Re: Winning Alliance Makeup
 

Because the climbing device must keep the robot fairly level it will require a substantial amount of engineering specific to the robot it's being installed on, that's going to make it difficult to make cheesecake using only COTS or a 30 pound withholding allowance.

Is getting an extra 10 points/match for an alliance partner in the playoffs worth your 30 pounds?

Re: Winning Alliance Makeup
 

At the early regional level...
1. Captain robot crosses the defense in auto and takes a shot which hits 25% of the time and crosses back into the neutral zone to be ready to acquire a 2nd ball. During Teleop they cross the defenses 4 more times, scoring a boulder each time in the high goal from the batter. Their crossings include the class A defenses. They scale in the last 10 seconds. (If auto shot misses they make a 10 + 40 + 15 pt contribution for 65 pts with 5 crosses and 4 boulders in). Side Note: This guy was the top captain because the auto shot hit 3 out of 10 times in quals and gave them the top tie breaker on the 2nd sort criteria.

2. 1st Pick is a low bar, low goal, well driven speed demon. (High captains often value spectacular consistency over high risk / high reward picks and then pray the high risk teams knock themselves out with mistakes before they have to face them.) This team crosses in auto, but does not take the shot untill teleop. In teleop they score their boulder in the low goal and cross defenses 4 more times, scoring a low goal each time. They probably scale, but not consistently. They at least challenge. (If no scale, then 10 + 25 + 5 pts for a 40 pt contribution with 5 crosses (including 1 redudant non-scoring cross) and 5 boulders in.)

3. 2nd Pick can cross at least 1 class of defense reliably. No reason why they couldn't do it in auto, especially if their alliance partners help them write the routine over lunch. Reality is the auto probably doesn't happen. They cross and score that ball in a low goal at the start of tele and then hold the class C defense open so they other two can get a quick damage. (A mechanism to hold the gate open while staying out of the way of the other robots is one of this year's chesscake opportunities.) They spend the rest of the match guarding the secret passage and disrupting the other offense. They do take a 2nd boulder with them to score in the low goal in the last 20 seconds and challenge the tower to complete the capture. (If no auto, then 0 + 9 + 5 pts for a 14 pt contribution, plus points denied the other team and 2 crosses (1 of which is redundant and non-scoring) with 2 boulders in.)

Overall winning alliance score = 119 + 20 for breach + 25 for capture = 164 pts. With 11 boulders total there is some insurance against a tech-foul as well.

I took this to mean student coaches would out perform mentor coaches, and the winning alliance would not need to utilize a back-up bot.

Re: Winning Alliance Makeup
 

We're going to Arizona North week 2 and I think the winning alliance will be made up of
Captain: High goal shooter who is capable of crossing in auto and makes shot 75% of time. able to quickly cycle or be fed from support bot. Challenges but has the ability to climb but climb is spotty at best
1st pick: breaches def in auto low and high goal shooter during teleop fast enough to not have to rely on support bot takes out B def group when doing cycles and has a climber.
2nd pick: kitbot with pneumatic tires has the ability to cross in auto but only on specific defense. during teleop carries balls to captain while being able to do the defenses who need a manipulator to cross. can challenge.

Re: Winning Alliance Makeup
 

Sure it will.
Will it? Maybe. Would hold my breath.

Better be 4'6" tall at the shooter or I don't need to touch you to be an effective wall.

Re: Winning Alliance Makeup
 

It's quite possible to build a low shooter which releases the ball in such a way that it is more than 5' off the ground by the time the ball leaves the footprint of the robot. Even so, this robot blocking strategy puts the blocker at great risk, as all the shooting robot has to do is drive forward while still touching the outer works. The blocker then risks foul points.