Team 254 Presents: Barrage

[Pat Fairbank]

Team 254, NASA Ames Robotics "The Cheesy Poofs", proudly presents our 2014 robot: Barrage (http://www.team254.com/frc2014-reveal/).

Barrage will compete at the Central Valley Regional, Waterloo Regional, Silicon Valley Regional, and FIRST Championship.

Team 254 is sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center, Lockheed Martin, The Mercadante Family, Ooyala, TR Manufacturing, Qualcomm, HP, West Coast Products, The Magarelli Family, The Yun Family, Google, Modern Machine, The Gebhart Family, Aditazz, Cisco Meraki, Vivid-Hosting, Nvidia, BAE Systems, Gilbert Spray Coat, Pacific Coast Metal, S&S Welding, Good Plastics, Team Whyachi, Applied Welding, World Metal Finishing, The Jimenez Family, and Bellarmine College Preparatory.

[Brandon Holley]

Oh. My. Travus.

[Sam390250]

Awesome!

[Andrew Lawrence]

Once again another beautiful machine. Can't wait to see her up close this Friday.

[Justin2648]

That. Auto. Wow!

[Steven Donow]

such robot

[Gregor]

Not available in my location... NO!

http://puu.sh/7hXdC.png

[CalTran]

At first I thought it was frame-by-frame video...then it dawned on me that that's actually a 2 sided pickup...

[sidd2059]

quick question, how do you guys plan on doing 3 ball auto if other robots need to be touching the balls they're using for their auto shots?

also HYPE #254BLAZEIT

[Jack_poldon]

Not available in my location... NO!

http://puu.sh/7hXdC.png

Gregor, I had the same reaction.

The buildup then...

[JTEarley]

Great looking bot!

[NickE]

Not available in my location... NO!

http://puu.sh/7hXdC.png
Give it a few minutes and try again. Sorry about that.

[Kevin Sheridan]

quick question, how do you guys plan on doing 3 ball auto if other robots need to be touching the balls they're using for their auto shots?

also HYPE #254BLAZEIT

We plan on doing the three ball auto as shown in the video. Our alliance partners will be touching the balls near the intakes.

[Jack_poldon]

Give it a few minutes and try again. Sorry about that.

Works now. Thanks guys.

Awesome video better robot. Very impressed as always.

[cmrnpizzo14]

But how did you get the wood to look so shiny?

[Navid Shafa]

15 seconds into the video you can see the mega pneumatic. It has a baby pneumatic attached for the latch. The back wall for shooting is latched and stationary, except for when they want to open it?

Holy Catch Batman... :eek:

*My only question: Is there hot detection for path selection, or is it 3 hot/3 not?*

[Akash Rastogi]

But how did you get the wood to look so shiny?

Fancy editing software. Pat must be pretty good at it.

[Iaquinto.Joe]

Oh my. (http://youtu.be/6nSKkwzwdW4)

[sidd2059]

We plan on doing the three ball auto as shown in the video. Our alliance partners will be touching the balls near the intakes.

gotcha, them touching the others balls seemed more possible after rewatching the video. Awesome job as usual!

[mikemat]

I love the catcher and rear intake. Sweet looking robot as always.

[Michael Hill]

I really hope it's built strong enough...

Knowing you guys, it probably is, but be careful. There's a real danger in your intake system using a pneumatic cylinder like that. If your intake system takes a lateral hit, say "bye-bye" to the cylinder shaft. Fortunately, you've got another on the other side.

[joelg236]

Anyone have a mirror? Won't load for me.

[MetalJacket]

Incredible ... as always

EDIT - Quick question for you. What material is that on the rollers? I've seen teams use it before and it seems pretty effective but I've never bothered to find out what it is.

[billbo911]

Again, a perfect example of simplicity being genious!

I hate it when we over think things!;)

[jsasaki]

quick question, how do you guys plan on doing 3 ball auto if other robots need to be touching the balls they're using for their auto shots?

also HYPE #254BLAZEIT

G5
For ROBOTS starting in the white ZONE, the TEAM may preload one (1) of their ALLIANCE’s BALLS such that the BALL is touching their ROBOT.

For ROBOTS starting in their GOALIE ZONE the TEAM may decide if the BALL is: staged between the TRUSS and the ZONE LINE and not contacting an ALLIANCE partner, or removed from the FIELD for the MATCH.

