Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

but if you are 3 feet in the air, they can still grab you

and if you have a whimpy hook, now you come crashing down at 32ft/sec^2

I will take -50 points to missing my next match anyday.

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

You obviously need an airbag system like the Mars rover's...If you go flying, you will bounce. :yikes:

Bill

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

Good luck figuring that one out :p you'd end up rolling out of the playing field that way..

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

Where's Dave when we need him?

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

would the NASA airbag system cost more than the max $$ single item limit for our bots?

can we buy them on ebay yet?


you inflate one of those things while you are on the bar, and you wont have to worry about any other bot getting anywhere near you

which brings up another question: how how is the ceiling at the regionals?

:c)

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

In the past, FIRST has stated that minimum clearance would be 20 ft. There isn't a rule about it this year, but I would expect that it would be similar.

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

Dang :( So much for our jetpack system...back to the drawing boards :yikes:

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

When we built our robot in '00 once we grabbed the bar we couldn't let go. We had a "cam" that snapped in place once the dual hooks grabbed on effectively closing the hooks completely around the bar. We decided early on in the build to do this to prevent our robot from getting knocked off. If another robot hit us our bot would basically swing back and forth. If the other robot didn't back up quick enough our robot would swing back into theirs! :D Also a latch on the arms was activated by a servo once we pulled ourselves up so that when the power was cut at the end of a match the arms wouldn't extend thereby dropping our robot back onto the platform and lossing points. We were also aware of the possibility of damage from other robots so all the electronics were kept towards the center of the robot as possible and all sides were shielded including a "skid plate" underneath. Our robot did recieve "battle scars" but nothing serious. The downside to grabbing the bar and not able to let go is you have to do all your "driving around" in the match before you would consider going for the bar. That could have changed if we added say another servo or something to release the "cam" but our stategy was to keep other robots off the bar (except our alliance).

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

Yeah, I remember that too. For anyone that recalls the Demo Squad and Panzer Aluminum (132) match, there was brutal carnage unfortunetly. Panzer Aluminum was my middle school team, and we had a robot built strong. Our driver decided that he wanted to get on the bar, and Demo Squad decided the same. I can't remember who the other team was, but a lightweight robot made mostly of plastic was already hanging when the two powerhouses decided to come for the bar from each side. Demo and Panzer started ramming from both sides, destroying the plastic bot in between. Took them an extra couple of minutes to go out on the field and collect all the pieces that flew off.

So my question is: Is bot ramming to get another bot off the bar legal?

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

what about modifying a carrabeener ( those of you who do mtn climbing would know what this is, for those you of who dont, well look it up ) but making it unlatch both ways? that might work. Also I figure if you're gonna have that ability to latch onto it, your robot will be around 130lbs, so yea, design is key to this I should think

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that one of our goals is to not destroy the other robots on the field.

While I doubt it's legal, I'm not positive either way. In any case, it doesn't exactly mesh with Gracious Professionalism...

And just remember: do unto others as you would have them do to you. Do you really want your robot to be on the receiving end of that treatment?

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

In 2000, if you were on the bar (in my experiences) anything goes.
I imagine it will be the same this year.

By the way:
I don't see Gracious Professionalism as meaning "don't play hard".
Build your robot robust, as it will likely take a few hits, whether you want it to or not.

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

I didn't say that teams shouldn't be playing full on. I just don't think teams should be going out of their way to demolish other robots.

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

Not out of their way, certainly. But if it happens in the heat of competition, you have to be prepared.

Re: Falling off the bar... :\
 

I don't think that there will be a large amount of ramming robots already attached to the bar. There isn't a whole lot of room on that top platform, so another robot wouldn't have enough space to accelerate to any partivularly high velocity before impact one that is already hanging.