Project LiftOff

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Revision as of 20:38, 3 February 2023 by Luma Robotics (talk | contribs)
Project Liftoff at NHRL September 2022
Project Liftoff - February 2022 (rev 6.0) Pictured before Motorama Robot Conflict
Project Liftoff - September 2021 (rev 5.0), pictured before the September 2021 event. The bot went on to go undefeated, winning the 3lb division with 4 KOs and 3 judges decisions.

Project Liftoff is a 3lb MeltyBrain (a robot that moves using translational drift) as its entire body spins at 2000 to 4000 RPM.

As of Nov/Dec 2022, Project Liftoff is in it's 7th design iteration.

Project Liftoff - March 2019 (rev 1.0)
  • Rev-1.0 : March 2019
    • Processor: Arduino Nano
    • Accelerometer: common MPU 6050 (+/- 16g 12 bits)
    • Receiver Interface: standard RC-PWM into UART
    • Motor Control: OneShot125 via PWM manipulation @ ~800Hz
    • External Sensors: none
  • Rev-1.1 May 2019
    • switched from 8" Aluminum rings to 9" AR-500 ring with tooth (and hand cut HDPE)
      • this AR-500 tooth proved to be too pointed and became embedded in arena wall several times
Project Liftoff - May 2019 (rev 1.1)
Project Liftoff - August 2019 (rev 1.2)
Sir Pops A Lot (derivative) - August 2019 (rev 1.15)
  • Rev-2.0 : 2020
    • Processor: Teensy 4.0
    • Accelerometer: none… used motor eRPM telemetry from ESCs via bidirectional dShot
    • Receiver Interface: RC-SBUS into UART
    • Motor Control: dShot600 via SPI manipulation @ 8000Hz
    • External Sensors: active IR
    • CNC'd HDPE body
    • New 8" AR-500 ring and tooth (with a more blunt tip)
Project Liftoff - July 2020 (rev 2.0)
Flip N' Cut (derivative) - July 2020 (rev 2.05)
Project Liftoff - September 2020 (rev 2.1)
  • Rev-3 : 2021 Same electronics as Rev-2; improved algorithm, wheel orientation, and return to accelerometer (see March-2021 picture below).
    Project Liftoff - March 2021 (rev 3.0)
    • Processor: Teensy 4.0
    • Accelerometer: H3LIS331DL (+/- 400g 16 bits)
    • Receiver Interface: RC-SBUS into UART
    • Motor Control: dShot600 via SPI manipulation @ 8000Hz
    • External Sensors: active IR
    • changed to 4S (from 3S)
    • Other Details:
      • Switched to a "Motor Pod" that is sandwhich'd by two clam shell HDPE halves.
      • Put wheels in-line with weapon tooth (what was Jim thinking).
      • misc. software improvements (algorithm simplified)
  • Rev-4 : 2021 (May-2021 and July-2021) Same as Rev-3 except:
    • Quest for a more durable motor...
      • May-2021: created a custom motor with internal thrust bearing with "no-name" motors (internal thrust bearing still failed by the third fight).
      • July-2021: Put a thrust bearing inside a PropDrive motor
        • Combing a PD-2826 stator with a PD-2830 motor-can gave the needed room. Could do the same thing with a PD-2830 stator and a PD-2836 motor-can (the PD-2836 is really a 2834, 4mm larger than the PD-2830).
        • This motor sacrificed power for durability. It was durable... however, it changed the failure point to the set screws and motor axle.
    • Wheel Axis returning to 90 degrees from weapon
      • when wheels are inline with the weapon, the hockey-pucking is far worse.
    • Making weight distribution fully symmetric...
      • a large counter-balance weight opposite (single tooth) weapon increases hockey-pucking... an impact causes the tooth to stop, but the other side of the Bot goes flying due to its own momentum.
      • change to fully symmetric two weapon teeth, allowing us to avoid a large counter balance weight.
    • changed to full round HDPE body
      • prior HDPE cut-outs were to save weight
      • prior circular AR-500 weapon ring kept wall collisions "safer" and minimized pinning risk, and allowed us to hollow-out the HDPE.
      • re-design and re-cut of HDPE shell.
    • weapon ring changes
      • make weapon ring narrower to decrease weight to offset increase in HDPE
      • remove bolt holes from weapon ring (to maximize its strength)
    • Project Liftoff - Side profile (rev 6.0)
      July-2021: first usage of titanium wheels. Thank you to Joe Fabbiani (Smeeeeh) and Calvin Iba (Lynx) for sharing the idea and showing the way - see Lynx May-2021 competition.
  • Rev-5 : Sept-2021 Same as Rev-4 except:
    • Major Motor redesign
      • Switched from PropDrive 2830 to PropDrive 2836.
        • more power.
      • Changed to a Hub Motor wheel attachment
        • 6mm dead axle
        • two 626 bearings (1000+ pounds of dynamic load)
        • custom machined aluminum inner (motor-can) and out (wheel) hubs
          • done on home CNC machine (0.2mm layer height)
        • titanium wheels (via send-cut-send)
        • no more set screw failures!
        • Thank you to Brian Boxell (Eruption) for giving us some direction, encouragement, and help on Hub Motors.
    • Yet another AR-500 weapon ring re-design
      • Needed to find 80+ grams to offset the increased weight from the above Hub Motors.
      • Same 0.25" AR-500, but...
        • via send-cut-send.
        • Previous 326g (almost a full round circle) to 241g (almost rectangular)
        • Still no holes, very tapered/narrow in the middle.
    • Both the above required a re-design of HDPE shell.
  • Annotated Image of Sept-2021 Project LiftOff internals. The accelerometer and RC receiver are on the underside of the PCB.
    Rev-5 Issues that we had hoped to address for Nov-2021 :
    • In the "first attempt" of CNC'ing aluminum I made several mistakes that led to slight defects in the motor hubs (leading to non-alingment in the Hub Motors that were used... rubbing/friction/added heat/lost power).
      • Over-clamping & un-even clamping.
      • Slight alignment issues with double sided parts.
    • We never (software) tuned Project LiftOff... we were making hardware fixes until midnight on Friday.
      • The controls were upside down and backwards all day on Saturday.
      • The IR object/wall detection was never used since it was so misaligned.
    • Possibly make some ESC changes to improve drift performance.
    • Continue to ponder how to avoid "hockey pucking".
    • "Save the Arena Floor" upgrade...
      • We will modify the software to take advantage of the wheel telemetry information we have (via bidirectional dShot) to avoid "spinning our wheels".
      • This will not only stop us from ripping apart the arena floor (like a saw blade), but:
        • It will be much quieter.
        • It should enable us to spin up much faster (using static friction instead of dynamic friction).