If a ROBOT does not report to a MATCH, its ALLIANCE may decide if the BALL is: staged between the TRUSS and the ZONE LINE and not contacting an ALLIANCE partner, or removed from the FIELD for the MATCH.


Doesn't necessarily have to be touching.


Awesome robot from Team 254 :eek:

[Gregor]

Just noticed the catcher...

[dag0620]

My Jaw Dropped. Wow, that was amazing.

[Mark Sheridan]

Awesome robot. I love how the intakes can hold the ball on the bumper. This robot built for rough gameplay: no way that ball is gonna get knocked out, high shot release and able to shoot with intakes retracted.

[Boe]

Wow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1DzZ7oShl4

[Answer42]

Fantastic robot as always. I'm sure a lot of qualification matches against this bot will be over in that first 10 seconds. Might even be the year that we see someone beat the 2056/1114 combo.

[cjl2625]

Wow, amazing robot!

I guess the skystalker video had some truth to it with the wheel shooter.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

*My only question: Is there hot detection for path selection, or is it 3 hot/3 not?*
3 hot.

[Navid Shafa]

3 hot.

I figured as much. :)

What methods do you use for compensating shots with under-inflated and grossly over-inflated balls?

[Sparkyshires]

Absolutely speechless. That robot is beautiful! I cannot wait to see you guys compete.

[Pat Fairbank]

What methods do you use for compensating shots with under-inflated and grossly over-inflated balls? Not shooting from 18' away. :)

[BL0X3R]

Do you guys have a picture of it yet? I'd love to be able to use it as one of my desktop wallpapers.

[Andrew Lawrence]

The material is 1" OD Polyurethane tubing from McMaster-Carr. It's a bit tricky to get on the shaft, but it usually works wells and doesn't wear too easily.

What keeps the tubing spinning on the shaft? Is the friction alone enough to get the job done or is there some kind of mechanical latch holding it on?

[Jared Russell]

What keeps the tubing spinning on the shaft? Is the friction alone enough to get the job done or is there some kind of mechanical latch holding it on?

A lot of friction. The material isn't going anywhere. We had to be creative to get it onto the shaft in the first place.

[themccannman]

Best wood robot I've ever seen.

Actual question though, do you think the strong backspin on the balls will cause issue with the balls bouncing back out of the goals or have you already tested whether or not this is an issue.

#clapclap

[DampRobot]

Fantastic robot as always. I'm sure a lot of qualification matches against this bot will be over in that first 10 seconds. Might even be the year that we see someone beat the 2056/1114 combo.

And you wonder why they're going to compete against a team that has never lost a regional the last year they'll be playing regionals...

[Jared Russell]

Best wood robot I've ever seen.

Actual question though, do you think the strong backspin on the balls will cause issue with the balls bouncing back out of the goals or have you already tested whether or not this is an issue.

#clapclap

We have had the horizontal bars behind our goals all season, and the arc of the shot has been optimized with this in mind. We have not noticed a lot of bounce backs.

[CaptainDanger]

OH. MY. ROBOT.
I'm sooooo excited to meet the bot at Waterloo, it is GORGEOUS #suchrobot #muchwow

[Akash Rastogi]

We have had the horizontal bars behind our goals all season, and the arc of the shot has been optimized with this in mind. We have not noticed a lot of bounce backs.

Very cool. It's always details like these that set 254's robots apart.

[rcmolloy]

Liked what I saw earlier in the season and liked what I saw this weekend. Hopefully we can have some fun in a match or more at CVR.

[dipmeinaluminum]

I cried for 20 mins straight.:(

[paul_v]

Incredible ... as always

EDIT - Quick question for you. What material is that on the rollers? I've seen teams use it before and it seems pretty effective but I've never bothered to find out what it is.

It is actually super soft surgical tubing, 1.5" OD, from Mcmaster. (the urethane posted about earlier was used on previous robots)

-Paul Ventimiglia

[jnepomuc]

Great bot!

What is the shooter wheel made of?

[Lil' Lavery]

I'm curious to the purpose of the two cylinders attached to the "hood" of the shooter. As far as I can tell, the piece looks to be rigidly mounted, so they don't appear to be a way of retracting or changing the angle on the hood.

