The iRobot Create (Frankie D. Robot) 
For all of the tests in this section, we placed our Create robot in the starting box on a fully set model of the board and ran our code.
1. Sorting the Pom Trees
We ran our tests on two trees at a time, and recorded the number of poms successfully sorted.
Our pom sorter requires very precise static programming, meaning that its course is completely dependent on directions from the program and not on feedback from sensors. If the robot is improperly aligned, the turns may not line it up with the pom trees, or the sorter attachment may run into the trees before it can sort them. This caused the robot to be highly unreliable in early tests:
Trial # 	Poms sorted 	
1 	3/8	
2 	2/8	
3 	0/8	
4 	4/8	
5 	1/8	
6	0/8	
7	3/8	
8	2/8	
9	2/8	
10	1/8
Average: 1.8/8 poms	
We built a spacer for our robot which we can use to align it parallel with the PVC pipe, and when the robot flips the first cup it aligns with the PVC there. This allows our robot to reliably reach the proper placement for the trees. We made our sorter even more reliable by slowing its sorting arm so that it does not knock tribbles flying. After making these two adjustments, the robot ran as follows:
Trial # 	Poms sorted 	
1 	6/8	
2 	7/8	
3 	7/8	
4 	8/8	
5 	7/8	
6	6/8	
7	7/8	
8	8/8	
9	7/8	
10	8/8
Average: 7.1/8 poms	
2. Separating Cups from Poms
We ran tests on the cups on the far end of the board, and recorded the location of the cup tested on and the pom formerly on top of the cup.
To get poms off of the top of the cups, we twitch the cup arm slightly. Originally, twitching the arm would knock the pom to either side unpredictably, and occasionally jostle the cup out of the arm:
Trial # 	Cup location 	Pom location 	
1 	In arm	Right	
2 	In arm	Left	
3 	Off arm	Left	
4 	Off arm	Right	
5 	In arm	Right	
6	In arm	Left	
7	Off arm	Right	
8	In arm	Left	
9	In arm	Left	
10	Off arm	Left	
Through shortening the amount of time the servo twitched for and lessening the number of ticks the servo moved, we managed to ensure that the poms would fall to the left and into the shelter:
Trial # 	Cup location 	Pom location 	
1 	In arm	Left	
2 	In arm	Left	
3 	In arm	Right	
4 	In arm	Left	
5 	In arm	Left	
6	In arm	Left	
7	In arm	Left	
8	In arm	Left	
9	In arm	Right	
10	In arm	Left	
The XBC Robot (SaBot) 
For all of the tests in this section, we placed our XBC-only robot in the starting box on a fully set model of the board and ran our code. 
1. Launching the Solar Sails
We ran SaBot from our starting box. When it reached the solar sails at the edge of the bridge, we recorded how many solar sails fell off the edge into the pit.
The solar sails are launched by swinging SaBot’s arm. However, merely swinging the arm was not enough to ensure that the sails were launched:
Trial # 	Sails launched 	
1 	2/3	
2 	0/3	
3 	1/3	
4 	2/3	
5 	0/3	
6	0/3	
7	1/3	
8	2/3	
9	1/3	
10	1/3
Average: 1/3 sails	
We changed the arm to swing forward, not back, and changed the code to make the arm swing faster. This greatly improved our results:
Trial # 	Sails launched 	
1 	3/3	
2 	2/3	
3 	3/3	
4 	3/3	
5 	2/3	
6	3/3	
7	3/3	
8	3/3	
9	2/3	
10	3/3
Average: 2.7/3 sails	
Seeding 
To see how we would do in the seeding round of the regional competitions, we ran our two bots at once on a replica of the board and found our score. 
There were many unforeseen problems – the alignment was off, the bot started running at the wrong time, and the XBC ran into the Create. Over ten trials, we amended these errors, and achieved a score that would pass muster at regionals:
Trial#	Amendments made before run	Points	
1	None – first run	3	
2	Built wooden aligning blocks	12	
3	Added sorter arm pegs	23	
4	Changed turn to find tree	26	
5	Added bump against PVC for alignment	10	
6	Changed time it goes forward to get tribbles	33	
7	Added sorter arm length and added pieces for stability	48	
8	Added twitch to shake tribbles off cup arm	20	
9	Lessened twitch size, increased sorter arm stability	54	
10	Changed solarium deposit time to before dealing with far end of board	66