FIRST Robot Design Milestones [Archive]

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Andy Baker

11-11-2002, 22:32

It's time for some FIRST history.

The design of FIRST robots has come a long way since 1992. I'd like to start a discussion of some of the most impressive highlights over these years. As you reply, it will be difficult not to want to tell people about your own robot... but if we do that, there will simply be too many designs described here.

This thread is really about those designs that made a difference in FIRST. These ingenious inventions either won much acclaim, or they were simply elegant and became more famous over the years.

So... let's discuss this, but I'm gonna set some rules that will make this discussion interesting:
1. you cannot say anything about your team's designs.
2. you can only talk about one team's design once (you can't describe a certain team's designs in different years).
3. you cannot discuss this past year's designs (that is a different, still active thread).

Here are my favorite excellent designs:

1995 (or 6?): Sunny Delight ball shooter - National Champion
... Shot a ball into a goal with a reliable and unstoppable design

1997: The incredible lift mechanisms from Beatty-Hammond (National Champions) and Wildstang.
... Team Hammond's design was a 4 bar linkage, and Wildstang's was a telescoping mechanism. Both designs were well ahead of their time.

Also... team 121's notorious wedge design wreaked havoc and re-wrote the rule book with regard to tipping. Simply ingenious.

1998: ChiefDelphi "swerve" steering. These guys dominated at the Regional level and then were ganged up on at the Nationals. I'm pretty sure that this was the first anyone saw of this incredible steering technique that soo many teams use now.

1999: Team 95's puck lifting mechanism was awesome. They could lift the entire puck and remove 2-3 robots from the puck with ease. They finally perfected this design and showcased it at the '99 Rumble at the Rock.

Also... team 177 wrote the book on how to design a powerful arm. This thing was incredbly strong while also being able to hold plenty of floppies.

2000: Team 25's long arm of the law could cherry-pick a black ball out of their opponent's goal and put it into their goal. They finally got this thing working when it mattered most, during the elimination matches of the Nationals. This design is the holy grail of long reaching, telescoping arms.

Also... the ball removing techniques used by teams 131 and 288 were simply awesome.

2001: The designs used by teams 67, 60, & 56 to go under the bar and still grab a ball to place it on an 8' goal was simply awesome. Plus... they did it repeatedly and reliably.

Also... Gunn Robotics Team's inventive way to balance the bridge was elegant and one of a kind. Their 2 arm bridge balancer was rugged and effective.

OK... there are mine (some of them, at least). There are a slew of others, so go ahead and list them. BUT, stick to the rules of this thread... I started it, so I can make these rules! heh.

Andy B.

ColleenShaver

11-11-2002, 23:00

1999 -

Team 157's drive system. Their eight wheels allowed them to cross the puck with such ease.. like it wasn't even there. It also allowed them to be the one team that couldn't be dumped off the puck when it was tipped (I think I still have the picture from River Rage somewhere).

Team 45's great treads. Very cool and inventive idea. They were reliable, unlike many tread systems, gave them great traction, and hey.. they looked pretty menacing!!

Tom Schindler

12-11-2002, 00:30

1995 or 1996... (i forget which year)- tigerbolt (i forget the numbers since they were all re-numbered from 97-98 seasons)... they collected balls on the field with an array of rollers, then what seemed like their entire body lifted up off the ground to deposit their balls in the goal by reversing their rollers and spitting them out - very impressive roller design.

1998 - chiefdelphi(47) had an incredible robot - two wheel swerve, super fast vertical lift mechanism, awesome ball grabber. I will never forget the finals in New Hampshire where you guys placed some absurd number of balls in the center goal.

1999 - 176 - ACES high. They walked into the UTC robot scrimmage at noontime, halfway through the contest, with (no joke) a garbage bag as their floopy basket. Their arm on the back of their robot was a marvel of engineering. It could not only go up and down, but pivot side to side. The arm could right the robot no matter what angle they fell off. Oh, and they ended up national champs.

2000 - team 131 completely stunned me with their ability to get the buried black ball out of the trough flawlessley every time. Amazing design, awesome defense.

2001 - team 45 amazed me with their ability to balance perfectly, everytime. Most of the time when i was watching matches it was a big question whether or not they would balance in time. As soon as 45 started their slow hike up the ramp, i knew they would be balanced.

Chris

12-11-2002, 01:36

I would have to vote for team 42's forklift in 1996, they completely wreaked havoc for teams that were designed to score balls in the upright goal. It was a definite Strategy design Milestone.