[AllenGregoryIV]

I'm curious to the purpose of the two cylinders attached to the "hood" of the shooter. As far as I can tell, the piece looks to be rigidly mounted, so they don't appear to be a way of retracting or changing the angle on the hood.

It took me a while too but there is a linkage up there to move part of the hood out of the way. My guess is for truss shots.

[chigskonkwo]

I've been watching this video for the past 15 minutes trying to even remotely decipher how your shooting mechanism works but have not figured out an answer, how does it work?

[JB]

It took me a while too but there is a linkage up there to move part of the hood out of the way. My guess is for truss shots.

I would also guess that it is to help with catching the ball.

[BJC]

It took me a while too but there is a linkage up there to move part of the hood out of the way. My guess is for truss shots.

I'm pretty sure most of their high goal scoring will be directly up against the player station wall. Because they put backspin on the ball they can likely fire the ball into the top of the goal pretty hard and make it in. If this is the case then the that use case would be what the fold back hood is primarily for.

[JVN]

To all the Poofs (and there do seem to be a lot of you these days):
Beautiful robot. Absolutely beautiful. If you had unveiled it last week I might have questioned some of the tradeoffs you made, but after playing week 1 I'm convinced you had incredible foresight.

Many other teams will struggle to play catchup and implement some of the things you've been planning for since kickoff.

I love the over-center linkage. That is my favorite detail. :)

I'm sorry I won't get the chance to see it in person.

-John

[Duncan Macdonald]

Wow, I'm loving your design considerations. Did a conversation like this happen at some point?

"It's going to be a brutally physical game"
-"How about we put on 2 intakes and release the ball at the highest point we can."
"Sounds good. Lets max out the auto points too."

[Doug G]

Wow, I'm loving your design considerations. Did a conversation like this happen at some point?

"It's going to be a brutally physical game"
-"How about we put on 2 intakes and release the ball at the highest point we can."
"Sounds good. Lets max out the auto points too."

And then the conversation led to... lets use as much pneumatics as we can to make it all work... better yet, lets mount pneumatics on pneumatics!

Great work, beautiful bot, can't wait to see it in action at some point!

[ErvinI]

I discounted early on the notion of a three-ball hot auton.

Wow, I was dead wrong. You guys can actually shoot in 5 seconds.

[I-DOG]

What kind of drive train was that? I didn't get a good look at the drive base in the video.

Looks like a fantastic machine. I can't wait to see this beauty at championship. :D

[Alex Cormier]

Wow. I am sad that I won't be able to see this robot in waterloo. :-(

[amro]

Beautiful bot!!

[Electronica1]

What type of hexacopter were you guys using? My first though was a dji flame wheel but it is really hard to tell.

[cadandcookies]

What kind of drive train was that? I didn't get a good look at the drive base in the video.

Looks like a fantastic machine. I can't wait to see this beauty at championship. :D

I don't have any insider info, but I'd bet Dean Kamen's denim it's their perennially reliable WCD.

[cmwilson13]

im really curious as to the purpose of the latch on the cylinders that i assume allow it to open up to catch. why do you need the latch, seems a odd place to put one unless it allows you to make minute adjustments to the shooter compression?

[Steven Donow]

im really curious as to the purpose of the latch on the cylinders that i assume allow it to open up to catch. why do you need the latch, seems a odd place to put one unless it allows you to make minute adjustments to the shooter compression?

My intial thought is that they're spring release pistons in an effort to save air.

[Electronica1]

im really curious as to the purpose of the latch on the cylinders that i assume allow it to open up to catch. why do you need the latch, seems a odd place to put one unless it allows you to make minute adjustments to the shooter compression?

I am going to assume it is because that piston appears to be actuate the backboard of the shooter, probably to assist with catching, so the latch prevents it from moving at all during the shot.

[Nuttyman54]

My intial thought is that they're spring release pistons in an effort to save air.

That might be true. I'd also wager it's because of the lever arm between those pistons and the shooter arc plates. Given that they're probably compressing the ball quite a bit, I'd expect without the latch that the pistons would give slightly under the compression load, making the shot less consistent. The latch makes it solid metal holding the load, as opposed to air.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

That might be true. I'd also wager it's because of the lever arm between those pistons and the shooter arc plates. Given that they're probably compressing the ball quite a bit, I'd expect without the latch that the pistons would give slightly under the compression load, making the shot less consistent. The latch makes it solid metal holding the load, as opposed to air.
Bingo.