  • Rev-6 : February-2022 Same as Rev-5 except:
    • Major Shell Redesign
      • After failures during the December finals, we have decided to move away from UHMW or HDPE as shell materials. These materials were too prone to failure around the metal ring.
      • The outer shells are now printed out of TPU plastic.
      • Smaller batteries
    • New AR500 weapon options
      • Long reach weapon, made of stacked 1/8" AR500.
        • via send-cut-send.
        • Allows us to play the reach game with other horizontals, and keeps big wheel bots away from our chassis.
        • Welded together, questionable structural integrity.
    • New PCB iteration
      • Smaller
      • Lighter
      • Bluetooth to remote external devices
        • Functional, but requires an add-on board that is hard to fit in 3 pound bot.
        • Provides battery, temp, and speed telemetry in real time
      • Smarter layout, better components.

  • Rev7 changes (Sept/Nov/December 2022)
    • Changed shell layout to allow...
      • rotated hub motors so wheels are outward (instead of inward).
        • This provides a better "gear ratio", giving more torque to spin up (but decreases the final speed).
      • New PCB layout to accommodate...
        • multiple accelerometers, fewer parts, different parts
      • Better machined Inner/Outer Hubs
      • Thinner Titanium wheels.
    • Software improvements for better drifting
    • (Finally) did revision 1 of autonomous software

Robot Facts

The first appearance was at the March 2019 NHRL event. The very first version used an 8" diameter aluminum pipe cut into two 1/2" thick slices with a notch cut out for the AR500 tooth (with two bolt holes).

