MARVIN XIII

Since the last shooting-based FRC game, the design team's philosophy has changed drastically. Where all previous MARS robots focused on protected zones and lower-complexity shooters, MARVIN XIII took shooting capabilities in a different direction. Utilizing a modification to a design created by myself in 2016, a turret intended to shoot six-inch balls was created. The design goal? Shoot from anywhere on the field using integrated vision tracking, rotation control, and variable flywheel speed. For the most part, the design is extremely effective. Some upgrades were envisioned, and were ultimately integrated into the following robot, MARVIN XIV.

The climbing challenge in 2020 presented a unique problem. The bar on which robots climbed acted as a seesaw level - making it difficult for multiple robots to coordinate getting on successfully. Following lessons learned from MARVIN XI and XII, the design team chose and "adaptability" strategy. Instead of attempting to pick up another robot or make it easier for another robot to secure to the level, MARVIN XIII's climber was designed to be the ultimate adaptable climber. The design allows the robot to connect with the bar at any point, lift the robot, and then translate across the bar to auto-balance the climbing switch for bonus points. This design feature was incredibly robust and ultimately provided a major advantage for the team during the competition.

MARVIN XIII's drive base is a natural evolution on the Mx0.1 offseason project. Utilizing the drive rail setup devised for MARVIN X and XI, XIII's drive train incorporates a more robust wheel base that allows for easy field traversal and incredibly easy repairs. Custom transmission design was lifted from Mx0.1 as that was deemed more than viable for competition. The "flipped gearbox" design allowed for dramatically increased internal space for the middle of the robot and ultimately made it possible for MARVIN XIII to be the smallest, lightest robot ever created by MARS at 25"x25" and 100lbs.

MARVIN XIII was set to be extremely successful in competition. Unfortunately, the season was cut short after just one event. At the Palmetto Regional, MARVIN XIII ranked 3rd and became a finalist. MARVIN XIII is notably the first and only MARS robot to win the Excellence in Engineering Award, often regarded as the highest level engineering award that can be awarded to an FRC team. Final season record was 11-5-0.