[cmwilson13]

That might be true. I'd also wager it's because of the lever arm between those pistons and the shooter arc plates. Given that they're probably compressing the ball quite a bit, I'd expect without the latch that the pistons would give slightly under the compression load, making the shot less consistent. The latch makes it solid metal holding the load, as opposed to air.

i figured it had to do with ball compression

[BigJ]

After watching this a bunch of times, the only thing that goes through my head now is "Dang that's a lot of batteries"

[Racer26]

After watching this a bunch of times, the only thing that goes through my head now is "Dang that's a lot of batteries"

If you freeze the video with 4.7 s on the auto-clock, you can see 2x 2009 robots, 2x 2008 robots, a small mountain of batteries on the left, and several bumpers in both red and blue on the right.

[BigJ]

If you freeze the video with 4.7 s on the auto-clock, you can see 2x 2009 robots, 2x 2008 robots, a small mountain of batteries on the left, and several bumpers in both red and blue on the right.

Yup, that's what I'm talking about haha

[nathannfm]

Amazing.
If 3 seconds isn't enough time for you to appreciate the detail shots of all the beautiful engineering that went into this robot I made an album of them (http://imgur.com/a/yj2Sz).

[Andrew Lawrence]

If you freeze the video with 4.7 s on the auto-clock, you can see 2x 2009 robots, 2x 2008 robots, a small mountain of batteries on the left, and several bumpers in both red and blue on the right.

The Poof/Cookie lab is extremely impressive.

[cmwilson13]

im blown away by the fact that they don't have the practice field they built the spec field

[nathannfm]

im blown away by the fact that they don't have the practice field they built the spec field

I think they must buy/rent it from FIRST because it is accurate down to the FIRST logos and the accidentally power coated corners of the goals.

[Cory]

I think they must buy/rent it from FIRST because it is accurate down to the FIRST logos and the accidentally power coated corners of the goals.

NASA supports us with official field elements for the use of the three Ames House Teams, as well as local FRC teams, through a pre-ship scrimmage event and the ability to come practice here throughout the year.

[billbo911]

... as well as local FRC teams, through a pre-ship scrimmage event and the ability to come practice here throughout the year.

Why, oh why, is Moffet so far from Elk Grove?? :D

Great job again this year Cory.
See you at CVR this weekend!

[TravusCubington]

And then the conversation led to... lets use as much pneumatics as we can to make it all work... better yet, lets mount pneumatics on pneumatics!
http://i.imgur.com/WneVlqq.png

[clayrosenthal]

But how did you get the wood to look so shiny?

Scotch Brite. Lots and lots of scotch brite

[Answer42]

NASA supports us with official field elements for the use of the three Ames House Teams, as well as local FRC teams, through a pre-ship scrimmage event and the ability to come practice here throughout the year.

Three? I thought it was just the poofs and cookies?

[paul_v]

I love the over-center linkage. That is my favorite detail. :)

I'm sorry I won't get the chance to see it in person.

-John

Thanks :) That was a fun one to package into a tight space. Mechanical rigidity is very important in my mind.

There may be a future addition you would enjoy too.

-Paul Ventimiglia

[DampRobot]

Three? I thought it was just the poofs and cookies?

971 is a house team, they just don't do much of their fab and assy there.

[AdamHeard]

971 is a house team, they just don't do much of their fab and assy there.

They are now, they haven't always been. That's why some people might be confused.

[cglrcng]

Absolutely an Awesome job there Poofs! The "sealing can't holdja"...A great whittling and varnish job on that wooden monstrosity there too....Am Blue w/ envy here!

And a perfect (and now much needed after week 1) "triple threat auto" (X2 even), "0-65 in 10.0"....Now, if you could only get that to 9.90 you could enter it into an NHRA Super Gas competition right up the road a bit too. (But, what's a tenth of a second between friends, except probably very doable in a pinch for Team 254, I'm sure). "Barrage" is a perfect name for that finely detailed matching pr. too.

[shades23]

In auto you can posess multiple balls?

[Racer26]

In auto you can posess multiple balls?