As a runner up I would have to vote for team 188 in 2001, who was designed to balance two goals on the bridge while squeezing two big balls in between them allowing them to score all four.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pictures.php?s=&action=single&picid=1912&direction=DESC&sort=date&perrow=3&trows=4&quiet=verbose

These two strategies showed what could be accomplished by thinking completely outside the box.

Chris C.
Team 151
00-02
Proud to be a new member of team 229

Matt Leese

12-11-2002, 08:33

Bill Beatty

12-11-2002, 10:57

Andy. I totally agree with you on Wildstang 1997. I believe that this incredible robot is the greatest robot in design and construction in the entire history of FIRST, and I think their machine is still on display at FIRST Place.

When we would put our topper on the goal it would raise the top to almost 11 feet high, and Wildstang could lift four full sized inner tubes weighing more than ten pounds up and over the top of this height with a whole lot of room to spare! The top of their basket had to be over 16 feet from the floor. Also, back then the limit was 120 pounds and 48 inches high. The only motors we had to use was 2 drills, 4 seat adjusters and 2 window lifts, and power from 2 small cordless drill batteries.

I had many sleepless nights figuring out strategies to use against them.

Bill Beatty

Karthik

12-11-2002, 13:17

1998 - I believe it was team 95 that was the only team who was able to remove balls from the center goal. That device wreaked havoc for more than a few teams.

1999 - Team 68, Truck Town Terror (now Truck Town Thunder), never has a name more aptly described a robot. Their arm which they used to defend the puck inflicted a lot of damage (all within the rules of the competition). It came to a point where teams wouldn't even try to challenge them at GLR, in fear of their robot's safety.

2000 - Team 47, Chief Delphi. The best robot I had seen in all my years of competition up to this point (although their entry in '98 almost took this distinction). The way they effortlessly glided from trough to trough removing and placing balls. They had mastered the ability to strafe. If it wasn't for some damage that happened early in the elimination matches at EPCOT, I think they would have been national champs.

2001 - Although team 71 was clearly the most dominant 'bot of the year, I was very impressed with team 111's creation. Their robot had was a real life version of a Transformer. They had various attachments they placed and removed on their robot depending on what the match strategy dictated. Also, their idea of becoming the ramp and having robots drive over their back was creative genius.

There are too many other great robots out there to mention. If Andy hadn't limited this thread to one mention of each team, I could have brought up teams 111, 47, or 71 for every year that they've entered the competition. They've set a great design examples for everyone to follow.

It makes me think back to 1998 when 47 and 111 were so dominant. Unfortunately they were both hit with a lot of bad luck derailing them early on in the elimination rounds. I'll still never forget the ruling that 111's ball was on the rail, that brought their score from 768 to zero. The judges actually slipped a piece paper between the ball and the rail to check. It was that close. They then went on to win 8 or 9 matches in row, before they finally lost and were eliminated. That run of wins was the most spectacular think I've ever seen in FIRST.

Chris Hibner

13-11-2002, 15:58

Personally, I think the best milestones are the ones that are most copied by other teams in the following years.

- For instance, Chief Delphi's crab steering system debuted in 1998. WildStang tried it in 1999. Now practically everyone does it.

- The TechnoKats cleated tread design from 1999 ranks up there. The number of teams that used this type of tread (if not a tread, than the same cleats on wheels) this past year was incredible.

- The Huskie Brigade brought 4-bar linkages to the forefront their first few years.

- I think the HOT Team was the first to use the omni-casters in 1998. This is now a standard for 4-wheel-drive drivetrains.

Plus many others. There are a lot of designs and breakthroughs that have since been copied by many other teams. Can anyone else think of anything else?

Adam Y.

13-11-2002, 16:04

ChiefDelphi "swerve" steering I'm pretty sure that this was the first anyone saw of this incredible steering technique that soo many teams use now.

Huh??? Im confused.... what is swerve steering?? There are only to ways to drive a machine and thats ackerman and differntial unless what you mean is differntial. There is omnidirectional steering but the only robots I have seen that have done that have either used a varation of ackerman or those neat and innovative wheels.

JVN

14-11-2002, 00:36

In 2000 (my first year in the competition) I remember a few bots worth mentioning.

