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# System prepended metadata

title: Kit talk plan
tags: [Templates, ' Talk']

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---
title: Kit talk plan
tags: Templates, Talk
description: View the slide with "Slide Mode".
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# RoboCon Kit

### To do at the start:

<!-- Put the link to this slide here so people can follow -->
- [ ] Share link to follow along: https://hackmd.io/@YWVFpltDQVGSLZVIq-NFJQ/HJuZs2pEO
- [ ] Start recording
- [ ] Preface with tell me if too slow/fast

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## What is RoboCon?

 - Show the website https://hr-robocon.org/
 - Why RC?
 - Why is the kit needed

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## The current state of kit

### RC hardware

 - Give a full list of what is in the kit: 
 - Take the box apart
 - Talk through what each board does
 - Talk about how GG does what it does
     - Page 4 for level shifter diagram: https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/AN10441.pdf
 - If interest can talk about how cytron works

Lid top:
![](https://i.imgur.com/FUDKf9M.jpg)

Lid bottom (this is lid 2.1, lid 2.2 moves the blue LED off the GG and onto the back side of the lid):
![](https://i.imgur.com/b42mgxO.jpg)

Camera back
![](https://i.imgur.com/SmiRuPl.jpg)

Camera front
![](https://i.imgur.com/oPS90ur.jpg)

Top case component:
![](https://i.imgur.com/0nPedLd.jpg)

Cytron board:
![](https://i.imgur.com/oMzQyZI.jpg)

Shim to space the motor board off the GG
![](https://i.imgur.com/DeLMmTl.jpg)

Green giant bottom:
![](https://i.imgur.com/jiCDt0k.jpg)

Green giant top:
![](https://i.imgur.com/LKXBvBR.jpg)

RPi in RC case:
![](https://i.imgur.com/c1fFXFp.jpg)

### RC software
 
 - Go back to **images** and show process for competitors
 - The software stack draw on paper:
     - unix stuff (rc.local etc)
     - robot lib (as it stands with pykoki)
     - shepherd
     - sheep
     - competition
         - USB sticks, different wifi AP
         - Shepherd then log streams to owl
         - SMB file sharing
         - Leader board update
         - competition screens etc see #events
     - The update process, usb sticks/runs as root
 - Open up a terminal and start the software stack
 - How the robot lib works
 - How shepherd works
 - How sheep works
     - How to get started with the stack
     - WSL recommend for windows users
 - Can vaguely mention the website but really brenden needs to do this

### Current state of beta devlopment

 - april tags/py3
 - Unit testing for the robot lib :+1:, none yet for sheep/shepherd :-1:
 - shepherd-rs
 - Sheep upgrades (prototypes which exist):
     - socket.io client-server comms
     - general bug fixing
     - Would be nice to not spam into peoples downloads folder

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## The future...

**None of the bellow will happen without funding reminder**

### An evaluation:
#### Good things

 - Opotunities for design/mech
 - Very open ended:
     - You can physically see this as a range of robots
 - Rewards actual results, as well as creative thinking
 - Assesible computer vision is our USP
 - Free to enter and take part
 - Linearity between effort and reward
 - There is no syllybus

#### Problems

 - Don't get to keep their robots
 - Expenisve to run
 - Little room for electronics
 - Room for lots of mech but no support is given so requires having an awsome teacher for this
 - People can turn up to the competition with just the kit but aren't very competitive
 - There is no syllybus

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### GET PEOPLE TO THINK OF OWN IDEAS BEFORE SHARING OWN

### Thoughts on kit

- We spend money every year on kit as it gets lost/degrades so there is a number where a "disposable kit" could be cheaper
 - For will to believe that it is possible probally need a BOM
     - Hard to make a BOM if don't know what cost point to target
 - The current kit is way overspec'd for >50% of participants 

Possible solution, possibly better ones out there:
- use a micro, pi pico would be nice, could fall back to ardunio if don't care about CV
 - use an esp to program


### Thoughts on competition design

 - Move to a table based competition
 - Should have more support on the mech side:
     - Running tech days doesn't seem to happen much, these should be planned in at the start of the year? Aim for once a month? Techday != arena being set up
 - It should be truely accessible, atm there is still money required, half of the kit cost should be allocated to students buying what they want
     - Not sure if to use real money or "credits"
     - Real money is more versatile


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## Things in the robotiverse

### Will's plan to take over the nation
 - Will has a plan to make robocon a national competion.
 - I don't want to steal his thunder so if this is interesting go speak to him

### Projects which have never been completed

 - Restoring old robots:
     - Pac-bot just needs a brain box to work, there is a repo under systemetric where we have it working
 - Set a goal for something to do with the mecanium wheel robot, real time computer vision tracking?


### Southampton+ Ash developments

 - j5 (its a HAL)
 - sb-vision and other
