Team 121 Teaser Video

[Rob]

Can anyone figure out what our secret device is from this video?

http://www.tomschindler.net/2008_first_laps.php

Good luck everyone!

RAZ

[DarkFlame145]

very nice, very well built

[lukevanoort]

For some reason when your robot drives around with a ball in its claw, it reminds me of those videos of snakes eating eggs... My team didn't believe me when I was going on about the effectiveness of roller claws; now I can finally prove my point. Looks awesome!

[Jaybee1405]

Beautiful!!! very efficient!!

9.5/10

[Uberbots]

i officially dub your robot the snake.

very nice design, i think you guys will definitely go far with that bot. The only thing i don't like is how you have to turn around to score the ball.

[evanisthat!]

Excellent design, you all have solved this game very well, congratulations.
Good luck!

[Lil' Lavery]

What motor(s) are you using to power the roller for your claw?

[s_forbes]

That works much better than I would have expected from such a design; good job!

[Kyle Fenton]

Just a heads up for people with a mac. It doesn't work in Safari for some reason, but works in Firefox.

We have a very liberal policy of showing our robot during the build season. You can check out additional photographs of our robot close up at http://www.joemenassa.com and http://www.rhodewarrior.org

[TD78]

What motor(s) are you using to power the roller for your claw?

Banebot with 64:1 reduction and an additional reduction through sprockets. Can't remember though which BB it is.

[Jeff Waegelin]

Banebot with 64:1 reduction and an additional reduction through sprockets. Can't remember though which BB it is.

It's the larger one (the RS-550, I think is the model number) on a 42mm BaneBots transmission.

[MrForbes]

JWe have a very liberal policy of showing our robot during the build season.

Good for you! we are also putting out quite a bit of information about ours.

Very nice machine! lots of thought went into it, obviously...

[Jaybee1405]

I was just looking at your website, and you had a prototype for this exact machine by Day 2 of build season! Way to stick with the plan

[7-11number1]

Fast and effective, very nice. Is there anyway you may be able to hurdle the ball without turning around. Your robot is very fast and quickly adjust to the reversal but I am curious if have ideas to possible saving time?

[jimmythetulip22]

Wow, our robot sucks compared to your guys! :ahh:

[Jonathan Norris]

Great job guys, always loved your bots simplicity and great control over the game piece in 04', 07', and this year you guys have mastered the roller claw system to control the game piece. Very very nice.

[Tom Schindler]

I was just looking at your website, and you had a prototype for this exact machine by Day 2 of build season! Way to stick with the plan


Here's our mockup, followed closely by our current machine:

http://www.tomschindler.net/2008_gettingBetter.php

The transformation between the two took ~2 weeks.

[cziggy343]

that last video is pretty funny :D and o so true

[=Martin=Taylor=]

What material did you use on the rollers to grip the ball?

Nice Claw :cool:

[Billfred]

That warmth you feel from the south is my glare of admiring envy. I will be quite interested in seeing this one.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

SLLOOWWWWWWWWWWWW

:cool:

[Éowyn]

Can anyone figure out what our secret device is from this video?

http://www.tomschindler.net/2008_first_laps.php

Good luck everyone!

RAZ

Oh. Wow.

You guys did an absolutely awesome job.

[EEliteDefender]

Good job I hope ours turns out like yours we only have our chassis done. :)

[thefro526]

zomg that's the coolest thing i've seen since the end of last season. you've inspired me to go work on my teams 'bot. *Dustin Rushes out the Door Just To Realize That It's Cold And Dark Outside and No-one Works on Sunday*

[Arefin Bari]

I feel like I attended team 121's design meetings after the kickoff. :rolleyes:

[team2061]

mind if our team "borrows" some of your ideas. i promise to return them.lol
our bot sucks compared to this. Great Job

[Chris]

Its a very Rhode Warrior Robot,

Looks great and they still have over two weeks left, how is that fair to the rest of us?

Apparently when you take a great New England Team, add motivation, a large ball, and a Midwestern refugee this is the result.

What out BAE regional,

Best of luck guys


PS: Guess i don't know what the secret weapon is, but i bet if it can be wedge shaped it is.

[Jeff Waegelin]

PS: Guess i don't know what the secret weapon is, but i bet if it can be wedge shaped it is.

Oh how we would love to do that. We had a great idea for one, the other day.... Darn 10 degrees from vertical rule....

