Spartronics

Meet HELIOS: The #16 ranked FRC robot in WA, OR, + AK!

Acronym for Highly Efficient Launcher and Intake Oriented System                   Launcher

• Has two axes of freedom, one that adjusts the rails that the ball rides on, and one that adjusts the angle of the flywheel
• Has a 85% accuracy in autonomous and with a full load of balls 70% in teleop
• Primary structural components made out of Baltic Birch
• Cut using a CNC
• Uses a CIM without a gearbox to get necessary torque without RPM reduction
• Uses a banebots T81 wheel for the flywheel

Intake

• 10:1 Gear ratio on a BAG motor
• 1” Urethane belts (6)
• Westcoast products roller system
• 1.25” drum
• 19” wide- room for ~4 balls at once
• Yoga mat as padding for back wall

Agitator

• 14 inch diameter baseplate wood ~6” tall aluminum sides
• Snowblower motor
• 6”x2” paddles (4)
• 17.5” shaft up middle
• Roller to reduce jams

Climber and Rope

• CIM Motor
• 35:1 gear ratio
• 1” drum diameter
• Brake incorporated for safer lowering
• Ratchet incorporate to allow motor to be stopped at the top of the climb
• Approach for climber to catch rope:  Hook side of Velcro on climber drum + polypropylene segment of rope at the bottom that acts as the loop side of Velcro

                          HELIOS climbs in competition at Auburn Mountainview winning at District Event Week 1: HELIOS shoots in competition at Auburn Mountainview District Event Week 1: HELIOS shoots in Autonomous mode in competition at Auburn Mountainview District Event Week 1: HELIOS has taken Spartronics to new heights: We are the #16 ranked team in WA, OR, and AK after our 2017 robotics season. We were ranked #1 team in our district after both our Auburn Mountainview and Glacier Peak competitions.

FAQs about HELIOS

What can your robot HELIOS do?

• Shoot (about 70-80% accuracy, with storage capacity of about 35 balls)
• Intake from the ground and from the hoppers
• Place gears (passive holder allows for us to retrieve gears from human players, but not from the ground)
• Climb (can easily complete in under 10 seconds once rope is acquired)

What part of the field do you prefer to play? Shooting right up against the boiler (in the key). We can also retrieve and place gears. What do you do during autonomous? We have 3 options… Shoot 10 balls into the boiler (~ 80% accurate) and cross the auto line OR Place center gear (less reliable, but doable if aligned correctly) OR Just drive straight across the line What’s your drivetrain? Six-wheel drop-center, belt-driven, 4 CIMs. Nothing fancy, but it gives us plenty of speed and maneuverability on the field. Gear ratio of ~8:1. Have you had any problems with HELIOS? It took a while to tune our launcher, and have had to deal with wear and tear on the launcher flywheel and intake belts. What’s the coolest part of your robot? We’ve got a pretty sweet climber. What programming language do you use?  Java Why is your robot called HELIOS? Since our first robot – ATLaS – Spartronics (a derivative of Spartans or Sparta, from ancient Greece) decided to relate our robot to Greek Mythology and name our robots after a Greek Goddess or God. Each robot name also is an acronym, based on the robot’s unique capabilities or features:

• ATLaS – Advanced Tele-operated Launching System (2014)
• GAEA – Grabbing Actuated Elevator Automaton (2015)
• ARES – Advanced Robot Engineered for Siege (2016)
• HELIOS – Highly Efficient Launcher and Intake Oriented System (2017)