Robots that float
 

has anyone though of using blower type fans to make the robot float? I don't know if this violates any rules but it is still a creative idea. I was looking at a magazine we kids can make there own "floating cars" and it is just a blower fan system or vacume on reverse. like I said I don't know if it is against the rules but if anyone considers it.... Ask FIRST


James

Re: Robots that float
 

To get enought fanpower to lift a *100 lb robot, would require more energy than the battery can put out.

WE tried this last year with the fanblower to block the goal. If it happens this year, i will seriously cry, flying robots = better than pigs flying.

Re: Robots that float
 

Our build team threw the idea out so I haven't researched if the rules would allow it. It would make things interesting by blowing the float rings everywhere!

Re: Robots that float
 

I don't see what rules it would break, if you can figure out a way to do it and power it (with the kit motors).

Your traction would be just terrible, though. :eek:

Re: Robots that float
 

We played with the idea of building a hoverbot but non of the mentors would hear of it. If the skirt is designed right, a vaccuum cleaner motor is sufficient for lifting a 100+lb bot. You still need a drive fan though.

Re: Robots that float
 

2 problems I see with this are that

1 there is alot of contact on a first field, the odds of the skirt getting torn of folded up so it forms a poor seal with the floor are pretty high.

Also a hover bot would just be pushed around the field, it would be like an air hockey puck.

For any one who was looking at this strategy to score points at the end of the match, keep in mind that power is shut off and the robot wont be able to keep hovering.

Re: Robots that float
 

i have done quite a few hovercraft robots that use the 12mm PAPST fans to create an air cussion

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/tags/hoverbot

they're there in cd media,

ps: im so glad cd media exists, thanks brandon

Re: Robots that float
 

good point on the power being shut off! IDK its a question for first.

ALSO thanks to you


for making me have a job as a fire fighter in your tag!

Re: Robots that float
 

The only way to have 3 robots off the ground for your alliance would be to force an opponent to stay in your home zone, and everyone piles on top of it. No point in thinking about making a hovercraft for this game. Hovercrafts in general are cool!

Re: Robots that float
 

Theoretically, you could lift up your two alliance partners while being supported in the air by pool tubes. That seems to be the only legal way to have all 3 robots off the carpet.

Re: Robots that float
 

No longer legal per Team Update #1

Section 7.3.6, Rule <G56> -
“ROBOTS score bonus points at the end of the match if they are entirely in their HOME ZONE, not in contact with any element of the field (carpet, alliance station, goal, etc. - note that for the purposes of this rule, GAME PIECES are considered field elements) and the lowest point of the ROBOT is higher than 4 inches and/or 12 inches above the carpeted field surface.”

P.S.
Remember to drop any tube you are holding before climbing a friendly nearby ramp.

Re: Robots that float
 

ok first thing about hovercrafts.... the skirt still countsas part of teh robot
so you wouldnt get any points for it.

AND after the 5 secend warning for the end time you cant stop a robot from leaving your home zone.

Re: Robots that float
 

if <G09> holds the way it is now i can see my team going undefeated, even with the bonus points

Re: Robots that float
 

Im still thinking that you can throw a zipline into the rafters and hang from the celing :ahh:

Re: Robots that float
 

Practically speaking, I don't think a hovercraft is feasible.

Re: Robots that float
 

amen...

Re: Robots that float
 

the thing is the robot doesn't need to float the whole time. It could only float at the end when it needs to if its possible.

Re: Robots that float
 

Your robot cuts off at the end of the match. This would be impossibel to keep it off the ground without any power..( well...if you could use your mind to keep it up i guess you could use brain power :D )

Re: Robots that float
 

That is why brain power is wonderful!

Re: Robots that float
 

These are the same people that say having a monkey for a pet is a bad idea.
I think in the future, both ideas will have their place in the world of FIRST. :cool:

Re: Robots that float
 

Just to mix it up a little bit.

Can you potentially build a robot so small, so light, with just the basic components that it weights about 10-20 lbs, and it attach itself to another robot such that it remain off the ground for the entire match?

Think super small version of the 2004 Bionic Poof robot. Small arm that latch onto another robot and winch itself up.