[Karthik]

First off, finally a teaser on CD that actually piques my curiosity. It's a nice change from all the kit and COTS items people have been "teasing" us with.

I'm very impressed by this video. Getting a robot to this stage in only 3 weeks is a huge feat. With 3 weeks of practice and tweaking time, there's no doubt in my mind the Rhode Warriors are going to be a force again in 2008.

[Aren_Hill]

whats you ground clearance? looks extremely low i just wanna make sure you aware of the half inch bump in the the field.

sweet manipulator, should be pretty quick to grab that ball. As far as hurdling speed goes i think this'll be one of the fastest arm types second only to the shooters.

go shooters!

[Michael Corsetto]

Do you guys usually finish this quickly? Being done 3 weeks in is pretty ridiculous. I bet your programmers are loving life right about now :p

I can't wait to see what ridiculous hybrid modes you guys come up with. Great job!

[Kyle Fenton]

Do you guys usually finish this quickly? Being done 3 weeks in is pretty ridiculous. I bet your programmers are loving life right about now :p

I can't wait to see what ridiculous hybrid modes you guys come up with. Great job!

No this is very unusual for us. If you look at http://www.joemenassa.com and http://americanrobot.rhodewarrior.org/ you can see that usually this time we are still building the main frame.

[johnr]

very nice. noticed that ball was still turning while in claw. do you have to do that to keep hold of it?

[JamesBrown]

Good work guys. 3 weeks of driving practice should be nice.

[Kyle Fenton]

very nice. noticed that ball was still turning while in claw. do you have to do that to keep hold of it?

Somewhat, there will be a touch sensor that will determine if the ball is slipping out, and will pull it back in.

[MrForbes]

heh...it looked like it was turning just because it might slip out otherwise.

Must be a tricky balance trying to keep the claw grippy enough to hold on to the ball, yet slick enough that it will pull the ball in.

[Stimpy1901]

Very nice robot...was just wondering if the bumpers will get in the way? Have you tried it with those yet?

[TD78]

very nice. noticed that ball was still turning while in claw. do you have to do that to keep hold of it?

we're hoping not to. the ball backdrives the motor a bit and can still come out. the material on the "tusks" (as we call them) and on the wheels is a weather stripping and is somewhat grippy, though the ball still slips a bit too much for our liking, so we're looking into that. luckily we still have some time left before ship. :) there will eventually be some sort of proximity/touch sensors on the tusks at various points to give us more ball control.

[TD78]

Very nice robot...was just wondering if the bumpers will get in the way? Have you tried it with those yet?

Our side bumpers won't extend the entire side lengths of the robot, nor will be in the front, since they would interfere with ball pickup.

[sea_master]

wow this is amazing machine.. good luck in the competition

[Kit Gerhart]

Aren't roller grippers great? We really liked ours last year.

Your design is very simple yet effective, and in only three weeks. I'm impressed.

[IbleedPink233]

Showoffs. . .
Just kidding, I would love to show off an awesome robot like that, too.
I really like the design - efficient, easy to control, quick to grab the ball, etc.
These are the makings of a successful robot in this game.

[Nevets Amstier]

wow!:ahh:
well done!

[Mr MOE]

Kudos to you all.

Awesome bot. Can't wait to see it on the Track!

[JesseK]

Seems to do pretty well if the ball is still, and probably if you're chasing it too -- but what about a bouncing ball?

[TD78]

Seems to do pretty well if the ball is still, and probably if you're chasing it too -- but what about a bouncing ball?

wait for it to stop bouncing. :) though the ball doesnt really bounce all that high for very long; usually settles down after a few bounces. push it towards the side of the field and suck it in from there.

[diesel]

Anyway of getting the trackball off the overpass?

[Tapoore]

How did you bend the aluminum used for the "tusks"? Is that just 1 x 1 box?

[Jeff Waegelin]

How did you bend the aluminum used for the "tusks"? Is that just 1 x 1 box?

Yep. It's 1x1 box tube, rolled in a sheet metal roller.

[Tapoore]

Yep. It's 1x1 box tube, rolled in a sheet metal roller.

What made you switch from using EMT like on your prototype?

Thanks, Tom

[Jeff Waegelin]

What made you switch from using EMT like on your prototype?

Thanks, Tom

Ease of fabrication. The prototype was made with an old lever-type pipe bender, and was something that Rob and I just sorta eyeballed to the right shape. The square tube, however could be rolled in a sheet metal roller, so that was easier and more precise with the equipment we have available to us.

