Re: an unusual observation
 

And as far as that goes, I'm thinking old pogo sticks might come in handy. If you took a giant ball with spikes like that, and tensioned a large weight in the center correctly, you could make a self-cleaning ball that would crawl over objects! (by self-cleaning, I mean the spikes would retract when they near the top of the ball, and thus scrape off any debris they may have picked up)

Re: an unusual observation
 

Hmmm .... I wonder if the OCR on the cRIO can be tweaked to recognise notes and chords :eek:

Re: an unusual observation
 

Traffic cone trumpeting anyone?

Re: an unusual observation
 

I was along the same lines. Another option is to make random notes of music in the same way that the Boston subway stations around MIT do -- large wind chimes.

Re: an unusual observation
 

*ears perk up* - are there any photos or links that tell about this? It sounds cool.

Re: an unusual observation
 

A little more research and I've found that they're only at Kendall Square. Skip to about 0:58 into this video and you can see what I'm talking about:
Some random dude's 3 minutes of youtube fame

Also, apparently (blog link) there are levers to control the chimes, a gong, and sheet metal.

Re: an unusual observation
 

Or build robots who can make the field play a pre-engineered tune, like the road in California that was grooved to play the William Tell Overture. Here is the link to the news story, videos are on YouTube, but I can't get to them from here! http://cbs2.com/local/William.Tell.Road.2.822008.html

Re: an unusual observation
 

Weird! I guess I was wrong in thinking no-one would actually use that idea. Well, as long as they're not using it for word advertisements, I'm fine. (it looks like if they made the road actually have that sort of clarity and resistance to wear, then it would be much more slippery when wet and would have no flex in earthquakes)

On a different note, using chimes as targets (or actuated by targets) is brilliant! You could even have a marimba-type thing (with a resonating chamber).

Re: an unusual observation
 

How about a giant funnel, like those things that marbles spiral down? (line the rim with chimes and keep the lazy suzan in the center) The gamepieces would be those little blue racquetballs that team 128 was handing out at nationals. Near the base of the chimes there'd be a shield to hold the balls in and keep them from bouncing all over the place; instead letting them roll down the funnel (maybe in a spiral). The goal would be to throw the balls up and hit the chimes (more points for certain interval sequences). Getting hit by your opponents balls (when they're on the ground) would give them points. Firing balls at an opponent would be penalized. As your balls are rolling down the funnel, you should try to pick them up. The "spout" of the funnel is just a recession that makes it more of a pain to collect balls (encouraging teamwork). Since this might require a ceiling, there could be a giant gong (suspended horizontally) in the middle of the ceiling, where you get special points if you hit it. You are also awarded those points if you fire some balls on top of the gong, and someone else knocks them off by firing at the gong.

Now what could Autonomous be? (thus the problem)

Re: an unusual observation
 

We've had robot basketball and nascar..
'07 was kind of like "Tic-tac-toe."

Now comes...Soccer?
Maybe Scrabble?

Yes, robots moving huge tiles under time! It would use shape-recognition, at least for autonomous :rolleyes: .

Re: an unusual observation
 

I'm pretty sure a Brazilian team would win if it was soccer... ;)

Re: an unusual observation
 

Tic-tac-toe was 2005; 2007 was Connect 4. Hmm...board game, sports game, board game, sports game... Uh-oh.

Re: an unusual observation
 

Woot! New patterns are emerging!

Re: an unusual observation
 

Monopoly!
Checkers!
Chess!

Re: an unusual observation
 

We have a stretch of Interstate 295 around Richmond that is so cratered and patched that when you drive over it, it seems to play a tune. It's hard to make out, but I think it's "Don't know whose rear-end is gonna fall off first - mine or the truck's". It's an old blues tune.