UpDate #4 Is Out
 

Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but #4 is OUT!

EDIT: Just read it over and it seems like a multiplier stack has to be a continuous stack of bins, touching the floor up to the top. No virtual stacks. HURAH! :D

Edit your posts.. and we can read for oursleves.

They changed Rule M17, so that's good.

But, come on. . . distance from the floor to underside of the barrier is 14 5/16" +/- 1/2" ?!?

That's a little ridiculous.

Your kidding me. That's rediculous. You design a robot and then FIRST has an inadequate feild set up so it dosn't work. Great, just great.

Hey, if you look over the blueprints for previous years, you will see that in the past, they have always said a tolerance of +/- 1 inch. So they're getting a little bit better...

I don't think you have to worry about the distance being different at every event. The FIRST fields will all be built to spec: 14-5/16". So at most or all events, that's what it will be. What FIRST can't control is if a given venue does not have a hard floor or cover for their floor (almost all do) and instead puts down a soft/foam layer on the floor under the carpet - in which case the field could possibly "sink" a little and affect that distance.

In general you can count on the distance being 14-5/16". I think they are just trying to cover themselves and be honest with all the teams - that it would be wise to give yourself a little room.

Even without this update, that's good advice - it's always good to give yourself a little safety room just in case the field you're on is not EXACTLY to spec. Personally, any team I speak to, I advise them to always give AT LEAST 1/4" on their frame and field measurements when designing (e.g. I wouldn't build the frame to exactly 30x36, and I would build an "under the bar" bot higher than 14" tall - just to be safe. But that's just me)

Not sure if that helps at all - just wanted to clarify that it's more of a "venue" issue than a "FIRST field" issue.

JM

hey does anyone know if the use of a microcontroller is permitted. the update said that the cannot be more than one control SYSTEM so does that mean you can use one or can't you? It seems to me that this would mean that it must be used with the robot's controller, but not separately. Let me know what you all think.

thanks

Like Jason said, you should always give yourself some room when you are designing a robot... It NEVER make sense to design a robot that will work exactly according to specs...

You never design a big ball robot that can put up balls exactly to the height of the goals, you always add a little bit height so you can put the ball above the goal and make your drivers' life easier that way... Same thing with the moving goals last year... Even if you know the bottom pipe's diameter, you always design your claw to be a little bigger so you can account for drivers' error.

It is just good practice to design something with a torrence for error, in case something bad happen during the game. Maybe your robot was hitted during the competition, and suddenly grew a quarter of an inch in height... OR maybe something was left on the ground, and suddenly your 14 5/16" robot can't go under the bar with a bolt stuck under your wheel.

Minus half an inch is a small number to work with... And remember, the 1/2" goes the other way too... The bar might be taller then you think.

I think you should sorry about designing a robot for more than 1/2" of difference because in my experience, FIRST fields are usually off from competition to competition. The bars, lines and field barriers are all subject to be moved by robots during the game and they may be slightly off in the first place. The problem usually gets worse as the competition progresses. The bottom line is you should keep these inconsistencies in mind in the same way you should take differences in scales into account.

Yay, we can add timing belt to skyway wheels again!

I guess the debate about CNC Flames vs Lightningbolts for the sides of our custom wheels is over.

Maybe I am reading too much into this, however the update to rule M17...... deviced such as anchor surfaces are not allowed on the ramp or platform. Will this affect certain suction devices?

"Please delete this sentence; however, now we need to address the issue of “anti-traction” devices or anchors, i.e., devices designed to hold you firmly in one place. Anchors cannot
use metal in contact with the carpet to “stay put.” Similarly, metal traction or anchor surfaces are not allowed on the ramp surfaces."

I believe the spirit of the rule is to prevent teams from using something metal to dig into the playing field, and anchor themselves onto the top of the ramp. They specifically say "anchors cannot use metal in contact with the carpet to "stay put"." So, anchors that are not made with metal, such as a plastic suction cup should be allowed, as long as they do not damage the playing field.

Actually - it doesn't say these devices are not allowed.

It says METAL devices (traction, anchor, wheels, etc.) are not allowed to interact with the ramp or platform or carpet.

So - such devices are allowed as long as the metal is not touching the playing field (carpet, ramp, platform) and the devices can't damage the playing field in any way.

Boiled down: NO FILECARDS!

Heh. In 2001, we asked FIRST for the height of something on the playing field, and we got the response, "It is exactly x", +/- 1.5" ;)

- Katie