It also has the added benefit of being easier to bolt the "tusks" to the pivot section of the arm.

[esisso]

this design is amazing! after our third unsuccessful prototype (because the ball is so huge and slippery) i think we are gonna have to borrow a couple ideas from yours.....congratulations on an amazing robot in such little time, you guys are my idols...and thank you for sharing your innovative design with the rest of the community, this is a prime example of gracious professionalism

[cziggy343]

what about the wedge bot rule? and are you too close to the ground? (not to demine anything you've done b/c having the robot is amazing:D)

[Techno-Turkey]

What happens when you try to shoot the ball out from the front?

[T3_1565]

thats something I was wondering as our device is similar to yours, although not as simply and probably not as effective lol

how well does it shoot foreward??

[Los Frijoles]

I was wow'd by this...amazing. That robot is very good at putting up balls and hurdling them.

[program1]

very impressive. love to see it in a match

[Dan Petrovic]

How well does the gripper hold the ball from sideways impact?

[ironnoobx3]

Awesome Idea..the Mechanism is truly astounding..you guys are going to go really Far in the competition...Good Luck:)

[Doug G]

Man, I hate seeing videos like this. I mean, today I was feeling good about being on schedule and feeling good about our design, and then I have to see this. Kudos to the Rhode Warriors, great job.

Our frame is also low to the ground, 3/8" at one point. We are going to increase the clearance by another 1/4" or so, but after mocking up the BUMP in the carpet, it doesn't seem that bad at all, it's not a solid 1/2" as mentioned in the manual. The Lane divider support plate is 3/16" thick and is under the carpet, so I bet all will be fine.

[Vikesrock]

Man, I hate seeing videos like this. I mean, today I was feeling good about being on schedule and feeling good about our design, and then I have to see this. Kudos to the Rhode Warriors, great job.

Our frame is also low to the ground, 3/8" at one point. We are going to increase the clearance by another 1/4" or so, but after mocking up the BUMP in the carpet, it doesn't seem that bad at all, it's not a solid 1/2" as mentioned in the manual. The Lane divider support plate is 3/16" thick and is under the carpet, so I bet all will be fine.

Remember, this is not a race to finish your robot the fastest. I'm not trying to discount what 121 has done here, it is a major feat to build such a beautiful machine in 3 weeks and the driver practice, programming time, and troubleshooting time will probably be very helpful.

However, when the matches begin, they don't get any bonus points for finishing their robot early. If you are on track with your timeline and you feel good about your design that is what is important.

[,4lex S.]

That is how it is done...
Well done lads and lassies!

All you need now is an omni/mecanum drivetrain for the mobility advantage.

Good luck on the way to Atlanta. :cool:

[Doug Leppard]

I am very very impressed, with the machine, how it picks it up and how it delivers it. Never mind it was done in three weeks.

[Koko Ed]

thats something I was wondering as our device is similar to yours, although not as simply and probably not as effective lol

how well does it shoot foreward??

Yeah, it similar to what we got (http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f327/X-Cats/2008%20Season/Week%202/?action=view&current=5c3d8edc.jpg) (at least claw wise. We're using an elevation system. Not a lomg arm). We got our inspiration for the design from our 96 bot (http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f327/X-Cats/1996%20Season/?action=view&current=1996inthenews.flv).

[Heretic121]

i miss three days of meetings due to work and this is what happens... *sigh* guess i might extend my vacation time...

[Manoel]

Amazing, guys!

We had this design on hold from day one because we never knew how the trackball would behave (we just received our KOPs in Brazil yesterday) but you have proved it possible - and with lots of time to practice!

Our manipulator will be quite similar to yours!

[Koko Ed]

Amazing, guys!

We had this design on hold from day one because we never knew how the trackball would behave (we just received our KOPs in Brazil yesterday) but you have proved it possible - and with lots of time to practice!

Our manipulator will be quite similar to yours!

I think alot of teams are going to design this sort of manipulator.
It seems the most logical solution.

[Manoel]

It seems the most logical solution.

Sure, 'till we all see what Beatty designed this year and collectively hit ourselves hard in the forehead. ;)

[Koko Ed]

Sure, 'till we all see what Beatty designed this year and collectively hit ourselves hard in the forehead. ;)

Yeah but those type of teams have the skills to pay the bills that us mere mortals can only dream to acquire. So we settle for what works best for us and hope they pick us to take them along for the ride.

