What team did this?
 

A few years back, I saw a robot that didn't use wheels, Instead it used two hexagonal disks with cross pieces between them, like a locomotive, it ran on the cross-pieces instead of the disks. I believe it was a flip-bot.





Do any of you guys know who did it, and If there are any pictures of that bot?

Re: What team did this?
 

team 276 did that in 2003, 2004, and 2005 (i'm not sure 'bout 2006). i believe that the 2004 'bot was a flip down 'bot, but i can't find any pictures of it. here's a picture of their '03 bot, and one of there '05 machine.

Re: What team did this?
 

Thank you... That is exactly what I'm looking for :D

Re: What team did this?
 

Very cool! I don't suppose there's any video online of the robot in motion?

Re: What team did this?
 

Maybe I just don't get the idea, but what advantage do these hexagonal wheels provide (other than the pimp factor)? It would seem that driving with a flat edge on the ground would only make you more susceptible to being pushed.

Re: What team did this?
 

Unless they've got treading on the bottom. Think about it: would it be easier to overcome rolling friction or sliding friction with traction wheels? I think it would be harder to be pushed.

Re: What team did this?
 

The wheels aren't what the robot moves on. THere are cross pieces that go between the from and back hexagonal disks that the robot walks on. This is commonly referred to as a WALKING Robot.

Re: What team did this?
 

That team would have to team 276 Chaney's robot. They have done that design now for four years, I mainly know this because we always let them use our shop to build there robot. Their robot this year was pretty good as far as shotting but had trouble getting up on the ramp and often needed assistance from another robot to get them on the ramp.

Re: What team did this?
 

Correct me if I am thinking of something different, but I remember having some of my Lego League kids build a similar robot.
Here is what it looks like:



The gears would turn, making the legs go down, then the legs would push backward (moving the bot forward) as the gears rotated back up again. It does sort of remind me of a locomotive, but different in that the legs do the pushing against the ground, not the gears.

I don't know which team did this, but it would be pretty cool to see on a FIRST robot. If the legs used a good traction material, I could see its potential advantages.

Re: What team did this?
 

I also recall that the 276 "Mad Cow" was a flip-down 'bot in 2004. Their goal that year seemed to be to dominate the bar by intimidation. The 'bot was a large pull-up machine made almost entirely of diamond plate. Attempts to block the robot's path were mostly ineffective, and when they got up on the bar there was little room left for anyone else.

276 came to St. Louis that year, and I happened to get the honor of escorting Dean Kamen around the pits and back to field side on Saturday morning. 276 was on the field just then, and Dean paused for several minutes to observe their 'walking' mechanism in action up close. If I can find the picture some snapped of him, hunkered down low on his Segway to get a low-angle view of the Mad Cow walking, I'll post it here.

/edit/ I also recall that 276 received a US Patent for some aspects of their walking robot design. /edit/

Re: What team did this?
 

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I realize they're not wheels. The point was the when you push this style of robot, it wouldn't roll, it would slide. If they put traction material on the slats, it could be quite hard to push.

Re: What team did this?
 

I got to see them at Buckeye. It was pretty cool. I think we ended up calling it the chainsaw drave.

Re: What team did this?
 

I saw it at Buckeye last year. That drive brought on a bunch of double-takes.

I'm not sure what the purpose of it is, but it was pretty slow moving. I can see how they could dominate pushing matches if they put traction materal on those bars connecting the wheel.

Re: What team did this?
 

Wasn't it noisy as all get-out? All I know is that I was very impressed with their bot and how it worked...I can't recall how the linkages worked between the disks to allow a full 360* rotation, but as soon as I figure it out *again* I'm going to make a working model of it .

Re: What team did this?
 

It is very noisy and not very efficient and it hops at fast speeds making it unstable...it works by angling the two plates and as is rotates it sets down a "Foot" then that foot slides sideways and another foot is set down...and also the weight it takes to make it out of diamond plate is too much and is typically hogged out making it structurally Shaky.