The Capabilities Of The Vex Robotics
The Capabilities Of The Vex Robotics
To explore the capabilities of the VEX Robotics System, we chose to build our very simplified version of robot’s PackBot. The goal was for the robot to be able to climb stairs and small piles of debris using only VEX components. Sounds like a tall order, right? You bet.
Fortunately, our friends at Radio Shack were kind enough to allow us to preview some of the exciting accessories planned for the VEX System, including tank treads, a programming kit, ultrasonic rangefinder sensors, and optical shaft encoders. ROBOT magazine provided us with a wireless remote camera (available from Shulman Aviation) to complete our PackBot’s control package.
Although the basic VEX kit contains several different wheels, the PackBot is a tracked vehicle, which gave us a great opportunity to try out the new VEX tank tread kit. The kit consists of two long tracks comprised of snap-together pieces.
These plastic pieces allow the builder to make the track longer or shorter simply by adding or removing links. Also included are two pairs of custom toothed rollers that can be used as idlers, or to transmit drive power from a motor to the track via the familiar square shafts used in the rest of the system. The rollers are positioned at the front and back of each side, and a tensioner (also included) goes somewhere in the middle to pick up the slack.