Team 19 - Big Red, they built an amazing turreted arm that could hang from the bar, and was also useful in "swallowing" balls to be scored later.
http://www.firstrobotics.net/00gallery/019-1.jpg

Team 15 - Coqui Power, they squeezed the balls up through the bars of the troughs. It was an amazing little bot that darted all over the field (and under the bar) with ease. Now maybe this was done earlier on (98 maybe?) but this is one of the only bots I know of that slowly compressed balls and squeezed them into goals.
http://www.firstrobotics.net/00gallery/015-1.jpg

2001-
Team 111 - Wildstang, I'll never forget the first time I saw their "teaser" video. I never even thought of being a "ramp-bot".

Team 151 - Wildcards, They had that great autobalance. There were only a few teams that did it, and they were definitely one of the best.

I really wish I'd been in this competition for longer. (it seems like I can think of more innovation in 2002 than any other year I'd been involved, but alas... I can't post those till next year).

Andrew Rudolph

14-11-2002, 17:13

1999 - team 16 Bomb squad had an amazing robot our first year in FIRST and our robot barely picking up 1 floppy and we go there and they pick them all up!
- 168 had a wedge and anyone i talk to that faced them rembers them, mostly the no smoking sign

2000- Team 67 Hot Bot was sick, i rember watching the webcast and seeing them shoot across the field and devour all the balls on the back wall.
- Team 233 was one of the first teams that used the gyro really effectively. They won the award for technical design at nationals. They had it on thier giant arm and it would autobalance so they wouldnt tip on the ramp, and we all know the gyro was very important in the 2001 game for many teams

2001- 312 Heat wave had a great machine they were able to pick up alot of the little balls, a big ball and push goals up the ramp.

2002- Pretty much the whole game had tons of innovations, from 6 motor drive trains, to CVTs to omnidirctional drivetrains, to tape measures and who can forget file cards. :D

mtaman02

14-11-2002, 18:50

2001- NYC Regionals Team 47 CD's robot was pretty cool. its omni directional drive capability was no match for some robots which took for ever to do a 360 turn. All though its grabbing mechanism wasn't all that strong if i remember correctly; it always got the job done.

Another robot I admire is of course my teams Team 522 the RoboWizards and their tank like robot WILMA. Wilmas original goal during the 2001 season was to help gain maximum points but unfortunately WILMA was only good for being a tow truck and to be a very successful helper bot - {balancing, bringing one goal to a dual goal robot, limbowing etc - whatever a tiny robot could do

We won the 2001 Play of the day award for prety much doing the following tasks [push disabled robot into endzone, assist in balancing the ramp, remove one of the 1 point balls from underneath the ramp, limbowing around the other side to end up in the end zone with one robot on the bridge, 3 in the endzone and a lot of happy team members]

2002 I liked Rages Bot, Buzz's Bot because of their speed at the beginning of each match and their ability to pick up mass amount of balls.

2002 unfortunately our robot DOROTHY was only good for defensive blocking and controlling 2 goals and even then we kinda didn't do so well

Wetzel

14-11-2002, 20:09

Team 67 Hot Bot in 2000...

Not only could they pick up balls real fast, but the way they go up on the bar and hung upside down was really cool.

Hammond in 2002 with the metal file things.

Thats what comes to mind at the moment.

Wetzel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dk5sm5luigi

14-11-2002, 22:46

I have to agree with all the above posts but I have to add that my favorite robot of all time is from 1997 or 1998 (i forget but I remember it in New Hampshire) where Lego built their robot to look like it was built out of legos. I know this has nothing to do with how well they did but since then teams have been making their robots look more and more like something.

mpking

14-11-2002, 23:23

Originally posted by Tom Schindler
1995 or 1996... (i forget which year)- tigerbolt (i forget the numbers since they were all re-numbered from 97-98 seasons)... they collected balls on the field with an array of rollers, then what seemed like their entire body lifted up off the ground to deposit their balls in the goal by reversing their rollers and spitting them out - very impressive roller design.

I loved that bot.

It is one of my favorites.

http://www.tj2.org/1996/imagepages/tigertron.html
(Yea, we keep pictures)

But it's not the most technical. The best bot for 1996
The PLACEBO!!! (God i bet most of you people wish you knew what the hell i was talking about)

1997 Wildstang.
Althought I'm a little surprise we haven't been mentioned. :-(
We did a perfect score several times. (I swear this is the only time I'm going to mention our bots, this was my favorite year, and are we using a telescoping arm similar to the one you describe first being used in 1998?)
http://www.tj2.org/1997/imagepages/practice.html

Sadly, the Placebo was very cool, but couldn't compete. We scored some points for him. :-)

1998
Team 95, I love how they beat us by sucking the balls out from under us. literally.

The final year of the placebo, and don't you think they could have made it move?

