Whenever I make adjustments to my Palm Island program, and try to re-run it, parts of the program that were working perfectly are now inconsistent and off course. I'm making changes farther down the program and the beginning of the program suddenly is way off course. What gives?

Hi Chris,

Please use the code tags and post your code. I'll be happy to take a look at it and help with your program. Thanks,

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble. Are you running the latest version of the software, found here: http://robotvirtualworlds.com/palm-island/ ?

If you computer is not able to get consistent frame rates when displaying Palm Island, it can lead to inconsistencies in the virtual world. In the latest version of the software, on the main menu, if you go to "OPTIONS > GRAPHICS QUALITY", you can turn the game down to "LOW" to make it less resource intensive. You can also uncheck "VISUAL EFFECTS" if you're still having trouble.

Here is the program. I just wanted to write a simple program using time as the variable to navigate. As far as I know I have the latest version of Palm Island. I just purchased Virtual World and downloaded Palm Island.



[code][/code]task main()
{
motor[motorB] = 50;
motor[motorC] = 50;
wait1Msec(3600);

motor[motorB] = 50;
motor[motorC] = -50;
wait1Msec(975);

motor[motorB] = 50;
motor[motorC] = 50;
wait1Msec(4000);

motor[motorB] = -50;
motor[motorC] = 50;
wait1Msec(950);

motor[motorB] = 50;
motor[motorC] = 50;
wait1Msec(8700);

motor[motorB] = 50;
motor[motorC] = -50;
wait1Msec(975);


}

Just ran the program again. First time it ran perfectly. Second time the bot started going off course and eventually hit something (which it did not do the first time). I made the changes on the options, as suggested, and it did make any difference.

In the above post, I mean't to type "it did NOT make any difference".

Hi Chris,

I think I may see the problem. Your robot is moving forward at half speed, then turning, and then moving forward again. Try to think what would happen if this same behavior was repeated in a car. The car would not be able to make the turn without slowing down. These same physics apply to the robot. Without putting a stop in between each movement, the turns are going to be very inconsistent.

Try setting your motor power to zero for a second in between each of your movements. It would look like this:

move forward for some time

stop for a second

turn left for some time

stop for a second....etc.

Let us know if that works. Thanks,

Parkway, I will try that. I just started teaching (learning) robots at the jr. high level and I'm trying to stay ahead of the kids. You know somewhere along the line I remember reading about stopping the bot at turns and I completely forgot about it. Thanks again. I will try out your suggestion later today.
Chris

I know what you mean. I've been teaching robotics at the junior high level for the past 4 years. Feel free to ask whatever questions you may have. I'd be more than happy to help.