[Rob]

Yeah but those type of teams have the skills to pay the bills that us mere mortals can only dream to acquire. So we settle for what works best for us and hope they pick us to take them along for the ride.

We have lots of bills and not so many skills...

[Alex Cormier]

You guys running on 5" colson wheels?

[TD78]

You guys running on 5" colson wheels?

Yup.

[JesseK]

I think alot of teams are going to design this sort of manipulator.
It seems the most logical solution.

"Most logical" is always paralleled by a different type of logic. We thought of a completly different way to manipulate the ball that seems more logical than even this design.

[Ryan Dognaux]

121's set the bar already. If you listen closely, you can actually hear the collective jaws of chief delphi dropping.

[T3_1565]

Yeah, it similar to what we got (http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f327/X-Cats/2008%20Season/Week%202/?action=view&current=5c3d8edc.jpg) (at least claw wise. We're using an elevation system. Not a lomg arm). We got our inspiration for the design from our 96 bot (http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f327/X-Cats/1996%20Season/?action=view&current=1996inthenews.flv).

we are using an elevation system as well.... interesting!! lol



What motor do you use for the rollers?? I can't tell from the video

[alex1699]

That is amazingly crazy where will i be able to see that.( what comp you going to to)

[neoshaakti]

quite astounding! creative use of KOP wheels :)

[JamesBrown]

what about the wedge bot rule? and are you too close to the ground? (not to demine anything you've done b/c having the robot is amazing:D)

If you look a little into 121's history you'll find that they are quite aware of the wedge rule.

[Koko Ed]

That is amazingly crazy where will i be able to see that.( what comp you going to to)

They are scheduled to go to the BAE Systems Granite State Regional.

[x7shaddow]

Can anyone figure out what our secret device is from this video?

http://www.tomschindler.net/2008_first_laps.php

Good luck everyone!

RAZ
for some reason I'm gonna take a wild guess and say your secret weapon is the big metal thing running around in circles with the trackball, but I could be wrong

[Mark Holschuh]

It looks like your secret device might be what ever you used in your claw that allows the trackball to spin in one direction, but not in the opposite direction when you are letting go of the ball.

Either that or its the mentor at the end of the field that catches the ball.

[roboticWanderor]

NICE JOB. the effectiveness of this manipulator is amazing! and all because of that one little spring!
does the roller have to be spinning all the time? or does the ball fall out without constant infeed?
also, does your manipulator work even with bumpers on the robot?

[Jeff Waegelin]

It looks like your secret device might be what ever you used in your claw that allows the trackball to spin in one direction, but not in the opposite direction when you are letting go of the ball.

Either that or its the mentor at the end of the field that catches the ball.

That would be me at the end of the field catching the ball. I'm the newest mentor, so I guess I might count as a secret device this year? Or something like that.... ;)

[waialua359]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I noticed that your wheel arm is resting on the overpass. Does your arm extend even further down when the motors have no voltage applied?
It made me think of something, to the point that teams that worry about their arms falling with no voltage applied due to weight may not necessarily have to worry too much.
I am thoroughly impressed!
Great job you guys!

[Kyle Fenton]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I noticed that your wheel arm is resting on the overpass. Does your arm extend even further down when the motors have no voltage applied?
It made me think of something, to the point that teams that worry about their arms falling with no voltage applied due to weight may not necessarily have to worry too much.
I am thoroughly impressed!
Great job you guys!

Its geared down a lot, which makes it really hard to drop down on its own. In fact you really have to force the arm to manually move.

[johnr]

i was looking at video again, very nice as said earlier, but i thought i saw alittle wobbling after you placed ball on overpass.have you tested the arm for strength. you know, maybe hit it from behind with ball coming down from overpass. better to find out now then at regional.

[TD78]

i was looking at video again, very nice as said earlier, but i thought i saw alittle wobbling after you placed ball on overpass.have you tested the arm for strength. you know, maybe hit it from behind with ball coming down from overpass. better to find out now then at regional.

The wobble i think you're referring to due the fact that the "tusks", or lower part of the arm, is mounted on a pivot and attached to a tension spring.

[demps45]

Nice Job Guys!! I do have a couple of questions though. Do you stay within the 80" cylinder when you hurdle? How do you knock the ball off the overpass?

We have a similar concept, and I hope it works as well as yours. Our prototype works well, but our finished product will not be done till this weekend - we will see then!

Great job abd thanks for sharing.:cool:

[mbmccormick]

Doesn't the ball have to roll across the finish line, without touching a robot? According to rule <G10>?