1999
I'm gonna give it two 95 again. Anyone that can work airhorns onto your robot, deserves credit.

(BTW, who's this crazy guy?? (Tounge in cheek)
http://www.tj2.org/1999/imagepages/rumble7.html
http://www.tj2.org/1999/imagepages/rumble12.html
http://www.tj2.org/1999/imagepages/rumble11.html

2000
Delphi, although I had to think hard about that.

2001
I liked buzz. I didn't pay a heck of a lot of attention this year....

dk5sm5luigi

14-11-2002, 23:33

(BTW, who's this crazy guy?? (Tounge in cheek)

Well I don't know who he is but that is my little sister in the upper left corner wearing the yellow shirt. Thanks for the pics it was well worth remembering what Rumble was like. I do agree that Placebo was a great bot. Every time my team (Technonuts) would always route for them.

Brandon Martus

14-11-2002, 23:34

Originally posted by dk5sm5luigi
Well I don't know who he is...

Those were pictures of ChiefDelphi and the 'uniforms' they wore to that competition... the 'he' was probably referring to Joe Johnson.

mpking

14-11-2002, 23:45

Originally posted by Brandon Martus

Those were pictures of ChiefDelphi and the 'uniforms' they wore to that competition... the 'he' was probably referring to Joe Johnson.

Yes, it was Joe I was referring to. Hence the Tounge in Cheek comment.

Andy A.

15-11-2002, 00:15

If you only knew how close we came to getting horns on our 'bot for 02. They were from a big honking harley no less.

We only lost them because of weight. That and the massive amounts of air they used, not something we could afford to waste (I don't think the tanks ever saw over 50 psi once the match started). I still feel they would have won us a regional, or two.

Anywho, 2001 has to go to Buzz. Wow.

2002 is hard for me to pick. Over all, 121 I think had a good combo of ball handling and goal handling. 173 is just as deserving no doubt, but I didn't get to watch them as much as I really should have. 883 gets huge props, just beacuse they restored my faith in cow prints and pretty much showed all of us to never doubt a rookie team.

-Andy A.

ColleenShaver

15-11-2002, 00:47

I remember the 1996 "Placeb-o-matic".. it's on display up at FIRST if anyone ever goes there... clearly the best part of the game that year :P

Another great robot from 1997 (I don't remember the number) was the Prince/Ottawa team (I think it was there name, I know it was Prince). They had a pretty high reaching arm.. we capped the goal with 4 tubes, got topped by another team (I think Wildstang) with 3-4 tubes and price reached right above the both of us to take the match. An amazing feat to do without falling over...

On top of that, their controls that year for their arm were a miniature version of their robot. They would move the miniature robot arm to wherever they wanted the big arm to be and it followed right along. It was one of the first control systems I saw that broke the generic joysticks & buttons approach..

ajlapp

15-11-2002, 05:03

I'm an old school firster, probably one of the youngest 8 year guys out there.....so here we go!

1996 -- definately the placebo

if you don't know, you're really missing out. back in the good old days of one-on-one-on-one a placebo bot would be used to fill gaps in the tournament brackets. anyway, in 96, FIRST built a hovercraft placebo, complete with dry ice exhaust. totally cool. Don't forget one of Dr.Joe's favorites Hexcalibur, still one of the most beautiful FIRST machines ever. the PSNH was and is a work of art.

1997 -- everything about this year

i've always considered 97 to be one of those breakout years. the game went through it's first major overhaul with the inner tubes and spinning goal.

Baxcat -- now team 312 heatwave created one of the most beautiful machines that year. a black and purple beauty with a complex tape drive driven arm that featured an array of pulleys all mounted in the base which operated a wrist function, and a tube deploy device. they also had a capper hidden in their pits during the Chicago regional but i never saw it in action. this is also the birth of their now famous v-belt tread which has been seen on every baxter heatwave machine since.(i think)

Wildstang -- i witnessed what Bill was talking about earlier....wildstang did more with that bot than most of us could ever hope to do with unlimited resources. (Go see it at FIRSt Place, it will change everything for you)

P&G Walnut Hills -- one of the last Sunny Delight machines used two seperate mechanisms, one for the tubes and one for their capper to be quick and lethal. They were tippy, but had that cool 4 wheel steering cart...i still see it from time to time, but the last time i saw it, the color had changed to green.

raytheon greenville-- one of if not the only machine that year to latch on to the goal repeatedly and accurately then proceed to spin it at high rpm while delivering three tubes to the top spot. almost beat beatty by flipping them with the tree. a super cool robot.

team 27 OSMTech -- used a passive arm setup and a cool lit covering to have a clean efficient robot. seeded 6th or maybe higher at their first regional and won a motorola quality award.

