How can we improve our robot's ability to pick up cubes at any angle?

[cam875]

Hello, for a school project we are constructing a robot to pick up defined size cubes but the sucker that pulls up the cubes off the ground is made of rubber gears that spin and suck them up. It works pretty good, but only when the robot is perfectly lined up on the cube, and I am wondering what kind of structure could we use inorder to come up on a cube and pick it up on any angle that we approach it, inorder to be as efficient as possible.

Thanks in advance

 

[Topher925]

This may not be the answer your looking for but I would use fire to melt the ice cubes and then some type of vacuum mechanism to suck up the water.

 

[Danger]

Hmmm... I didn't see anything about ice in that post.
I'd start with a 'funnel' that will channel the cubes into position. Just a couple of rods or bars sticking forward at an outward angle on both sides of the pick-up point should do it.

 

[chayced]

Did something similar for B.E.S.T. in HS. If you are using a complicated solution and only getting mixed results it's time to go with something simple.

I would recommend a bucket loader design unless you are guaranteed a certain arrangement on the competition floor.