Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

We thought of that. Actually we thought of going out in late Sept or Oct and getting them on closeout special. Somehow that just didn't happen.

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

Well, now we know where to get them in the future.;)
A quick drive to Kokomo and we're set.

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

well they DO help protect robots from very agressive driving, but they also promote the same violent behavior. so keep them and we have brutality, loose them and we have no protection.

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

I like the bumper rule. It forces you to further engineer your robot to meet specs laid out by a pseudo-customer. And since our bot will be going roughly 15ft/s this year, I honestly want the impact force of ~.015 seconds spread out over a pool noodle instead of the frame. Bumpers are cheap (time-wise) to replace at the competition; aluminum framing is not.

Engineering is not solely experimentation. Engineering really is about solving problems, and problems ALWAYS have constraints or things that you CANNOT assume or modify.

In the real world, if you don't like the constraints put onto you by Nature, you can, simply put, get over it.
In the real world, if you don't like the constraints put onto you by your engineering employer, you can find a new job or go it alone.
However, in the real world if you go it alone as an engineer and don't conform to the constraints of your customer, you won't make any products/designs that actually solve someone's problem. You also won't make any money.

Even as a theorist or scientist, you will have constraints you knew about and pull your hair out trying to find the ones you don't know about. The difference is that as an engineer at least most of your restrictions, regulations, and requirements are straightforward.

Now, to engineer something strong and light for your bot, you can make a 2x2x2' cube. Your bumpers are only 6' long, which is roughly 8lbs, and 8 outta 15 ain't bad. Put a hemispherical dome on top of the cube and BAM you can run around with flare like R2D2.

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

Installing bumpers on a robot that are predefined and have specific requirements involve NO engineering. It is completely and absolutely construction. The bumpers we use in FIRST are about as far from engineering as you can get, the engineering was already done by FIRST's GDC. If I thought that was what engineering was about I wouldn't have become an engineer. Cheers.

I don't want to say that because of the spirit of FIRST.

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

It's not the bumpers that are being engineered. Not at all! They are one of the constraints that we have to design around. You have to engineer your robot to:

• support the bumpers in the zone,
• fit in the 80" with the bumpers on, and
• have the bumpers easy to remove with whatever mounting system is used.

All of which require engineering and creativity to do.

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

that is not a rule... :) it's 80" max for the longest measurement in the horizontal plane.

-Leav

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

I fixed my post. Can't have people getting confused even worse...

Re: How many people like bumpers?
 

Thanks for all the comments, and a special thanks to dlavery for setting my straight on bumper design.