Since then, Liftoff has used several laser or waterjet-cut AR500 steel rings. These rings have been sandwiched or otherwise mounted to CNC'd UHMW/HDPE or 3D printed TPU bodies that contain the primary electronics and battery. This has proven to be a durable, and adaptable construction method.

Driver Andrew Kazmer (mostly) Jim Kazmer (sometimes)
Weight Class 3lb
Body Material TPU, HDPE, AR500
Weapon Meltybrain Spinner
Weapon Drive NA
Drive 2 x Propdrive 2836 1200kv, 1.55" Titanium "Cleat" Wheels
Power 2x4S 450mah LiPo
Minibot - 1lb Titanium wedge, TPU body










Statistics

Info

  • Rank: #66 in 3lb.
  • Last 5 fights: WLWWL
  • Current streak: L1 (1 KOs/KO'd)
  • Longest winning streak: 7 (4 KOs)
  • Longest losing streak: 3 (3 KO'd)
  • Avg fight time (seconds): 134.2

Record

Year Events Fights W L % KOs KO'd
2018-19 3 10 6 4 0.600 4 4
2020 3 10 4 6 0.400 3 4
2021 6 20 12 8 0.600 8 3
2022 4 21 13 8 0.619 5 5
2023 1 4 3 1 0.750 1 0
2024 1 3 2 1 0.667 0 1
All-Time 18 68 40 28 0.588 21 16


Events

Date Fought as Reached Place Fights W L KOs KO'd
March 9, 2019 Project LiftOff Losers 2 3 2 1 2 1
May 10, 2019 Project LiftOff Losers 5 4th 6 4 2 2 2
August 10, 2019 Project Liftoff Losers 1 1 0 1 0 1
July 18, 2020 Project LiftOff Losers 3 4 2 2 2 1
July 19, 2020 Project Liftoff Losers 4 4 2 2 1 1
September 19, 2020 Project Liftoff Losers 1 2 0 2 0 2
March 20, 2021 Project LiftOff Losers 3 3 1 2 0 0
May 15, 2021 Project Liftoff Losers 3 3 1 2 1 2
July 24, 2021 Project Liftoff Winners 4 2 1 1 1 0
September 18, 2021 Project Liftoff Final 1st 7 7 0 4 0
November 13, 2021 Project LiftOff Winners 2 1 0 1 0 1
December 18, 2021 Project LiftOff Losers 4 4 2 2 2 0
April 23, 2022 Project LiftOff Elimination 4 4 2 2 2 2
September 17, 2022 Project Liftoff Elimination Round 5 4 2 2 1 1
November 12, 2022 Project LiftOff Elimination Final 3rd 7 5 2 2 0
December 17, 2022 Project LiftOff Elimination Final 3rd 6 4 2 0 2
March 18, 2023 Project LiftOff Round 5 4 3 1 1 0
March 2, 2024 Project LiftOff Round of 32 3 2 1 0 0


