Re: Team 71's 2002 robot
 

You mean, like soccer balls or kickballs?

They would make sense, in terms of availability.

I mean, compared to orbit balls, they're everywhere (however, it's not quite as easy to make your own....)

Re: Team 71's 2002 robot
 

I'm more thinking of the big movable goals in 2002 or hanging on the bar in 2004, for example. Big, in general, is just more impressive to watch. Though understanding the systems used to move many small objects can be equally impressive, actually watching from up in the stands usually isn't.

Re: Team 71's 2002 robot
 

I would love to see a game like 2002 appear very soon. That game was so simple in terms of game pieces and field, but brought some intense gameplay. The big game pieces also look amazing to spectators. When showing off your robot to parents, it also looks more impressive to have giant games pieces to manipulate compared to little balls (although a 2006 robot that can track and shoot at a range of 10'+ is very very impressive).

Re: Team 71's 2002 robot
 

Big game pieces are great if you have the room for them. They are also heavy and hard to transport. Id rather have a game piece that I can transport and show off what it does over something that weighs nearly 200 lbs.

Re: Team 71's 2002 robot
 

Actually the soccer balls of 2002 were not widely available. You pretty much were stuck with the one or two that were in the kit. They had a unique surface coating that made them handle differently than readily available soccer balls. They also cost like $10 or $20 each.

My favorite robot that year was 980's "popcorn popper" that shot the balls straight up and bounced them into a hopper at the top. The first time they tried it the ball blew through the bouncing plate and hit the ceiling, of the gym.

I still use 71's robot as an example of the tradeoffs of power. They were able to transmit a tremendous amunt of torque to the floor, but to do so they travelled very slowly. But they had something like 2 minutes to go 3 or 4 feet. They had all the time in the world. I also remember seeing file card shaped spots where the pile had been ripped off of the carpet at IRI.

Re: Team 71's 2002 robot
 

I think 25's robot from 2006 could also be considered as one of those "Greatest Robots Ever Created" even though they didn't win Championships.

But yeah... the problem with this year is that there isn't a very impressive task to take on. In 2002, you could drive down the line of balls in a handful of seconds and earn hundreds of "wows" like team 95 did. In 2007, you lift two robots in a second like 1717 did.