Pokey - Robot Firefighter

Our story left off with Pokey dejected, sitting on a shelf collecting dust following a humiliating defeat in the Fort Collins Robot Firefighting Challenge. :mrgreen:

The poor little robot started to cheer up a little once his broken battery tray was replaced a couple months ago. But what really brought a smile to his LCD was when he appeared in the July/August 2008 Robot Magazine!

Last week he got word that a new firefighting competition was scheduled for July 12! Finally, a chance at redemption!

And to top it off, my order from Pololu just arrived so Pokey is now sporting a shiny new Tamiya ball caster.

So here’s what’s left to do before the next competition:

  • Tweak the wall following code – main source of Pokey’s defeat
  • Gradual acceleration from a stop – to prevent wheelies :smiley:
  • Refinements to low level motion control – better turn execution
  • Code up a way to get Pokey from the 3rd to 4th room
  • Add code to get Pokey to go home from any room
  • Major improvements to candle scanning, extinguishing routines
  • Add second fan and rework the fan driver circuits
  • Finish painting :mrgreen:

Good luck with this upcoming competition. I look forward to hearing how things go!

- Ben