About

Leo was the 2024 FRC Robot built to play in the Crescendo FRC Game. Leo was a shooter bot, with an under-the-bumper intake, a pivoting shooter mounted on an elevator, and a swerve drivetrain. Leo weighed approximately 124lbs and stood at a height of about 23 inches with the elevator lowered, and about 37 inches with all mechanisms extended to full height. Watch the reveal video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9u8tSDmEvk

The Game

Watch the game video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9keeDyFxzY4

Team Abilities

Leo was able to pick up notes from the floor, shoot into the speaker from up to the centerline of the field, score amp, and climb at the end of the game. Due to Leo’s elevator system, he had a unique ability to shoot over defensive bots if needed by raising the elevator to a higher set-point. Leo’s shooter and elevator system doubled as the scoring mechanism for the amp and speaker, so versatile strategies and scoring decisions could be made on the fly. Leo’s under-the-bumper intake allowed for him to suck up practically any note he drove over nearly instantly, providing a “touch-and-go” type driving strategy.

Robot Name

Leo was named after a patient in need of a stem cell transplant in collaboration with Canadian Blood Services.

Fun Lore

Leo captured the attention of First Updates Now, and at the 2024 Ontario District Championship Leo appeared in an episode of behind the bumpers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V42IHuZSvGQ

Making it to Einsteins, Leo was a popular robot at World Championships and was eventually added into the xRC Simulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO_-IQqZ4W0

All across the robot, a distinct waffle grid pattern can be seen used to reduce weight - staying on theme with the team of course!

The portion of the shooter that the note feeds into is referred to by the team as the “pizza box” due to the assembly resembling a flat pizza box, and the note inside resembling a pizza inside.

The Robot

2024 Leo

Mechanical Design

Drive Train

  • Powered by 4 Swerve MK4i Modules
  • 29.5” X 23.625” dimensions

Intake

  • Two steel 1/4” aluminum plates on either end with an aluminum 1” x 2” cross tube provided the general structure of the 0
  • The intake had 2 full-length rollers in the front with a polycord belt system behind it, which allowed the robot to reliably grip and pick up notes.
  • The intake was powered by 2 FalconFX Motors with no factory gearbox

Other subsystems

Software

Electrical

Key Lessons Learned

Performance

Awards