the robot to ascend without losing its
grip on the ribbon.
The last optimization we thought
to do was to improve the balance of
the robot. Even with the bracket and
improved climber, the robot could still
sometimes lose its grip because the
center of gravity was not in line with
the ribbon.
We rearranged the mounting
bracket to place it low and hanging
off the front of the robot. It was not
so low that the bot couldn’t drive
around, and it did significantly
improve the bot’s balance and put its
center of gravity in line with the
ribbon. With these improvements in
place, the robot was able to ascend
and descend the ribbon with ease.
Elevator Music
This project demonstrates the
major benefits that can come from
even simple optimizations. We realize
that many projects — especially those
for competition — do not always have
enough time for extensive trial and
error, but even some very rudimentary
real world testing can reveal problems
that might not have been apparent on
the drawing board.
We think this project has another
important lesson. Esoteric challenges
like ribbon climbing can be pretty
daunting. Sometimes when you try to
work out something completely on
paper before physically putting it
together, it might seem like an endless
list of design decisions and obstacles
threaten to confine your ideas to the
four corners of the page.
We think that sometimes just
going ahead and building something
can be the best way to advance a
project. We don’t mean to minimize
the value of sketching things out and
crunching the numbers, but a
successful proof of concept can really
jump-start a project. Nothing quite
compares to the inspiration and
excitement of actually building
something. Once you do, you’ll see
solutions and new designs that may
not have jumped out at you from
pencil and paper.
We think this project is a great
example of that. Few things seem
more esoteric than a space elevator,
but with a basic VEX kit and some
good old fashioned trial and error, we
came up with a surprisingly effective
mechanism that likely isn’t that far off
from what you might see at future
events. This isn’t the sort of thing
that’s merely confined to competitions
— there are truly exciting real world
applications out there.
So, put any self-doubt aside and
just build it. You might even help
Tsiolkovsky’s dream come true. SV
SERVO 12.2013 73
FIRST, WE CONQUER
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
— THEN SPACE!
A MORE POLISHED DESIGN.
Lida
Special Thanks to