driver and
Operator in effectively
controlling the robot, a
camera has been placed on
a 180 degree servo, and an
ultrasonic sensor has been
mounted on the Elevator to
sense distance between the
robot and game pieces.
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Team 2530, iNCONCEIVABLE – 1420 11​Ave SE – Rochester, MN – 55904 – Phone: (507) 328-5500
www.frcteam2530.org
FEZZIK Product Brief
Strategy
Autonomous
Our robot can adopt several different
strategies during the autonomous period.
These selections accommodate the
capabilities of our alliance mates. Our
robot can stand still, drive to the Auto
Zone, or pick up a tote or a can and move
it to the Auto Zone. We have also written
code that is able to retrieve a can from
the center step during the autonomous
period. Additionally, another program
has been written to pick up two totes from
the landfill and place them on a scoring
platform.
A close up of Tow Mater
Main Strategy
Alternate Strategies
Using Tow Mater, our robot grabs the
center cans quickly without disrupting
the landfill. With alliance mates that are
able to stack totes quickly, Tow Mater can
efficiently obtain cans from the center
step, allowing our alliance to triple the
points in as many stacks as possible. In an
optimal game, our robot would focus
completely on securing and placing these
valuable cans while our alliance mates
focus on stacking totes.
In the event of alliance mates unable to
perform game tasks efficiently, our
robot is able to play multiple roles to
best fit what’s required.
The Elevator is able to pick up and carry
two totes simultaneously, either
stacked or side by side. Our robot can
assist our alliance by quickly
transporting and stacking totes and
cans.
The robot is able to make stacks of five
totes or four totes and a can. It can also
effectively place litter in the cans by
bringing the can to the feeder station
and allowing a human player to insert
litter. Our robot can score as many as 30
points with one stack.
A CAD image of the drivetrain
FEZZIK Product Brief
FEZZIK is a versatile robot, capable of
executing a variety of game strategies.
These abilities in a simple, efficient, and
robust package.
Version 2 – 10.03.2015 – Page 2​
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Team 2530, iNCONCEIVABLE – 1420 11​Ave SE – Rochester, MN – 55904 – Phone: (507) 328-5500
www.frcteam2530.org
FEZZIK Product Brief
Features
Benefits
Elevator
Simultaneously retrieve two totes per cycle
Make stacks up to five totes high or four totes and a recycling
can
Tow​
Mater
​
Reaches over the landfill to easily retrieve cans from the
center step
Leaves landfill undisturbed
Anti-Sway​
Support
​
Minimizes horizontal displacement of Tow Mater
Single​
Motor​
​
System
​
Uniquely allows synchronized control of Elevator and Tow
Mater
Driver​
Assistance​
​
Features
​
A camera and ultrasonic sensor
Four​
Autonomous​
​
Modes
​
Flexible enough to cooperate with other teams’ abilities to
score as many points as possible in autonomous mode
6”​
Wheels
​
Excellent traction with tank drivetrain which allows for easy
maneuvering over scoring platforms
Programming
The code for our robot is written in C++.
To the right is an example of the
hierarchy for Class SpeedController used
in the code of our robot. We added a new
speed controller by inheriting from
SpeedController, and edited it to allow for
control of two motors while maintaining
equal power for each.
SpeedController is used to control
Victor Motor Controllers. The Victors
direct the drivetrain and are required
for movement in both Autonomous and
Teleoperated Modes.
FEZZIK Product Brief
Version 2 – 10.03.2015 – Page 3​
of 3
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Team 2530, iNCONCEIVABLE – 1420 11​Ave SE – Rochester, MN – 55904 – Phone: (507) 328-5500
www.frcteam2530.org