Looking for team that used gyroscope in 2009

[ATannahill]

I am looking for a team that used a gyroscope (the rotary one, not the sensor) in 2009. I saw them in Atlanta, I think they were on Curie.

[EricH]

You mean like a spinning flywheel, used to assist in traction control/driving? 1388, Eagle Robotics, from Arroyo Grande, CA had one, though they weren't at the Championship that year. I'm trying to remember who else had one; fans were much more common.

[Mark McLeod]

Team 263, Sachem HS (http://team263.org/) won the Xerox Creativity award for their flywheel (http://team263.org/index.php?page=gallery&gal=2009%20-%20Atlanta&img=STA73171) at Championships in 2009.
They were on Curie.

[Chadius012]

My team, Armada Robotics, used a spinning flywheel in 2009. It weighed about 30 pounds and used most of the battery to get up to speed so it was removed about half way through the Minnesota 10000 Lakes regional event, but it was pretty cool. Here are a couple of pictures of it on and off the robot.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs099.snc3/16636_1282524383742_1249053412_834634_309632_n.jpg

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2104/95/78/807609185/s807609185_1942691_8092.jpg

[Jon236]

Team 2168 from Fitch High School in Groton CT had a flywheel that worked well at the Connecticut Regional

[ATannahill]

Thanks Mark, thats who I was looking for.

[Joe Ross]

Here's a picture of 263's base. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75012

[ajd]

Could someone explain how these work/what they accomplish?

[EricH]

Could someone explain how these work/what they accomplish?
The floor that year was slippery (not carpet). By rotating the spinning flywheels, teams could force their robot to turn better.

Try it yourself: Sit in a spinnable office chair with a bicycle wheel, and pull your feet off the ground. Give the wheel a good spin, then twist it and see what happens. Same principle.

[Chadius012]

My team's robot spun our fly-wheel up to about 400-500 rpm and then forced a wedge of high friction wood between our wheel and the wheel mount. This caused our robot to spin ~120 degrees with the trailer and thus avoiding a super-cell (which was worth 20 points for those that do not know).