1998 -- birth of the swerve

47 -- my jaw drops as i watch a scouting video of the houston regional. delphi uses a plum bob to perfectly align their robot with the goal structure. the machine then leaps to it's right without changing orientation. they turn the drill motor gearboxes into new gearboxes for seat motors and feature constant tension springs on their lift. the swerve is born and this machine rewrites the record books by winning three regionals then getting pimped at nationals.

111 wildstang -- yet another perfect lift from motorola. this one handles up to three big balls with no problem. they really become a competitor when they add their last ball in the rail tape drive holder inner. :)

312 heatwave -- rewrites the rules on pvc usage. they have featured a large pvc structure almost every year since this one.

1 juggernauts -- lightning fast lift, simple 4-wheel drive. could have won nationals but had reliability problems throughout the year.

16 bombsquad -- this is one of my top three robots all time. they demonstrated mastery of the large balls. the robot squeezed them in the center goal, took them out, and even had a suction cup that held their last ball in place on the three point rail. it was almost fool proof.

71 -- beatty handles five large balls at a time, wins an award, doesn't win nationals for onece.

67 hotbot -- uses omni-casters, a first. uses a low-pass filter, a first. smooth reliable robot with a great paint scheme and a solid team backing up the entire first community

88 -- holds five balls, has dancing calvin on drivetrain

1999 -- wow

45 technokats -- super treads that switch gears and an incredible solid polycarb arm that pummels opponents with a boxing glove early on.

aztecs -- ultra wierd tilting drivetrain with incredible flexibility and reach. inspired one of our designs in 2000

delphi and wildstang -- domminate puck handling.....changes how i thought about that year's goal. matches at great lakes and chicago are enough to give me a heart attack.

beatty -- floppy tongue. velcro loops magically pick floppies off the ground with ease

2000 -- delphi

47 -- takes bumper definition to a new level. one of top three robots ever.

1 -- juggy brings simple and strong defensive robot to the forefront. by far my number one robot of all time. gets overlooked at nationals. :(

2001

45 -- autobalance.

67 -- big ball arm is elogant......they show specialization is okay.

I could go on forever. some of the best are here though.

Anthony Lapp
Lead Design
team 221 --> 857
Superior Roboworks

Mike371

15-11-2002, 08:34

I've been around FIRST for about 5 years now, And I've seen some pretty impressive bots, But there are a few that stick out.

2000

47 - The fact that they can get balls off the floor and deposit them in the goal with ease

25 - The long arm that can steal the balls out of the other persons goal. I believe that was the only one who did that type of bot.

2001

71 - The beast was the best goal balancer. THe fact thah they can balance the goals without going on the bridge was impressive.

Andy Baker

15-11-2002, 08:37

Originally posted by Mike522
Another robot I admire is of course my teams Team 522 the RoboWizards and their tank like robot WILMA.

Bzzzzzt. Although it is tempting, try not to toot your own horn in this thread. While you may have an awesome bot, the real compliment should come from other teams. Also... we already have a "highlights of 2002" thread.

Andy B.

P.J. Baker

15-11-2002, 10:53

Here are my favorites form 99, 00, & 01 (well, most of my favorites ;) )

1999:

176 - Incredible articulated arm with extreme simplicity everywhere else. Nearly impossible to stop them from getting on the puck.

2000:

47 - Incredible telescoping arm with extreme complexity everywhere else. We didn't think the arm was the right way to go that year. We were wrong. In fact, we always end up being wrong when we think that.

2001:

111 - Not the only wedge, but clearly the most versatile. Tremendous execution of a gutsy strategy decision.

Greg Perkins

15-11-2002, 11:02

hey thanks john, I am happy to see that you liked our autobalance:)
Its too bad not a whole lot of other people liked it tha much, o well there is always this year, hehe(devilish laugh)

I liked team 95 this year, they were amazing.
But i cant hold out on 237, YOU GUYS ROCK!!!! THSNKS ALOT FOR THE GREAT TIMES WE HAVE BEEEN PAIRED WITH YOU, MORE TIMES TO COME TIS YEAR!!

Greg
aka- badjokeguy