There no rules governing how many BALLs a ROBOT can POSSESS at any one time, regardless of whether its in AUTO or TELEOP.

Additionally, there are no rules governing how many ROBOTs can POSSESS the same BALL simultaneously.

[z_beeblebrox]

In auto you can posess multiple balls?

There is no rule banning that. So yes.

[Nick Lawrence]

The incredible foresight in this machine is outstanding.

I look forward to seeing you guys playing late in the day on April 26, 2014.

-Nick

[DinerKid]

Looks amazing, performs amazingly well. I am in awe.

The sensor on the shooter wheel. It looks to be a photoelectric sensor, so far as I can see it is used to gather data about the shooter wheel. What am I missing? I don't see a paired sensor nor any way for it to use diffuse mode or anything to detect rotation on the wheel. Anyone figure this out?

I also see two of a very similar if not identical sensor by the shooter wall, I would assume these are in opposed mode as a beam break from the shooter.

~DK

[Anupam Goli]

As is standard with 118 and 254 videos:

First there's shock, as I can just go "This is the most amazing thing I've seen".
Then a little bit of depression sits in: "How can we even compete with this thing?"
Then i get hyped, when I realize I'll be able to see this beast on webcasts.
Then I slowly understand how it works, and get inspired, learning more and more every time I watch the video.

What an outstanding robot. Just watching a reveal video makes me inspired. I hope to one day make it to championships and see a Poofs robot in person.

-Anupam

[Chris is me]

The design work on this machine is incredible. I haven't been more in awe of a robot since 148's reveal video in 2010. The double intakes, the linkage design, the shooter... This is a machine that has found "the simplicity on the other side of complexity".

In a very brutal game, what on this robot is going to break? They clearly have the weight for a very strong set of intakes - I would not be surprised if that was 1/8" wall tube. If they break one, they can still pick up a ball. Their shooter is never going to jam, fail to release, or otherwise wear out the same way stored energy shooters might. The CG of that robot has to be so low too. We'll have to see how it does on the field but 254 absolutely knocked it out of the park this year.

I hate to hype for the sake of hype, but I'm stunned at how beautiful, elegant, and functional this machine is.

[Electronica1]

I am going to go on the record and say, this is probably the closest 254 has gotten to making their robot a transformer, the whole shooter back-wall opening up to catch is pretty epic.

[BigJ]

I am going to go on the record and say, this is probably the closest 254 has gotten to making their robot a transformer, the whole shooter back-wall opening up to catch is pretty epic.

After we figured out what those pneumatics were for going through the video frame-by-frame, the group of us huddled around the computer at our meeting last night were sufficiently mindblown.

[themccannman]

I am going to go on the record and say, this is probably the closest 254 has gotten to making their robot a transformer

I think you mean decepticon.

[roystur44]

65 MPH = 95 feet per sec is there a flux capacitor in there I'm not seeing?

[joelg236]

65 MPH = 95 feet per sec is there a flux capacitor in there I'm not seeing?

... 65 points

[AdamHeard]

65 MPH = 95 feet per sec is there a flux capacitor in there I'm not seeing?

65 points.

[cadandcookies]

65 MPH = 95 feet per sec is there a flux capacitor in there I'm not seeing?

I wouldn't put it past them.

[roystur44]

I hope somebody codes an autonomous blocking robot to stop this

[Abhishek R]

I hope somebody codes an autonomous blocking robot to stop this

Considering they move and shoot over the 1 point goal, it would be pretty hard to block this (6-inch rule). Combined with the fact that I don't see blocking in autonomous ever being very effective. But hey, I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.

[Chris is me]

Considering they move and shoot over the 1 point goal, it would be pretty hard to block this (6-inch rule). Combined with the fact that I don't see blocking in autonomous ever being very effective. But hey, I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.

There is one legal way for a driver to send commands to a robot during Autonomous mode, but I don't see any goalie teams implementing that particular device.

[Michael Hill]

There is one legal way for a driver to send commands to a robot during Autonomous mode, but I don't see any goalie teams implementing that particular device.

The Kinect?

[XaulZan11]

There is one legal way for a driver to send commands to a robot during Autonomous mode, but I don't see any goalie teams implementing that particular device.

Correct. The message we've heard from FIRST was it isn't tested/supported on this year's driver station.

There are other ways to position your robot, however.

