Originally Posted by 1075guy (Post 1223845)

I saw another strategy mentioned in another thread, and I think you might see some of the powerhouses make use of it in Eliminations at shallow-ish regionals.

Redabot1 is a 60" tall high-accuracy full court shooter intended to shoot from the loading station.
Redabot2 is unknown
Redabot3 is a short, weak box bot as the 24th pick.

Bluabot is an 84" tall blocker bot.

Redabot1 goes to its loading station with Redabot3 glued to its bumper on the shooter exit face.

Bluabot can get no closer to the shooter of Redabot1 than the length of Redabot3's chassis. This should give enough distance for Redabot1's DISCs to rise above Bluabot's 84" block.

Originally Posted by Woolly (Post 1223888)

Right, but there still a few ways that could work out for them.

They could somehow be able to shoot full court with an incredibly light shooter.
They could have a collection system and just pick up the few missed shots from a robot like yours and put them in for that extra ~15 points.
Or, maybe they can't make it full court but they have a teammate they can feed to a la Bomb Squad on Einstein last year.

Which of those options, only the literal long shot allows for a self-sufficient robot which is very important for qualification matches. Thus, I think most teams will pass on being very tall.

Originally Posted by BrendanB (Post 1223892)

Also as a word of caution, intentionally tipping an opponent ends very, very badly. ;)

Originally Posted by BrendanB (Post 1223892)

6 weeks? Making a tall robot that doesn't tip can be done over lunch break at your regional. Lexan and some 1/16in box aluminum doesn't weigh very much.

Also as a word of caution, intentionally tipping an opponent ends very, very badly. ;)

Originally Posted by TheCrayButton (Post 1223902)

Yes, this is true. But i won't look very good :) I am always weary of light robots that aren't build strong. It doesn't seem to me like a good idea to make your robot so darn light and flimsy.

Oh, yes I am aware. I am the lead driver, and I understand. :) That doesn't mean you can't accidentally knock them over ;)

Originally Posted by TheCrayButton (Post 1222840)

What kind of wheel are you using? And what diameter is it?

We are using a 12inch pneumatic wheel. We use 12inches because the frisbee contacts the wheel for a longer period of time. Also, compression is a big part of it. The wheel on ours is fairly flat. It doesn't have much air in it. Therefore, the tire cups the frisbee. We have found the happy medium when compressing the frisbee. If you have to much compression the frisbee will just spit out and not go to far because there is to much friction. If you don't have enough compression, the frisbee won't get that far.

Consistency is hard for sure. We made sure our platform on the curve was slick so the frisbees could slide easily. Also, our curved angle had to be touching the frisbee the same amount of time all the way around the wheel.

The hopper we are still working on. When the bottom frisbee is sitting there waiting to be shot, it is getting sucked in by the wind of the wheel. And when it does that, our frisbee's cup. Also, the whole platform is vibrating, so the frisbee's move a lot. To fix that, we are going to use a pneumatic piston that is vertical and extends on one side of the frisbee, when doing that, it keeps the frisbee in place. When we are ready to shoot, we will pull that piston down and then fire. It then repeats the process.

I hope that helps.

Originally Posted by Matthew Wang (Post 1223950)

We are using an 8" pneumatic wheel. We have been able to shoot our frisbee far, but not consistently or accurately. Thanks a ton for the info.

Is there anyway for you to describe the amount of compression you're using better? I know it's hard to tell. We think we have found the right amount, but we could be wrong.

What material is your platform made of?

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher (Post 1223999)

How are you targeting in the video and how will you target during competition?

Originally Posted by TheCrayButton (Post 1223872)

I would say it is really hard to design a robot that is tall and that is not easily knocked over. Yes, i can be done, but in the 6 weeks we have to build, it is very difficult.

I believe there will be teams that are tall and can shoot well, but they will not make it very far because they can be blocked before they even get in their shooting position. Remember, the robot has to drive almost the whole length of the field to get to its shooting position.

Originally Posted by topgun (Post 1223896)

Wouldn't Bluabot just keep ramming Redabot3 thereby hitting Redabot1? Bluabot isn't touching Redabot1 which is protected in the loading station, but Bluabot wouldn't be touching Redabot1 and they only need to disrupt the shooting enough to cause the discs to miss.

Originally Posted by 1075guy (Post 1224737)

They could, but if the full court shooter had opted for aiming at the 2 pt target (much easier given the angles), they have a 54"x21" opening they're firing into. you have to disrupt their shot a fair bit before you'll make them miss. You may make them 'miss' into a different goal than the one they were aiming for.

Originally Posted by 1075guy (Post 1225166)

Furthermore, if your teams' strategy is a full court shooter that essentially parks at the feeder station, which seems to be more valid this year than ever before, MAKE SURE YOU PRACTICE doing it while being defended. Slam a past robot into it while you're shooting, make sure that you can play through being defended, better still if the 'defenders' can violate the loading station no-touch rule, and your shots STILL succeed.