QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!! [07-08-01]
 

Hi all, there've been a lot of talks about different things next year's game should have. Some people want to see the game easier to understand, some want more excitements, and some want to see more teams achieving top scores... I believe that FIRST people have the same thoughts in their mind when they think about another game for the coming year. In addition, they also have to consider the impact of the game on the participants, as well as the overall image to the outside world, and many other factors. What ended up happening every year is that the game always has some important lessons behind them... So, with that in mind here is the question of the week¡K

Question 7/8/01: What objects, scoring rules, and strategies would you want to see in next year's game to make the 2002 competition as great as, maybe even better than, any past competitions?

Feel free to stretch your imagination and come up with any kind of game that will fit your criteria of a worthwhile competition. The only rule is that you will have to think of yourself as FIRST/Dean ;), and come up with something realistic. You might come up with something as simple as "the fastest robot wins!" or as complicated as last year's Diabolical Dynamics...

(Keep in mind that objects aren't necessary limited to spheres or air-inflated objects, but it will have to be something teams can obtain easily...)

P.S. I am open to suggestions of any questions you want as the "QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!"... So e-mail me at ken_leung@hotmail.com and show me what you got... ;)

Just a general idea
 

One thing that I thought would be fun to have in a FIRST game would be rope. Either have a rope strung across the field that a robot could use like a zip line of some sort or having robots climb a wall with one. There are tons of different ideas that can be used with that incorporated. Easy to use, easy to get a hold of, easy to set up. It also has a lot of room for clever ideas as to how to manipulate it. As for the actual game, that's up for someone else to come up with. ;)

~Tom~, who just thinks rope would be fun to work with.

P.S. Ken - you seemed so worried about coming up with good questions for Question of the Week yet your first two have been great! Keep it up! :)

Re: Just a general idea
 

there is also a downside to using rope... remember how the bridges varied this year? well the tensions on the rope could vary... which (depending on the game) could change the outcome of the game. well.. don't mind me, i'm just playing devil's advocate.. i bet they could make it work somehow :)

usage of new game objects (other than balls, floppy's, rings etc) would be nice, how about incorporating the circle triangle and square of the FIRST logo into the game somehow? i know this has been brought up before, but bowling pins anyone?

Hmm.. i would definitely like to see defense as a strategy next year. I was so happy at battlecry when we could get in front of a bridge and just block the other 'bots out.

i don't know how FIRST does it, but they always seem to amaze us with new game strategies and ideas... alliances in 99, the rings in 97 were different.. whatever next years game is, FIRST will find a way to make us all happy.

Tom

Outdoor robots
 

Why not have a robotic competition take place outside on a grass or mud or sand field in all weather? Robotica has taught us that we can make cheap robots that are waterproof, and Disney definately has enough space to create a few outdoor fields. It might be trickier for the regionals (especially here in Houston), but it could be done.

Short of that, I like both of the previous ideas (rope and bowling pins) as well as one that was mentioned earlier in the off-season, cinder blocks.

In short, I think that robotics competitions in general, and FIRST in particular, need to start moving away from the precise field designs. Something like the bridge shouldn't have to be machined exactly right. We should encourage robust designs that can handle a range of field conditions.

simple: put those orange cones out on the field. each team has their own shelf. you get one point for a cone just on the shelf, and 3 if it is upside-down (i.e., the base is the thinner part).

not so simple: 1 vs 1 vs 1 vs 1 vs1 teams manipulate pyramids, cubes, & spheres. each team gets a hexagonal puck. you score points for cubes & pyramids in the goal, more for it being in your part of the goal. Pentagonal goal that spins on tracks. points for hanging, being on the hexagonal puck, having the puck in the air, hanging with the puck, & taking the center of the spinning ramp (part of the goal). spheres give a doubler in the central column, and a point in your area of the goal.

Well, if you saw The High Priest's drawings, it is actually much simpler than it sounds.

A sport
 

I'd like to see us play a sport. One that is a popular sport like soccer, football, or something like that. They could split up which schools are in charge of what positions and play agianst each other. This would eliminate having 500 matches at 2 minutes each. For practice we could have a scrimmage or something.
C~ya,
Caroyn with her $0.02

Evil...
 

Okay,

Well I'm sure many will view this a pure evil. But I'd like to see something really drastic happen w/the design specs. They've been the same for quite a while now. Let's shave 10lbs off these machines. Or 5" off the box it can fit in. Or let's do something like outlaw wheels. I think that this would combat some of the stagnantness in some Veteran machines. I think we can all think of a team where we look at thier robot year after year and go "Gee that seems familar."

-Justin

Well put Justin. I really agree with you there. No question that the game would be difficult if you couldn't use wheels (or treads), but it would definitly make it fun.

~Tom~

The problem with making the game too difficult is that rookies will have an even harder time building a robot now. There's a good number of rookie teams that can barely finish a drive train and if FIRST tries to expect too much more for them they just won't participate. Personally I'm hoping for a return to a simpler game but where there are multiple ways to approach it.

Matt

Re: Evil...
 

I'm confused.... what is wrong with using a similar design year after year if you can make it fit to the game. The bobcats used the extendo arm in 97,98,99 and 2001. We didn't use it in 2000 because it did not fit the kind of game we wanted to play. My point is that if the design works... then what is wrong with it, why shouldn't we use this design if we like it?

Tom Schindler
Team 177

Dean's comments
 

I had the honor and privilage of talking with Dean this morning after a breakfast that he gave a speech at in DC. When he was leaving I said, "I'm looking forward to hearing from you in January." He stops, kinda grabs my arm and says, "Hey, this one is so sick, even I'm proud of it." Sounds like we're in for quite a treat if you ask me.

~Tom~, who's really really happy because he talked to Dean today. ;)

Talk about coincidence.
 

If he really said that, I think I know what the game's gonna be...I'll be sending myself snail mail very soon...

Re: Dean's comments
 

I talked to Dean before. It was this year at the Nationals when I went up the get the Delphi "Driving Tomorrows Technology" Award. He said, "I like your blue hair" I was very proud. It took 3 competitions to get it right.

Re: Talk about coincidence.
 

Oh yeah, I guarentee that's what he said. So alright, tell us - what's your guess???

~Tom~, who thinks that Dean might have us drive each others robots next year.

Re: Re: Talk about coincidence.
 

I don't even trust some kids on our team to drive our robot. No way could I see someone from another team, that I don't know, drive our robot.