Kuiper

The Game

DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE Presented by The Boeing Company honored the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a space theme. The field represented planet “Primus,” consisting of four rocket ships, two cargo bays, and a habitat platform. The game elements were “cargo” (inflated balls) and “hatch panels” (nineteen-inch discs). Hatch panels could be attached to the sides of the cargo bays or rocket ships via velcro. Cargo could then be placed into the cargo bays and rocket ships after a hatch panel was placed. Both actions earned points.

During the end of the match, robots could lift themselves off of the ground onto the elevated habitat. Robots that were fully supported by either of the two habitat levels at the end of the match would earn extra points.

The Robot

Kuiper featured a six-wheeled west coast tank drive, a level one hatch grabber, and a cargo system for the cargo bay. During competition, Kuiper was a great defensive robot while still being able to handle level one hatches and the cargo bay. The west coast tank drive gave us the ability to push almost any robot.

During end game, the pneumatic lift would push up the front of the robot, drive forward, and then lift up the back wheels, placing the robot onto the level two hab.

The team won the Entrepreneurship Award at the Center Grove District event and the Gracious Professionalism Award at the Indiana State Championship.