Yeah....

Re: Robots that float
 

it would be surprising to see a hover-bot, but i don't see it getting past regionals. it would be easy to push around, and/or acually accidentally tipped over. and for whoever said lines to the ceiling, if that's not actually in the rules, if your rope got caught up there, there isn't going to be a great way to get it down. so you may get penalized.

Re: Robots that float
 

As an add-on/side note to this idea, last year 1006 made a hovercraft for our robot cart. For that purpose the concept works wonderfully ;) (Apart from when the battery on the leaf blower dies half way to the field...). It was quite simple to make, didn't cost much, and made a great conversation piece at regionals. Hovercrafts are awesome.

Re: Robots that float
 

The force needed to lift a robot should be simple to calculate, so I figure I'll try it out. Someone correct me if I make a mistake. We're going to start with a 120 pound robot. Now, assuming you choose to leave a bit of extra space, we'll go with a 26x36 robot base. the area is 936 square inches. So assuming you can have a fan put out a constant pressure output of 2 psi (shouldn't be too hard to do with CIM's...), and also assuming you can cover the entire base with the same pressure, my math tells me the hovercraft would be able to hold 1872 pounds. I may be way off here, but at least I'm trying. Lets assume that only 50% of the bottom will be lifted. This could happen by spreading out two lifting fan setups. The simple 2 psi system would be able to lift 936 pounds before going back down to the ground. Assuming that you are never pushed, this could actually be a viable system to drive a robot. You would be very manueverable, if you were careful and scientific in your maneuvering fan setup... Or you could steer it with another method, like a crab module or two in the center.

Again, please correct me if the math is off....

Re: Robots that float
 

Do the rules say anything about using innertubes like Ringers as part of a hovercraft skirt?

It's a curiosity question.

I'm one of those people who believe you can get a lot of juice out of those batteries to lift a 110-lb robot. I'm not worried about 20-30V doing the job. I'm worried about the current. Whether the 110-lb robot can be lifted 4" of the ground? That's an interesting dilemma I hope at least one team pushes that boundary. I would much rather see a 130-lb robot as a hovercraft myself.

Steering may not be such a problem, but it is controlling the steering so you don't oversteer or miss the rack. But if it can be done, a hovercraft robot will be absolutely "broken." By "broken" I mean that it will do so well in the game that few teams will have answers for it: Fast, too able to get past defenders, and ability to score on the move.

Re: Robots that float
 

....Good luck with that. Sounds like it would take waaaay too many batteries for that, and you would eat up all of the weight restrictions on that alone.

Re: Robots that float
 

If the robot doesn't touch the ground at any point, there wouldn't be any frictional force opposing a contact force from another robot. So the hovercraft should be extremely easy to push around.

Re: Robots that float
 

Brilliance...sheer brilliance...

Re: Robots that float
 

A hovercraft bot could be made for first, my concern would be just how high it would hover. I would expect its hover height t be less than 2 inches.

And i will buy a box of donuts for whatever team successfully creates a hoverbot and lets me drive it around a bit.

Re: Robots that float
 

I'll throw in 2 more boxes of donuts to see that!

Re: Robots that float
 

The math sounds correct but it wouldnt be viable with just 2 CIMs. YOu probably could get a constant 2psi but the flow would be very low. meaning it would take forever to fill the skirt to get the full 2psi needed to lift it.

For one a hoverbot that would at the end of the match be 4 inches off the ground is next to impossible. even if you could keep the motors running a hovercraft still always touches the ground. just at a very low ground pressure. I am building a Hovercraft this year for my advanced engineering class and from what we have done so far a hovercraft just seems completely useless

Re: Robots that float
 

I've brought up the idea of a hovercraft in our meetings, but the engineers tell me it won't work (not that I would know, I don't understand all the technical stuff involved. I'm on animation). Oh well, I still want to see it happen.

Another (probably bad) idea would be to make the robot heavily padded and put some springs at the bottom that would release at the end and send the robot flying into the air.

Like I said, I'm on animation, I don't understand the technical stuff behind any of these ideas.

As for the connecting to the celing idea, it was said in another thread that it is a bad idea.