ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

During Match #44 in Philadelphia, Team 56's usually reliable minibot decided to take a flying leap off the pole. The amazing recovery resulted in a 80 to 80 tie.

Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhLk84RvA4s

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Not much to say but, AMAZING!!

That just goes to show, sometimes being lucky is better than being good.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Alright, I can officially say that I've seen everything. I really hope you told everyone at the event that this trick was a, "design feature". ;D. Incredible.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

That is really cool. That ranks up there with 27's last second hurdle at the detroit regional in '08 for the best final seconds of a FRC match.

I can't tell from the mechanism, but what made it drive along to the deployment arm to get to the pole the second time?

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

It looks more like it bounced off the deployed arm, rather than drove on it. So they probably have some really strong magnets on their minibot :yikes:

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

I'm fairly certain you have broken a few laws of physics there. Exactly how did you power your robot's infinite improbability drive with a 12-volt battery and connect it to the crio?

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Dude, look a bit closer. See the Flux Capacitor on that thing?

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Where can I buy the awesomeness that you used on that? Do they sell it at andymark?

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Don't you Know that good engineers build redundancy and fail safe methods into there designs. This is just good engineering. (Ha)

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

It seems that 56 is using a ramp for their deployment and when the minibot fell down, the wheels must have fell straight back onto the ramp.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

We couldn't even make it up the pole the first time. Thats awesome.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

That is pretty awesome.

But can you do it again? :P

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

that was sweet! i'm sure you practiced it many times

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Wow. I wish I was there to see that! Did you see the look on the ref's face? He looked back at the table like, "Did you just see that?!"

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

That is amazing but technically think it doesn't count. The host bot is not permitted to touch the Minibot after deployment ends.

John Vriezen
Team 2530 "Inconceivable"
Mentor, Drive coach, Inspector

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

*Citation required*

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Did they use magnets? it just sucked right back onto the pole.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Deployment ends when the Minibot crosses the deployment line... but the rule does not say that hostbots can't contact the minibot after deployment ends. If that's what the rule says, then probably 3/4 of the matches need to be re-scored, as their towers should have been disabled when the minibot came down and contacted a deployment mechanism before the match ended.

Deployment ended, the minibot flipped over off the pole (BTW, 9.5/10 on the backflip--it didn't do the full 360 in the air), landed on the robot in a deployable position, and went right back up the pole. Contact re-initiated after the minibot recrossed the line. No violations here.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

I just looked at the rules. I think an early version had a restriction about HB/MB touching after deployment but perhaps that was dropped. But when did deployment start/end? If you say there were two deployments when did the 2nd one start? The mb didn't break the cylinder boundary a second time so a second deployment didn't start so there can only be one deployment. I suppose I could cite rule G46 which says MBs may only climb the pole and hence cannot perform acrobatics involving falling from the pole in the midst of the climb.

I do agree that you'd be hard pressed to find a ref denying you the points regardless of how the current rules are interpreted. (including me!)

John Vriezen
Team 2530 "Inconceivable"
Mentor, Drive coach, Inspector

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Just a few clarifications about our amazing (and lucky) minibot.

We don't use magnets, we have two spring loaded wheels, which are driven independently. The deployment mechanism is a curved pipe the same diameter as the vertical pipe. A cutout at the end of the deployment pipe mates with the pole so there is a smooth transition during launch.

We don't know what caused the minibot to fly off the pole. We have never seen it come off the pole after it passed the deployment line. In Philly we had 12 sucessfully launches and one trick performance. Oh well, it was interesting.

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Sure. They did it three times in the video! :D

Re: ROBBE XTREME's Flying Minibot
 

Wow! Deploying twice in one match. Super climb rate too. I will have to show my boys (normally an FLL team) when we get home this evening. They will be jealous.

The team we worked with wasn't able to deploy our Minibot successfully even once during competition though they could do it in practice. The worst was when they left the claw down (twice) and the Minibot ran up into it and shut off. You guys must have gotten our allocation of luck!