pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

I like it, looks simple and reliable. Someone will need to be the first leg of every alliance. Could you post some brief robot functions? I'm assuming it can score in the low goal if need be but can it pick up off of the ground? How is its catching ability?

Nice render by the way, looks classy.

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

Thanks! Simple is what we were going for. Some ideas/functions:

Autonomous: Drive to low goal, deposit the ball, reverse to starting position (for better field position).

Teleop: The idea is to be easily fed from the human player and not have to pickup from the floor. If necessary, we can do floor pickup, but we'd have to trap the ball first. If we're doing our job, this shouldn't happen. The orthogonal wheel configuration allows us to move the ball in all directions when on the robot. It's not completely assembled so we haven't tried catching yet, but hopefully when the up/down wheels are spinning, it should make catching easier. We'll see...

It's a 4 CIM kitbot but we geared down to 10.71:1. We might swap out the tough boxes for 3CIM4U's.

Questions, comments, and criticisms are welcome! Tell me something I haven't thought of yet!

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

If your plan is to be on the first leg, then strategically you may think about building a high goal blocker. You look like you have room/weight for it and it would make you incredibly desirable.

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

We thought about a high goal blocker but couldn't figure out how build one that would collapse to maintain our low CG and wouldn't deflect outside the 6" column while deployed when hit with a ball. We thought double scissor lift would work maybe. If you have any ideas, I'd appreciate it. We thought I'd be too easy to counter in teleop, so it would only be effective in autonomous. Maybe it would work if you placed the bot in the middle of the goalie zone and used the slider on the driver station I/O to tell the robot how far left or right to move to be in the way of a shooter. Anyway, just a thought.

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

have a 4-5" tube stick up to about 5' (max height). have another tube slide inside that which is a good fit (you could use small platic plates to make sure it slides nicely and use a pully system to deploy it to however high you want... (you can learn from the pink team)

If you'd like to pursue this further feel free to ask any questions!

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

Yes, Your type of robot will be very useful. Our team will be look for robots like yours.:cool:

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

If you have the weight to play with, you may want to have your back wall be 60" tall to block all the low to the ground shooters.

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

Good idea. Might as well add some lightweight height to it. Maybe to assist with catching/loading. Pool noodles may make an appearance...

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

I'm definitely hoping at least a few teams build robots like this at the regionals we attend. A dedicated inbounder will be really useful to a variety of alliances. Even if you're not tall you may still be able to play effective defense if you are smart about it.

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

While you are at it, make a 20" extension that swings up around a pivot right at the 59"-60" mark. That way you are even more of a nuisance to any shooter while nearby.



(artwork courtesy of yours truly :P)

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

I like the artwork! We're not sure how high we would go with a blocker but this seems like a good idea at any height. I'm a little unclear on the rules on shooting. Can the ball be shot from any zone?

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

A robot shooting into their goal must be between that goal and the truss

(so no full court scoring) but Half-court scoring is legal

EDIT:

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

Any sort of Goalie attachment would be a good idea. Teams like versatility, even if that versatility is never used. Just adding something that is different will make your bot look better to everyone else.

It's also my opinion that people are discounting how good a goalie could be in teleop. The further away a robot shoots, the more time a drive has to react to that shot to block it. Even if another robot comes to block you from blocking the shot, that is taking one robot out of the opposing alliances strategy.

Maybe this is just wishful thinking but I bet that there will be a few matches this year in which a goalie locks down the offense completely. You only have to block one ball at a time and you have a pretty good idea of where that shot is going if you watch the shooting bot. 6" is small but very workable.

Re: pic: 4242 2014 CAD 1
 

The blocking mechanism cannot exceed a 6 inch diameter per R3

R3
The ROBOT must satisfy the following size constraints:

the total length of the FRAME PERIMETER sides may not exceed 112 in. (see Figure 4-1 for examples),
a ROBOT may not extend more than 20 in. beyond the FRAME PERIMETER (see Figure 4-2 for examples) (see G24), and
the ROBOT height may not exceed 60 in., except as allowed by G23.
Any extension above 60 in. may not exceed a 6 in. diameter vertical cylinder (see Figure 4-3 and Figure 4-4 for examples), per G23.