Each TRACKBALL that has CROSSED its own FINISH LINE while not in contact with a ROBOT of the same ALLIANCE will earn 2 points. A TRACKBALL that has CROSSED its own FINISH LINE which contacts ROBOTS of both ALLIANCES while CROSSING will earn 2 points.

Can someone please help clarify this rule for me?

[GaryVoshol]

Doesn't the ball have to roll across the finish line, without touching a robot? According to rule <G10>?

Each TRACKBALL that has CROSSED its own FINISH LINE while not in contact with a ROBOT of the same ALLIANCE will earn 2 points. A TRACKBALL that has CROSSED its own FINISH LINE which contacts ROBOTS of both ALLIANCES while CROSSING will earn 2 points.

Can someone please help clarify this rule for me?
That rule refers to CROSSING. There is a separate rule for HURDLES.

[esisso]

in reference to that rule. the first lap they did would have gotten them only 2 points for crossing the line but none for the ball. The rest of the laps were hurdled so there would be 8 points awared for hurdling plus the 2 point crossing the line bonus

[Ross340]

in reference to that rule. the first lap they did would have gotten them only 2 points for crossing the line but none for the ball. The rest of the laps were hurdled so there would be 8 points awared for hurdling plus the 2 point crossing the line bonus


I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say they were simply showing what their robot could do, with wasting as little time in our busy build season on a video as possible. Thanks 121. We appreciate the shortness of your video, so we all may get our robots done. lol

[cziggy343]

If you look a little into 121's history you'll find that they are quite aware of the wedge rule.

yes... but if i watched the video right... they use the wedge to "help" the ball up into the manipulator... the wedge rule would completly change that design... wouldn't it? b/c last year... our robot was a lot higher that that and we were called a wedge bot... but trust me, the machine looks pretty:D

[Jeff Waegelin]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say they were simply showing what their robot could do, with wasting as little time in our busy build season on a video as possible. Thanks 121. We appreciate the shortness of your video, so we all may get our robots done. lol

Yep, we were just showing what we can do. I realize that we crossed the line while holding the ball, the first time. We weren't trying to score as if it were an actual match - just demonstrating our robot's capabilities.

[BordomBeThyName]

Amazing design guys, motivated my team to get their butts off the computers and into the shop.

and I can't describe how happy I am to see that we don't have to lose miserably to you guys in any of our regionals. ;)

[xzvrw2]

that claw is the bestway to do it. it looks like it is a rendition of 45s claw from 2004. i realy like it. 121 always puts up a solid bot. congrads.

[emo Sponge]

awsome bot
you shold post closer up pictures
not that we are going to steal your idea

[Fastnate]

awsome bot
you shold post closer up pictures
not that we are going to steal your idea

http://www.joemenassa.com/robotics2008.html
... tons of great pics

[esisso]

awsome bot
you shold post closer up pictures
not that we are going to steal your idea

no such thing as stealing an idea when a team posts so much information up, they want you to see what they built and how the did it in order to teach other teams....gracious professionalism, its what US FIRST is all about

[Dick Linn]

Beautiful? Elegant? Not much else comes to mind to describe it. Bumpers, on the other hand, are problematic...

[Jeff Waegelin]

Beautiful? Elegant? Not much else comes to mind to describe it. Bumpers, on the other hand, are problematic...

We've actually got the bumpers on now - they required some creative thinking to develop the mounting solution, but they're taken care of now.

[65_Xero_Huskie]

121 always has a good robot. Congrats on "The snake" :P

[flyingcrayons]

All i can say is oh my god!!!! congrats to team 121 and hopefully "the snake" will slither its way to a regional??

[Elgin Clock]

Nice.

One question.

Flag mount? How are you dealing with that?

[Kyle Fenton]

Nice.

One question.

Flag mount? How are you dealing with that?

Like we always do, it will be on one of the main towers. It will have to bend a little more this year though.

[becca09]

very nice
that looks ver awsome and really cool
great job...:cool:

[Dan Petrovic]

Amazing design guys, motivated my team to get their butts off the computers and into the shop.

and I can't describe how happy I am to see that we don't have to lose miserably to you guys in any of our regionals. ;)

Speak for yourself :P 121 is returning GSR for the first time since 2005.

[cloud_254]

you guys have heck of a great design!!

[varunsrg]

One of the best robots built, according to me, this year. Good job guys.