[cmrnpizzo14]

The Kinect?

Don't remember the exact rules but I'm pretty sure that this is legal but you are on your own to set it up at your driver station and try to keep the area clear while you control it.

[thefro526]

Correct. The message we've heard from FIRST was it isn't tested/supported on this year's driver station.

There are other ways to position your robot, however.

Regardless of the method used, one would assume that the Poofs have thought of this eventuality and probably have some sort of back-up plan. Whether that be turning to the left instead of the right, or just not shooting if there's something in their path has yet to be seen - but assuming that they don't shoot unless they get to the end of their path - putting up a goalie bot in front of them is probably a waste of time, since they should be able to get rid of all three balls fairly quickly into the teleop period...

If anything, the fact that 254 can possess all 3 of their alliances starting balls at once is the real advantage here. Who cares if they score them? Just not having to chase one or two down for the first 20 seconds of the match is enough of an advantage.

[Nemo]

Wow... lots of cool stuff going on. I wonder how many cubic inches worth of air reservoir tanks are on this robot.

I've been staring at that top deflector linkage for a while. When the cylinder retracts, it angles away from the shooter to assume a steeper angle, right? At first glance I thought it was for achieving a lower angle shot, so now I don't know the purpose of that thing. They appear to be in their lower angle position for the autonomous shots, which is already a pretty high angle. Maybe they wanted even a higher angle yet for a truss pass.

There's a CIM visible through the smoked polycarbonate whose purpose I cannot discern.

I hope we can qualify for the Championship just so I can look at this thing in person for a couple of minutes.

Thanks for posting and warping my mind a bit.

[Conor Ryan]

At approximately 6.5 points/sec it is a bit of a shame that you have to play teleop.

If you were able to keep up the points per second rate from auto in teleop, you would score approximatlely 975 points by the end of a full match.

[Electronica1]

Regardless of the method used, one would assume that the Poofs have thought of this eventuality and probably have some sort of back-up plan. Whether that be turning to the left instead of the right, or just not shooting if there's something in their path has yet to be seen - but assuming that they don't shoot unless they get to the end of their path - putting up a goalie bot in front of them is probably a waste of time, since they should be able to get rid of all three balls fairly quickly into the teleop period...

If anything, the fact that 254 can possess all 3 of their alliances starting balls at once is the real advantage here. Who cares if they score them? Just not having to chase one or two down for the first 20 seconds of the match is enough of an advantage.

Wait, if someone does manage to block their auto or they just miss somehow, wouldn't that wicked backspin they have on the ball cause it to roll to the opponents side of the field? :confused:

[TheMadCADer]

I love the over-center linkage. That is my favorite detail. :)

-John

Anybody have a good picture of this linkage? I'm not exactly sure what part is being referred to here.

[s_forbes]

Clean robot, as usual! Some clever use of pneumatic linkages and latches, very cool. I like how the deflector for the shooter is just floating up in the air on the end of a big moving frame.

I noticed a sponsor sticker on your robot that I haven't seen before... Team Whyachi. How is that working out? Do you have a rotational kinetic mechanism we can't see, or perhaps a new walking drivetrain?

[Gaurav27]

A really impressive robot. I like how the design is centered around the 3 ball capability for autonomous. This would definitely provide you with the flexibility to pickup from both sides in tight defensive situations. Amazing as always, Poofs!

[Kevin Sheridan]

http://i.imgur.com/WneVlqq.png

http://i.imgur.com/szpTyiX.png

[Sparky3D]

There's a CIM visible through the smoked polycarbonate whose purpose I cannot discern.


I'm guessing that "CIM" in the belly of the robot is actually a Thomas 215 compressor. The motor on it looks a lot like a CIM.

[sailer99]

What are those gray covers on the pneumatics tubing just before it goes into the fittings?

[TD78]

What are those gray covers on the pneumatics tubing just before it goes into the fittings?

looks like shrink tubing labels. you can buy the label maker (similar to a label maker you can get at Staples...just more expensive) and the shrink tubing off of mcmaster.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#4512T6

[Nemo]

I'm guessing that "CIM" in the belly of the robot is actually a Thomas 215 compressor. The motor on it looks a lot like a CIM.

That makes a lot more sense. Previously I had only seen the gray colored Thomas compressors from past KoP's.

