2018 Season – FIRST Power Up 2018 Season
FIRST Power Up

Tipsy may have looked like it was going to tip over - but with some skilled driving, it stayed upright through all our official competitions. This robot was our first foray into in-house advanced manufacturing, featuring our first laser cut parts. Tipsy used a custom bezier spline path following, and, while not always the most accurate, it was one of the few robots in the world that ever managed to place 3 cubes on the scale during auto in official competition. Tipsy was able to place cubes on a scale tipped in the opponents' favour, which made it a great robot for mounting a comeback.

FIRST Power Up is the name of the 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) challenge. The game involves two alliances of three teams each trapped in an arcade game. To earn points, robots place "Power Cubes" on their side of a large scale in the middle of the field to tip it in their alliance's favour. Teams can also use the cubes to secure two other smaller scales (known as "switches" — one on each side of the field) for points, or trade them in for various temporary advantages during a match. Additionally, at the end of a match, robots can climb on a rung attached to the scale for even more points. More information can be found on Wikipedia.

Tipsy – The Robot

Robot Abilities

More information on each of Tipsy's subsystems can be found in Meet the Robot.

Drivetrain:
6 wheel West Coast drive, with flipped drive gearboxes
Wrist:
Motorized intake that flips down to intake Power Cubes
Arm:
Flips up over the elevator to quickly place cubes on the scale
Grippers:
Pneumatic fingers with 3 grip states
Elevator:
In low gear, the elevator acts as the climber. In high gear, it helps the arm place cubes on top of the scale
Ramp:
Used for lifting a second robot while climbing
Climbing Bar:
Hooks onto the rung on the scale
Auto:
Path following with waypoints, followed with feedback from encoders and gyroscope
  • 3 cube scale
  • 2 cube switch
  • Achievements
  • Tipsy, 5406 — Finalist (Henchmen)
  • Clyde, 9406 — Finalist (Henchmen)
  • Auto Awesome
  • Round Two Champions
  • Quarter-Finalist
  • 5th Seed, Alliance Captain (Alliance 4)
  • Semi-Finalist, Darwin
  • 2nd Seed, Alliance Captain, Darwin
  • World: Ranked #22
  • Detroit: Ranked #9
  • Finalist, Ontario
  • Winner, Technology
  • 2nd Seed, Alliance Captain, Technology
  • Quality Award
  • Finalist
  • Excellence in Engineering Award
  • Winner
  • Entrepreneurship Award
  • 1st Seed, Alliance Captain
  • Safety Award, Runner-Up
  • Meet the Robot

    To learn more about Tipsy's subsystems, click on the green pins. Click through the radio buttons to adjust Tipsy's mechanisms!