Opponents

Opponent Fights W L KOs KO'd Last Meeting
Eruption 3 2 1 1 1 December 17, 2022
Lynx 3 0 3 0 2 December 17, 2022
Judge's Dream 2 2 0 0 0 September 18, 2021
SawMurai 2 1 1 1 0 July 24, 2021
Polywog 2 1 1 0 1 December 17, 2022
Chubby Unicorn 2 1 1 0 1 December 17, 2022
Wasp 2 0 2 0 2 May 10, 2019
Jack Rabbit 2 0 2 0 0 July 19, 2020
Caldera 2 0 2 0 0 December 18, 2021
Razor Storm 1 1 0 1 0 September 18, 2021
Booooring 1 1 0 1 0 September 18, 2021
Be Careful What You Wish For 1 1 0 1 0 September 18, 2021
Dark Princess 1 1 0 1 0 September 18, 2021
Crisis (II) 1 1 0 1 0 September 17, 2022
HiveLighter 1 1 0 1 0 November 12, 2022
Professor Hex 1 1 0 1 0 November 12, 2022
OffTrack 1 1 0 1 0 May 15, 2021
Kill Joy 1 1 0 1 0 May 10, 2019
Bad Bot 1 1 0 1 0 May 10, 2019
Maw 1 1 0 1 0 March 9, 2019
Cookie Monster 1 1 0 1 0 March 9, 2019
Black Havoc 1 1 0 1 0 March 18, 2023
BB2X 1 1 0 1 0 July 19, 2020
Yes 1 1 0 1 0 July 18, 2020
Starchild 1 1 0 1 0 December 18, 2021
Voxel (3lb) 1 1 0 1 0 December 18, 2021
Scab Armour 1 1 0 1 0 April 23, 2022
Arr See Saw 1 1 0 1 0 April 23, 2022
Murple 1 1 0 0 0 September 18, 2021
Ablation 1 1 0 0 0 September 17, 2022
Red Hawk 1 1 0 0 0 November 12, 2022
War? Hard! 1 1 0 0 0 November 12, 2022
Nitro Hornet 1 1 0 0 0 May 10, 2019
Foiled Again 1 1 0 0 0 May 10, 2019
Black Adder 1 1 0 0 0 March 20, 2021
Black Beans 1 1 0 0 0 March 2, 2024
Ghastly 1 1 0 0 0 March 2, 2024
Kamino 1 1 0 0 0 March 18, 2023
Plot Twist 1 1 0 0 0 March 18, 2023
Oops!.. I did it again.. 1 1 0 0 0 July 19, 2020
Sepi01 1 1 0 0 0 December 17, 2022
Komodo 1 1 0 0 0 December 17, 2022
Cybot 1 0 1 0 1 September 19, 2020
Shreddit Bro 1 0 1 0 1 September 19, 2020
Spartan 1 0 1 0 1 November 13, 2021
Wumbo 1 0 1 0 1 May 15, 2021
SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 1 0 1 0 1 March 9, 2019
Jack Move 1 0 1 0 1 July 19, 2020
Crisis (I) 1 0 1 0 1 July 18, 2020
Maelstrom 1 0 1 0 1 August 10, 2019
Hurt Caboose 1 0 1 0 1 April 23, 2022
Hound 1 0 1 0 0 September 17, 2022
Fully Defined 1 0 1 0 0 November 12, 2022
Stoneforge 1 0 1 0 0 November 12, 2022
Silk 1 0 1 0 0 March 20, 2021
Onna-musha 1 0 1 0 0 March 2, 2024
Voxel v.1 1 0 1 0 0 March 18, 2023

Click "Expand" to see this table.