[paul_v]

I noticed a sponsor sticker on your robot that I haven't seen before... Team Whyachi. How is that working out? Do you have a rotational kinetic mechanism we can't see, or perhaps a new walking drivetrain?

We have many sponsors this year. Team Whyachi (http://www.teamwhyachi.com/botshop.htm) used their waterjet to cut the parts for our shooting hood linkage and rails, and various small plates. Terry Ewert runs a great family business, and is one of the smartest designers I know. They understand robot competitions from their days winning Battlebots events on TV.

Most importantly, they are super fast. DXF's were sent to them Sunday night, parts cut and shipped out Monday AM within hours. They stock most sizes of aluminum you would need, and can perform other full shop services as needed. They are very affordable because they charge based on actual hours spent, not an upfront quote, and the rates are not too high.

I have known Terry as a friend/competitor for a decade, and had them also do work for FRC190 when I was a mentor over there.

-Paul Ventimiglia

[rcmolloy]

http://i.imgur.com/eQJ9m5d.png

[OZ_341]

Great Machine as Always.
Good luck to 254 this weekend.

[Abhishek R]

Will the build blog for 2014 be released?

[safiq10]

Will the build blog for 2014 be released?

Yes! I emailed them and asked them and they replied to me saying the build blog will be posted! :D

[swwrobotics]

Hey, so have you guys posted a video of that fantabulous catcher yet? I haven't seen it in action all season!

[BabyUnicorn]

Fantastic robot! Awesome two way intake. Surprised nobody that I heard of tried to block your auto after sharing what it basically does and how. However, as long as nobody blocks that, super effective. Also must be nice to not have to turn around the bot to intake the ball. :)

[Boe]

Fantastic robot! Awesome two way intake. Surprised nobody that I heard of tried to block your auto after sharing what it basically does and how. However, as long as nobody blocks that, super effective. Also must be nice to not have to turn around the bot to intake the ball. :)

In case you missed Einstein....they did try...and it didn't happen
http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2014cmp

[BabyUnicorn]

In case you missed Einstein....they did try...and it didn't happen
http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2014cmp

Thanks for sharing this, I missed this. It probably was a last minute change to autonomous, not an option to use way ahead of time. I would've liked to see them get blocked though. :P

[Joe G.]

Hey, so have you guys posted a video of that fantabulous catcher yet? I haven't seen it in action all season!

They use it every time they load from the human player. You have to look closely for it, it doesn't open anywhere near as much as you might think.

[Dunngeon]

Thanks for sharing this, I missed this. It probably was a last minute change to autonomous, not an option to use way ahead of time. I would've liked to see them get blocked though. :P

It was definitely something done way ahead of time. Simbotics was using the Kinect to control the robot. Unfortunately, the blocking stick was on the back of the robot which is why they weren't able to block the Poofs ball's in the matches. The articulating blocker on 973 would have been much better suited to blocking the poofs shot, because it could extend in front of the low goal.

[BabyUnicorn]

It was definitely something done way ahead of time. Simbotics was using the Kinect to control the robot. Unfortunately, the blocking stick was on the back of the robot which is why they weren't able to block the Poofs ball's in the matches. The articulating blocker on 973 would have been much better suited to blocking the poofs shot, because it could extend in front of the low goal.
Ah, makes sense. Just curious though, why not drive the robot up to 254 with the backend first? That would most likely be effective, no?

[Lil' Lavery]

Ah, makes sense. Just curious though, why not drive the robot up to 254 with the backend first? That would most likely be effective, no?

They didn't know which side 254 would be shooting for.

[BabyUnicorn]

They didn't know which side 254 would be shooting for.
Couldn't this have been scouted for if it's a pre-set autonomous? Also, could they not identify it in time? Based on the reveal video, there is space between intake and the shot in which they could have adjusted the robot to a proper blocking position.

[Citrus Dad]

In case you missed Einstein....they did try...and it didn't happen
http://www.thebluealliance.com/event/2014cmp

Actually it did happen in Final Match 2, with the claw. That's why the Newton alliance won that match. Also in Match 3 254's balls bounced off 1114's pole (I had an excellent view)--a few more inches and they would have bounced out. Again 1114's claw had 254's intake down but then it released.

See a more extensive description in the Einstein thread under Championships.

