This is the newer version of the forward, improved after the 13th May 2003; you can still get to the page about the old version if you want.

Hardware
Chassis: one motor per wheel with two skids to support it (at different heights so they do not both touch the ground at once)
Sensors:

• A downward-facing light sensor, to read the greyscale on the ground (the pitch has a gradient from black at one end to white at the other, so the robots can work out which way to push the ball)
• A forward-facing light sensor with a 1x2 girder in front of it to restrict its field of view and to stop its LED from confusing the other robots
• A touch sensor on a bumper, to detect when the robot has run into something

You can download a 3d model of the forward in MLCad format.

Pictures
These are pictures of the old forward, but the new version is not very different!

An overview shot from the side, showing the bumber at the front (the touch sensor is activated by the cam), the downward-facing light sensor and one of the wheels. The large bundle at the back of the robot is a coiled wire - I did not have enough short ones and had to use one of the very long ones!

The bottom of the robot, showing the two motors and drivetrains and the round skids, as well as the downward-facing light sensor. Apologies for the graininess of this photograph.

Software
The code is fairly complicated compared to the generality of the robot; also, it is not quite as bug-free as that of the old forward, but should nonetheless be an improvement.

The first programme that must be run is calibrator.nqc, which stores greyscale values for the robot's home end and opponent's end respectively the first and second time the bumper is pressed; if the readings are too close together a descending tone will be played and the calibration must be redone (if, for example, you pressed the bumper twice in the same place by mistake). Then when the bumper is pressed the robot spins in place measuring the highest value seen by the front light sensor, which it takes to be the uppper limit of the background light level, and anything higher is thought to be the ball.

After calibration, forwardv2.nqc may be run. Once it is started, the robot turns until it sees something brighter than the previously-calibrated background (i.e. the ball) and heads towards it until it runs into something. If the forward-facing light sensor can see the ball at the same time it is reckoned that the robot has run into the ball, otherwise the robot backs off and searches again. If the object is the ball and the robot is pushing it towards its opponent's end, it keeps on pushing it for a time; if not, it tries to get around to the other side of the ball before beginning again.

You can download the forward's programme and the calibration programme in NQC format.