Re: aesthetic robots
 

I've been a fan of 2826's aesthetics the past few years. I really liked the industrial, bare metal look they had this year. IMO a robot's performance on the field contributes to its aesthetics as well, and Wave definitely wasn't lacking in that regard.

http://tinyurl.com/jvg7ofu

I'll also contribute the obvious numbers one, one, and eight. They make some of my favorite looking robots year in and year out.

http://tinyurl.com/o5jyly7

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Glad I decided to read before posting as this is my exact sentiment as well.

Re: aesthetic robots
 

This year's game resulted in a lot of box-shaped elevator robots, which tend to look pretty bland in my opinion. Pretty robots have curves.

1501 has made some of my favorites:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/20393
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/23151
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/32817

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Here is a vote for #1595 Dragons. The robot looked great!!!

Re: aesthetic robots
 

I would like to second this, 1595 had the best looking bot in the PNW. I could tell a lot of detail went into the little things.

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Our robots are always boxes on wheels. We had planned and designed some cool side panels for our robot, but they weighed almost a pound and we weighed in St Louis at 119.2

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Aside from the powdercoat and ano, I've noticed that a large factor in "robot beauty" is continuity in design style. You can look at a 148 robot without the black coating and you'll be able to tell it's a Robowrangler machine solely based on how its design style fits that of the Robowranglers (and all the nonagons in the metal). Most teams with "aesthetically pleasing" robots have developed their own design style over the years that sets them apart from the rest. There were two shiny blue robots in the finals of the Central Valley regional, but they could clearly differentiated from each other solely on how their design styles were (and the fact that one wasn't moving ::ouch:: ).

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Teams take it to all different levels, but it's not hard to get started. In 2013, a couple of us "broke in" and "graffitied" the bot. (Came in one night and spray painted the frame). It was dead simple and very fast--dry by the time needed our the next day. The spray paint shows more than its share of battle scars, but it works particularly when you're just going for scout/in-match recognition. That plus some nice sponsor panels is really all it takes to started. Oh, and good bumpers (most years), that's a must. I did spindle panels in thin polycarbonate: cut with scissors, print sponsors in mirror image, stick on back, then spray paint the back. Velcro in place. We've been doing it the same way for years, though now the frame is an automotive paint sponsorship.

In-shop it's a couple hours max, plus money for a few cans of paint, some thin PC, and a pack of clear shipping labels. You won't be 254 or anything, but it's enough to make it pop a little.

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Some well thought out body panels do a lot to adding a nice aesthetic to most robots. Having a consistent color scheme that has a reasonable visual weight to the the overall robot can help get your robot noticed and remembered. Having routed/restrained wiring that is reasonably neat is important to.
I will say, if the name of your team makes sense with the theme/style you choose, then it is easier for people to remember.

Having worked with 33 for a decade, I can tell you, form followed function, but form was not forgotten... Sometimes certain elements got built into the robot early. Sometimes they didn't come until later.
An interesting 33 fun fact: the robot is usually not complete until "antennae" are added, though at least 50% of years they are added as an afterthought (typically as a guide/indicator).

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Something about 3928 bots, I just like how minimalistic everything is.

Re: aesthetic robots
 

We ran out of time to finish our robot this year so what we took to our first regional was missing any kind of motorized tote intake. We had a short time between regionals to cobble something together, and the intent was to prototype with wooden 2x4s and then build "proper" aluminum intake arms that we would take as our withholding allowance to our next regional. Again we ran out of time and we decided to keep the 2x4 arms since they worked. I snuck in the day before we packed and kidnapped the wooden pieces, took them home and gave them a good sanding, priming, and spray painting. I created a stencil with our team name and painted that on as well.

I had hoped that my stealth paint job would be a morale booster when the students discovered the new shiny black arms... what I did not know was that another mentor had the same idea, and was quite surprised to show up to the shop an hour after I left and discovered all the new pieces had gone missing! :yikes:

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Minimalistic and has a work surface! ;)

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Is that a Bench Vise????

Re: aesthetic robots
 

Curved bumpers get me every time. Curved bumpers best bumpers.