[Lil' Lavery]

Couldn't this have been scouted for if it's a pre-set autonomous? Also, could they not identify it in time? Based on the reveal video, there is space between intake and the shot in which they could have adjusted the robot to a proper blocking position.

254 doesn't always drive to the same side. Generally speaking, they drive towards whichever goal is not hot during the first 5 seconds, then shoot at it once it becomes hot during the last five seconds. But 254 has many autonomous modes, including ones that use Cheesy Vision (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128639), which allows them to chose which goal to shoot at on the fly. If you watch the Einstein match footage posted, you'll see that 254 is not running the same autonomous mode they used in their reveal video, but instead one that both uses Cheesy Vision for hot goal detection and drives in front of the 1-point goal before shooting.

[BabyUnicorn]

254 doesn't always drive to the same side. Generally speaking, they drive towards whichever goal is not hot during the first 5 seconds, then shoot at it once it becomes hot during the last five seconds. But 254 has many autonomous modes, including ones that use Cheesy Vision (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128639), which allows them to chose which goal to shoot at on the fly. If you watch the Einstein match footage posted, you'll see that 254 is not running the same autonomous mode they used in their reveal video, but instead one that both uses Cheesy Vision for hot goal detection and drives in front of the 1-point goal before shooting.
Ah, that clears up things a bit more. Thanks. :)
The Cheesies are always one step ahead! :P

[XaulZan11]

Does anyone know what autonomous mode 254 used in match 138 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRs7VSLqmO8)? It seems as if it was a driver controlled autonomous to juke 2648's blocker.

[BabyUnicorn]

Does anyone know what autonomous mode 254 used in match 138 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRs7VSLqmO8)? It seems as if it was a driver controlled autonomous to juke 2648's blocker.
I don't know, but based off of what I've heard, something like a Kinetic control is an extremely likely possibility. It would be foolish not to have this option when they already have so many.

[Pat Fairbank]

Does anyone know what autonomous mode 254 used in match 138 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRs7VSLqmO8)? It seems as if it was a driver controlled autonomous to juke 2648's blocker.
That wasn't actually planned -- we think it was the result of gyro drift.

[swwrobotics]

They use it every time they load from the human player. You have to look closely for it, it doesn't open anywhere near as much as you might think.

Yeah, I've seen them do it like in this video here. (http://youtu.be/dRs7VSLqmO8?t=45s)

But you've got to wonder with those huge cylinders if they really do open up all the way: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img/fe3/fe38d320428adf4f51ac969efb3db32c_l.jpg

I'm dying to know!

[AdamHeard]

Yeah, I've seen them do it like in this video here. (http://youtu.be/dRs7VSLqmO8?t=45s)

But you've got to wonder with those huge cylinders if they really do open up all the way: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img/fe3/fe38d320428adf4f51ac969efb3db32c_l.jpg

I'm dying to know!

It initially opened up all the way, but those big cylinders were replaced with smaller ones (with an over center geometry to lock) so that they opened just enough to inbound.

[swwrobotics]

It initially opened up all the way, but those big cylinders were replaced with smaller ones (with an over center geometry to lock) so that they opened just enough to inbound.

Alright, thanks. Still would love to see a video of the old thing in action :rolleyes:.

[Brandon Holley]

Alright, thanks. Still would love to see a video of the old thing in action :rolleyes:.

I couldn't resist...

http://i.imgur.com/bhFu3qO.jpg

[Racer26]

I couldn't resist...

http://i.imgur.com/bhFu3qO.jpg

While I don't disagree that CATCHing proved to be not very valuable, 254 DID successfully pitch a couple of CATCHed TRUSS shots to 2056 at Waterloo in the eliminations as part of a couple 60pt CYCLEs.

[Andrew Lawrence]

While I don't disagree that CATCHing proved to be not very valuable, 254 DID successfully pitch a couple of CATCHed TRUSS shots to 2056 at Waterloo in the eliminations as part of a couple 60pt CYCLEs.

IIRC they caught a few times in practice, and played it off in the best manner possible (catch and shoot before you could blink).

[brandon.cottrell]

I walked over to the 254 when they were sitting around and doing nothing in the Curie queue and got a closer look at their robot's wiring. I even got to touch it a little bit.

I'll be telling my grandchildren about that in 50 years.