-Loctite is your friend! As soon as you are sure that you have finished making changes to your drivetrain, use it.
-Key presses are a great way to check the logic of your code, especially if you haven’t completed the base of your robot.
-It helps to check each circuit separately before attaching everything together --- if you check nothing else (we recommend checking all connections and functionality) at least check that power and ground have not been accidentally connected.
-It is probably worth the effort to put encoders on your wheels (so that you aren’t driving blindly).
-Go for simple first and then work towards making something more complicated. This project gives you a lot of opportunities to try new things, but it’s better to meet the baseline and then work upwards instead of trying, failing, and having to start from scratch part-way into the project.
-Download TeraTerm on a laptop--helps with field-testing
-Spend time in the beginning of the project on detailed state charts. It will help immensely with programming later on
-Consider using barrier terminal blocks to serate out power (14V/6V/3.3V) and ground lines
-If one method isn’t working, try something new early! Don’t try to make it work until 2 days before the deadline. A complete project >> a cool idea that remains just an idea.
-Short breaks to eat dinner as a team outside of lab are nice.
-Learn how to use the logic analyzer early. It’s a wonderful tool for debugging COMs.
-When coding, think about “edge cases” as much as possible. Those “edge cases” end up being the “actual cases” during the competition.
-Color code your wires! You don’t want to spend hours debugging code when it turns out, your wiring was just incorrect.
-Don’t get too attached to the first solution you try to implement. Accept that while a sensor that is easier to use or is more reliable may not be as “cool” but will get you up and running much quicker and allow for more strategy to be implemented in your project.
-Make sure everyone has an understanding of what is going on in all of the different aspects of the project so you can ask any of your teammates to take a look at something.
-Key presses are a great way to check the logic of your code, especially if you haven’t completed the base of your robot.
-It helps to check each circuit separately before attaching everything together --- if you check nothing else (we recommend checking all connections and functionality) at least check that power and ground have not been accidentally connected.
-It is probably worth the effort to put encoders on your wheels (so that you aren’t driving blindly).
-Go for simple first and then work towards making something more complicated. This project gives you a lot of opportunities to try new things, but it’s better to meet the baseline and then work upwards instead of trying, failing, and having to start from scratch part-way into the project.
-Download TeraTerm on a laptop--helps with field-testing
-Spend time in the beginning of the project on detailed state charts. It will help immensely with programming later on
-Consider using barrier terminal blocks to serate out power (14V/6V/3.3V) and ground lines
-If one method isn’t working, try something new early! Don’t try to make it work until 2 days before the deadline. A complete project >> a cool idea that remains just an idea.
-Short breaks to eat dinner as a team outside of lab are nice.
-Learn how to use the logic analyzer early. It’s a wonderful tool for debugging COMs.
-When coding, think about “edge cases” as much as possible. Those “edge cases” end up being the “actual cases” during the competition.
-Color code your wires! You don’t want to spend hours debugging code when it turns out, your wiring was just incorrect.
-Don’t get too attached to the first solution you try to implement. Accept that while a sensor that is easier to use or is more reliable may not be as “cool” but will get you up and running much quicker and allow for more strategy to be implemented in your project.
-Make sure everyone has an understanding of what is going on in all of the different aspects of the project so you can ask any of your teammates to take a look at something.
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