Full Fight History

Date Opponent Round Result By Points Fight Length (s) Video
March 9, 2019 SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Winners 1 Loss KO -1.21 191 https://youtu.be/kkKFOXhK-N8
March 9, 2019 Cookie Monster Losers 1 Win KO 1.11 87 https://youtu.be/NZ0MGYfzH1A
March 9, 2019 Maw Losers 2 Win KO 1.00 110 https://youtu.be/GYPio_R9Nbw
May 10, 2019 Wasp Winners 1 Loss KO -1.00 37 https://youtu.be/FXrn5Pc-kpM
May 10, 2019 Bad Bot Losers 1 Win KO 1.00 36 https://youtu.be/Nk_Ww_wjG0g
May 10, 2019 Kill Joy Losers 2 Win KO 1.00 35 https://youtu.be/slhqf76B28Y
May 10, 2019 Nitro Hornet Losers 3 Win Judges Decision 1.00 240 https://youtu.be/w6PuIMEVgPA
May 10, 2019 Foiled Again Losers 4 Win Judges Decision 1.00 240 https://youtu.be/KbC85bAwS1s
May 10, 2019 Wasp Losers 5 Loss KO -1.03 22 https://youtu.be/wcSgpkXklus
August 10, 2019 Tiny Huge Winners 1 Loss Forfeit 0.00
August 10, 2019 Maelstrom Losers 1 Loss KO -1.31 153 https://youtu.be/_ErE7kddM80?t=1738
July 18, 2020 Crisis (I) Winners 2 Loss KO -1.13 61 https://youtu.be/l3PcB1StgFc
July 18, 2020 SawMurai Losers 1 Win KO 1.00 150 https://youtu.be/K2yvU7pGh7w
July 18, 2020 Yes Winners 3 Win KO 1.00 55 https://youtu.be/sa132eFm5yQ
July 18, 2020 Jack Rabbit Losers 3 Loss Judges Decision -1.29 240 https://youtu.be/MEa9t6DcClc
July 19, 2020 BB2X Winners 2 Win KO 1.00 74 https://youtu.be/8wpOl1d6RNU
July 19, 2020 Jack Rabbit Winners 3 Loss Judges Decision -1.15 180 https://youtu.be/a5t4JmN0osI
July 19, 2020 Oops!.. I did it again.. Losers 3 Win Judges Decision 1.00 180 https://youtu.be/EPlzbLuOrVk
July 19, 2020 Jack Move Losers 4 Loss KO -1.00 92 https://youtu.be/dGqAdWRw-fc
September 19, 2020 Shreddit Bro Winners 1 Loss KO -1.00 50 https://youtu.be/43yxPZlrikE
September 19, 2020 Cybot Losers 1 Loss KO -1.13 71 https://youtu.be/hUkh1w0jhno
February 6, 2021 Drum Go Dum Winners 1 Loss Forfeit 0.00
February 6, 2021 Horvoc Losers 1 Loss Forfeit 0.00
March 20, 2021 Black Adder Winners 2 Win Judges Decision 1.00 180 https://youtu.be/MjKsedVz4zI
March 20, 2021 Silk Winners 3 Loss Judges Decision -1.00 180 https://youtu.be/y-SpTxTiP_8
March 20, 2021 Caldera Losers 3 Loss Judges Decision -1.08 180 https://youtu.be/-EwCzRLXJVo
May 15, 2021 OffTrack Winners 2 Win KO 1.00 87 https://youtu.be/R2w6HwN-8A4
May 15, 2021 Lynx Winners 3 Loss KO -1.00 43 https://youtu.be/5elaqlzA60k?t=16348
May 15, 2021 Wumbo Losers 3 Loss KO -1.14 137 https://youtu.be/5elaqlzA60k?t=24734
July 24, 2021 Unhinged Winners 1 Win Forfeit 0.00
July 24, 2021 Bumble Hooves Winners 2 Win Forfeit 0.00
July 24, 2021 Eruption Winners 3 Win KO 1.07 124 https://youtu.be/_X_fSdJPJvQ
July 24, 2021 SawMurai Winners 4 Loss Judges Decision -1.00 180 https://youtu.be/KxIHvfQ52mA
July 24, 2021 Bone Collector Losers 6 Loss Forfeit 0.00
September 18, 2021 Be Careful What You Wish For Winners 2 Win KO 1.00 124 https://youtu.be/McNXHRM9n4I?t=1600
September 18, 2021 Booooring Winners 3 Win KO 1.16 112 https://youtu.be/McNXHRM9n4I?t=13369
September 18, 2021 Razor Storm Winners 4 Win KO 1.00 35 https://youtu.be/McNXHRM9n4I?t=20200
September 18, 2021 Murple Winners 5 Win Judges Decision 1.20 180 https://youtu.be/McNXHRM9n4I?t=25276
September 18, 2021 Judge's Dream Winners 6 Win Judges Decision 1.21 180 https://youtu.be/McNXHRM9n4I?t=28269
September 18, 2021 Dark Princess Winners Semifinal Win KO 1.43 73 https://youtu.be/9yJIdpltHgg?t=831
September 18, 2021 Judge's Dream Final Win Judges Decision 1.46 180 https://youtu.be/9yJIdpltHgg?t=9587
November 13, 2021 Spartan Winners 2 Loss KO -1.30 162 https://youtu.be/ds70uaP__A4?t=7671
