Kinda stupid question...
 

A while back, someone suggested filling the inside of the robot with helium to save weight. Is this legal?

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

This is one for the GDC. You should ask it in the Q&A.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Tell my teammates that HELIUM IS NOT FLAMMABLE!!! (long story)

Even if it was legal, getting it inside might be tough...

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Michael,
I can't help but notice that you are the 'rules expert' - so ... well, you know...

Now I'm having visions of thousands of balloons and a grumpy old man. Oh, and a talking dog. No talking dogs on the field. Grumpy old men are ok - sometimes.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Well, I think it would only be a last ditch move to get under 120 lbs, if necessary. I don't think it will actually happen.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Maybe the first thing to do is to calculate how much weight you'll save per volume of He. If one cubic foot of air is displaced by one cubit foot of He, how much savings would you get?

Greg McKaskle

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Let's see here... density of air is 1.204 kg/m^3, which converts to 0.0789 lb/ft^3; and density of helium is 0.1786 kg/m^3, which converts to 0.0117 lb/ft^3. So we are saving 0.0672 lb/ft^3 by replacing air with helium. I.e., not a big difference.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

That is about 1/16th of a pound, or an ounce. Five US quarters weigh an ounce. Not much savings, especially once you factor in the weight of the balloon or whatever will hold in the He.

Greg McKaskle

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Participating on a robotics team provides amazing opportunities to think through problems and possible solutions. That is not a bad thing but a good thing.

One Saturday not long ago, I was watching a student use the whiteboard for working through some ideas that he had regarding the kicker. I don't know if he was in the problem part, the possible solution part, or the testing part. What mattered was that he was using trigonometry and calculus and that he "was very happy". He spent 45 minutes going between the kicking mechanism and the whiteboard.

To observe a student using all the tools available to him/her, including 'doing the math', can provide moments of deep inspiration to the mentors. That is no small thing.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

As long as the pressure stays with in recs (sorry if some one else poasted this i just skimmed it.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

If you need to lose weight, soak your robot in a solution of Slim-Fast. I've seen it said that if you follow their guidelines you can lose up to 2 pounds a week.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

When we are overweight, we take lines of code out to reduce the weight.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

I'm surprised nobody has brought up that Hydrogen is half the weight of Helium, and would be a much more efficient weight-loser.
I also noticed somebody brought up the weight of the balloons that would hold the He/H. If you cover them in tape first, they won't tear when you swiss-cheesify them.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

Might I suggest some intelligently placed 3/4" lightening holes? The best ways of losing weight involve removing matter from your robot, either via lightening or more efficient design.

Helium is not a very practical solution, hate to burst your bubble... or blimp.

Re: Kinda stupid question...
 

So I kinda heard about bloated code, but you mean I could save postage by mailing CDs with efficient code? That makes me a happy pup!