MARVIN X

MARVIN X is the first MARS competition-made robot built using a sheet-metal frame construction style. Using bent aluminum sheets as a construction material allows the robot to maintain rigidity while also being significantly lighter. Manufacturing time using this method is also significantly decreased; a "normal" frame spends days being cut and welded, while a sheet metal frame can be waterjet-cut and CNC-bent in just a few hours.

MARVIN X was adept at capturing one of the 2017 game pieces "gears" and containing them despite major defensive play. The subsystem was initially difficult to control, but after a redesign between the robot's first and second events the machine's abilities improved four fold. Providing a wide target for human players to hit when putting a gear into the field and a wide "target space" for the scoring peg, the redesigned "catch-and-contain" system was robust, simplistic, and made capturing and placing gears incredibly easy.

Perhaps MARVIN X's most effective feature was devised as a logical continuation of work done for MARVIN IX. Both robots make use of Power TakeOff (PTO) modules that change the main drive output shafts from one location to another using a small pneumatic. In the case of MARVIN X, this secondary output shaft powers a bar running across the length of the robot wrapped in velcro. As the robot approaches the climbing rope, the velcro grabs the frayed bit at the end of the rope and wraps it around the shaft. As the shaft continues to spin, the robot "climbs" the rope. In the associated video, a small secondary motor and transmission was added to spin the shaft at a faster rate while on approach to the rope, increasing the chance of a successful grab.

MARVIN X has the strongest drivetrain ever put on a competitive robot by team 2614. Six CIM motors in a shifting-transmission power six four-inch high traction colson-style wheels. In competition, the robot has disabled up to two opposing robots simultaneously simply by pushing on their bumpers. This defensive advantage directly lead to the success of the machine in the elimination rounds at Championships.

MARVIN X was very successful in competition, with two regional semi-final appearances and a finalist appearance at Championships. Final competitive record was 24-16-1.