pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Hm, I wonder how many teams went for the inside expand this year, this makes 3 that I know of (78,79,1557)

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Make that 4: 3467

Looking good! Is that a triple jointed arm?

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Looks like an amazing robot. I am going to guess (by that blue tube near the wrist joint) that you use pneumatics to open the gripper? Good luck this season!

1676 also has an inside expansion gripper.

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Nope, just two. The angled fixed joint where the gripper meets the wrist piece might be confused as a moving joint.

We did a roller claw in 2007 with good results, but with the varying diameters of the tubs, the tube grabbing sub-team decided to go with the inside grab...that is one part that remains quite similar amongst all the tubes!

It's geared for ~5 fps and ~12 fps...definitely the fastest bot we've built. Solid in practice at our shop...can't wait to test it out on a real field!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Looking great, per usual! :-) This year definitely does seem more challenging than 2007 for the roller claws - inflation and tube type compound the difficulties, there! The bent forearm seems like a good solution... essentially optimizes it for high scoring and floor pick-up, I'm guessing? Although I couldn't attend the unveiling, I heard 78's demonstration video was as high-quality as ever! Is it posted online anywhere - I'd be interested in watching it! :-)

Best of luck, AIR Strike!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

The angle made the whole system more compact and pickup made pickup simpler (just rotate wrist down and the grabber engages the tube).

The video is not posted anywhere presently...I'll try to coerce Rick into uploading it sometime soon!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Great looking bot as usual, see you guys in Manchester BAE!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Any reason you guys went with the Plaction wheels over the Colson wheels you used in the past?

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

We haven't used Colsons since 2008. Dead axle wheels to me were just easier to work with. Changing tread is a pain though...might look into the old 2008 FIRST wheels. This is a speed game...shouldn't be much pushing!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Looking good, guys! Hope you make it into St. Louis so I can see it in person. Good luck next weekend at BAE!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Clean design! Add 1983 to the list of inner grippers. To be honest we're modular though, so with a little more time with the practice robot, we'll make our final decision on our Inner vs. Outer mechanisms. Nice work!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

Congratulations on making it to St. Louis!

Unfortunately I have not had the chance to see your bot perform so I have a few questions about it, if you don't mind.

1.Do you have a minibot?
2. How does your minibot deploy?
3. Where can you score on the rack?
4. Have there been any significant changes to your bot since the beginning of the season?

Thanks so much and I can't wait to see you guys in St. Louis!

Re: pic: AIR Strike 78 2011
 

I'm not from 78, but I can give you some answers based on 2079's scouting data in Boston. (correct me if I'm off on something...I'm sure someone from 78 will give you better answers when they respond).

1. Yes.

2. They have a swing arm that deploys from the side of their robot and contacts the pole. The minibot is spring-loaded back on a platform, and when released it springs toward the pole and drives itself up. Their minibot is in the 1-1.5 second range.

3. All levels.