November 13, 2021 Pinevictus Losers 1 Loss Forfeit 0.00
December 18, 2021 Voxel (3lb) Winners 1 Win KO 1.19 84 https://youtu.be/3Vdh8qNF0ww?t=8046
December 18, 2021 Starchild Winners 2 Win KO 1.07 162 https://youtu.be/3Vdh8qNF0ww?t=11622
December 18, 2021 Lynx Winners 3 Loss Judges Decision -1.00 180 https://youtu.be/3Vdh8qNF0ww?t=17567
December 18, 2021 Caldera Losers 4 Loss Judges Decision -1.03 180 https://youtu.be/BkGCy7H9FPk?t=3959
April 23, 2022 Arr See Saw Undefeated 1 Win KO 1.00 148 https://youtu.be/wf528BQr0eA?t=5768
April 23, 2022 Scab Armour Undefeated 2 Win KO 1.00 147 https://youtu.be/wf528BQr0eA?t=12098
April 23, 2022 Chubby Unicorn Undefeated 3 Loss KO -1.06 78 https://youtu.be/wf528BQr0eA?t=18456
April 23, 2022 Hurt Caboose Elimination 4 Loss KO -1.00 179 https://youtu.be/wf528BQr0eA?t=28455
September 17, 2022 Crisis (II) Undefeated Round 2 Win KO 1.02 128 https://youtu.be/HXstJoqMM-c?t=8052
September 17, 2022 Ablation Undefeated Round 3 Win Judges Decision 1.00 180 https://youtu.be/HXstJoqMM-c?t=22172
September 17, 2022 Hound Undefeated Round 4 Loss Judges Decision -1.00 180 https://youtu.be/HXstJoqMM-c?t=30980
September 17, 2022 Eruption Elimination Round 5 Loss KO -1.00 119 https://youtu.be/HXstJoqMM-c?t=33629
November 12, 2022 HiveLighter Undefeated 2 Win KO 1.00 117 https://youtu.be/GrwhM8JogeE?t=13002
November 12, 2022 Professor Hex Undefeated 3 Win KO 1.00 22 https://youtu.be/GrwhM8JogeE?t=25715
November 12, 2022 War? Hard! Undefeated 4 Win Judges Decision 1.00 180 https://youtu.be/heNXK2dNk18?t=26595
November 12, 2022 Red Hawk Undefeated Quarterfinals Win Judges Decision 1.06 180 https://youtu.be/GrwhM8JogeE?t=35293
November 12, 2022 Fully Defined Undefeated Semifinals Loss Judges Decision -0.75 180 https://youtu.be/GrwhM8JogeE?t=38071
November 12, 2022 Chubby Unicorn Elimination Quarterfinals Win Forfeit 0.00
November 12, 2022 Polywog Elimination Semifinal Win Judges Decision 1.64 180 https://youtu.be/FJy8_vYTLnQ?t=6524
November 12, 2022 Stoneforge Elimination Final Loss Judges Decision -0.75 180 https://youtu.be/FJy8_vYTLnQ?t=8397
December 17, 2022 Komodo Undefeated 1 Win Judges Decision 1.09 180 https://youtu.be/b79xlq1G41M?t=3253
December 17, 2022 Sepi01 Undefeated 2 Win Judges Decision 1.06 180 https://youtu.be/b79xlq1G41M?t=8135
December 17, 2022 Chubby Unicorn Undefeated Quarterfinals Win Judges Decision 1.20 180 https://youtu.be/b79xlq1G41M?t=16058
December 17, 2022 Eruption Undefeated Semifinals Win Judges Decision 1.34 180 https://youtu.be/b79xlq1G41M?t=24553
December 17, 2022 Lynx Undefeated Final Loss KO -0.75 55 https://youtu.be/b79xlq1G41M?t=30039
December 17, 2022 Polywog Elimination Final Loss KO -0.75 173 https://youtu.be/b79xlq1G41M?t=39285
March 18, 2023 Plot Twist Boss Win Judges Decision 1.00
March 18, 2023 Black Havoc Round 2 Win KO 1.00 84 https://youtu.be/RyjtWMjVV2k?t=6133
March 18, 2023 Dutch Oven Round 3 Win Forfeit 0.00
March 18, 2023 Kamino Round 4 Win Judges Decision 1.00 180 https://youtu.be/RyjtWMjVV2k?t=18459
March 18, 2023 Voxel v.1 Round 5 Loss Judges Decision -1.06 180 https://www.youtube.com/live/xQTbCkwBmD4?feature=share&t=39404
March 2, 2024 Black Beans Qualifiers Rd. 1 Win Forfeit 1.00
March 2, 2024 Ghastly Qualifiers Rd. 2 Win Judges Decision 1.00 180
March 2, 2024 Onna-musha Round of 32 Loss Tapout -1.20 22

* Forfeits are not counted in a bot's W-L record.

For more information on how points are calculated for rankings, click here.

Click "Expand" to see this table.

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