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Engineering students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville won the title of world champions at the 2021 VEXU World Robotics Championship in Greenville, Texas. Tickle College of EngineeringVex University’s robotics team, YNOT, was one of more than 300 teams from universities around the world to compete throughout the season for a qualifying spot.
Grant Kobes, a senior from Spartanburg, South Carolina, is the founder and lead designer of YNOT. He started the team four years ago as part of a Specialized Leadership Minor project under the Specialized Leadership Program. Its aim was to create an opportunity for engineering students to gain hands-on experience with the engineering design process.
“Competitive robotics hone the essential skills that all young engineers should possess,” Kobes said. “The ability to approach a problem using the engineering design process, to prototype, program, test and revise it relentlessly until the most efficient iteration is reached. “
Teams receive the Play of the Year Challenge in April and must have their robots ready for the competitive season in early fall.
Kobes and his teammates have extended their expertise in product design since the inception of the team. Working in their own lab on campus, the students custom create 90% of the parts for their robot. They fabricate the parts using a set of 3D printers, CNC grinder, and metal / polycarbonate.
In order to run this year’s complex ‘hitch robots’, Kobes designed custom printed circuit boards to control pneumatics, read encoder and gyroscope values, run informative RGB LED strips for driver feedback. and calculating the odometry engine instructions that are transmitted to the engine controller and producing more accurate stand-alone programming.
Their hard work led them to championships and a few dramatic days of competition.
Team YNOT finished Day 1 ranked fourth in programming skills, but the real battle began in Day 2 head-to-head matches. They beat Vaughn College in their first pivotal game of the day. Winning this match secured their place in the playoff rounds and confirmed their position as Excellence Award contenders.
Team YNOT went undefeated in qualifying games, pushing their way past competitors from Clemson University, University of Florida and Team SPARK, a conglomerate of Texas students.
A tense moment arose when YNOT’s ball holds malfunctioned during the game against Clemson.
“It was a heartbreaking experience,” said team vice president Clare Remy, a former Tucson, Ariz. With only a three-minute timeout available, the team began disassembling the robot on the floor of the event center.
“For what seemed like an eternity, Grant sat in a pile of screws, nuts, wires and motors, dexterously implementing whatever solutions the team suggested,” Remy said.
In that short time, Kobes customized two original VEX motors and installed them on the robot, then cut and installed new wiring while programmer Brandan Roachell, a junior from Bartlett, Tennessee, feverishly tweaked the code. . Roachell then had to perform a dry download of the entire performance code within seconds.
YNOT placed his robot on the field for the quarterfinal match without having time to test the changes. Fortunately, the changes were successful and the team made their way to the final.
Facing the 2019-20 VEXU World Champions at Purdue University, Team YNOT was the obvious underdog. Because the champion was determined by the best of three games, the YNOT team bet on a new game strategy: bringing their pair of home robots into the first game.
“We’ve been working on these robots all year,” Kobes said. “They snap into place during the stand-alone programming cycle and deploy to block out half of the field. “
Purdue was stunned. YNOT won the first game.
“From the moment we won the first match of the final, a wave of possibilities washed over us, as did an immense feeling of support from the other teams in the room,” said Remy.
The rest is history. The YNOT team also accomplished an unprecedented feat by winning both the competitive part of the event and the highest prize, the Award of Excellence. This award is given to the team that exemplifies overall excellence in building a high quality robotics program, including design innovation, build quality, autonomous programming, engineering design process, personal maintenance and documentation via an engineering notebook.
“I am very proud of the Award of Excellence because it represents the efforts of the entire team,” said Kobes. “YNOT optimizes our performance using designers from Tickle’s mechanical engineering department, programmers from the computer science department, an automation expert from ISE and an anthropology archives specialist who compiles our engineering notebook. . One of our best builders is actually a wildlife and fishing specialist. Our success demonstrates what UT students can accomplish when they work together.
Kobes and the rest of the team will bring that courage with them to the workplace for years to come.
With a world championship title under his belt, Kobes is now focused on the legacy he leaves in college by ensuring that the YNOT team continues after graduation. Under the leadership of John Kobza, Head of Industrial Systems and Engineering and team mentor, Kobes has already started coaching and training team members in specific areas, which will enable them to take on roles. additional leadership in the organization.
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CONTACT:
Lindsey Owen (865-974-6375, [email protected])
Randall Brown (865-974-0533, [email protected])
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