Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

I am wondering if people feel that the three day build videos are affecting the variety of designs we are seeing this year and if yes, do they feel this is a benefit or a disadvantage to the overall health of the program?

What say you?

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

If not for the RI3D teams, my team (we are rookies) would have had no idea what to do for this year's game. I mean, our best idea was modeling one of the bots shown in the game animation.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

They definitely are, but I think the nature of this year's game leads to fewer dramatic departures in the mechanism desing than many previous games. I think the same convergance of design likely would have happened anyway.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

I think they definitely had an effect on lots of teams robots. When you look at teams that are using El Toro they refer to it exactly as that. In my opinion I don't like tbis very much. Student should be the ones that are working on the design and not rely on the three day builds to do it for them. I was the only one on my team to watch the robot in 3 day builds and we were able to come up with a different solution to the game. Then again there is only so many ways to build a robot for this game. How you do it though, like a catapult for example, should be based off of student design.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

I agree with this. I think the over the bumper pickup would have been a pretty common design even without the 3 day build bots, and I wasn't surprised to see some of the 3 day bots go that route. The choo choo is really the only thing I'm seeing more of than I would have expected to see without the 3 day builds.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

I know at least one team that certainly came up with an El Toro design before Ri3D posted it, and they still call it that simply because it ensures everyone will know what they're talking about. It seems to be happening a lot: in addition to offering rookie guidance and prototyping insight, the 72hours-ers have offered up a communal vocabulary. At least for that, I thank them.* "It's like a [JVN catapult]" saves a whole lot of hand waving.


*Personally, I thank them for other things as well, but that debate will continue to attack dead horses.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

One of the hardest things for mid-tier teams to do at a regional or championship, is to distinguish themselves from the pack for alliance consideration. By following a Ri3Ds robot, the team is forced to blend in with all of the other similar robots. They disadvantage themselves.

But Ri3Ds doesn't necessarily detract from the ability to engineer. Take a look at 148 this year. While in concept it is similar to "BoomDone"'s robot, the process of reengineering and iterating the design is a System Engineer's dream come true. There is no doubt that they can (and will) distinguish themselves.

Why reinvent the wheel when you can build a better one?

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

I agree that you would have seen a lot of convergence due to the game challenge, but there are definitely a few design features that are more common than they would have been without Ri3D/Build Blitz.

1. El Toro style intakes

2. Motor driven arm-apults

3. Optimizing for the "Aren Hill Sweet Spot"

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

Read my signature.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

Little known fact, I invented parabolas. :rolleyes:

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

Read this quote several times before making another argument against the 72 hour builds.

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

This. "Roller intake over the bumpers into catapult" is a design that would be commonplace anyway. The only possible effect I see (aside from El Toro) is that Simbot SS forks/clones would have probably been somewhat more commonplace.

Anyway, this thread works as a good followup to this thread

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

And choo choo linkages! :)

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

To 7th graders everywhere: #blamearen

Re: Are the three day builds affecting designs?
 

From Indianna University:
"Copycats pave the way to problem-solving success"