Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

One time I kicked a left-behind cart under the drape covering the judges table. The team didn't know where their cart went. ;)

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

The steel and Lexan got me thinking... which may be a bad thing... Something just didn't quite sit right with me about this hint and the heavy field. There is not a lot of space on the field for a large field element the largest we have had since 3 v 3 was probably the Rack. If we assume as it seems to be described that this is significantly heavier than the rack my new conclusion is that the large field element is not actually on the field. Now before you call me crazy here me out. What if there is a scaffolding structure above the driver station with stairs leading up to it from behind. Perhaps this is the isolation booth for the Kinect perhaps a way to spread out the human players. Of course their would be safety railings and what not perhaps it even over hangs or crosses a portion of the field... thoughts?

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

It seems unlikely to me that they would elevate humans around the playing field. Just the safety measures, insurance, handicap access that need to be taken care of seem too big to tackle.

-Brando

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

From what I'm thinking, this year's game will involve lifting robots. Possibly having two robots lift a third onto a platform? Only time will tell.

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

Watching TRON Legacy this evening, the multi-level lightcycle grid reminded me of this discussion.:)

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

Has anyone here been on a team to build field parts before? Have there been any other games in memory (other than the rack) that require steel? (or did that not even use it?) Something will be doing some serious lifting/supporting on the field. Robots being elevated is more likely than people I think, but maybe the structure is for a ground-level kinect booth? But then they would have used aluminum...

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

Overpass and lane dividers in 2008... Minibot poles in 2011... Towers in 2010... Ramp sides in 2006 (diamond plate on the ramp side)... 2005's goals... 2004's bar... 2003's ramp supports (the ramps were copper mesh) and limbo bars... 2001's limbo bar... the center-field structure in 2000 was piping... and most of the games in the later 90's had steel pipe structures of various sorts (exception, 1999).

In addition to the field rails, some of which may need replacing due to hard impacts...

There are a lot more uses for steel on an FRC field than there are on an FRC robot.

Re: [BB] The wooden beams have started creaking
 

Much of those structures were aluminum, not steel.
Easier to ship, easier to assemble.

200 lbs of steel per field isn't a lot. It's not much more than than the weight of a fully loaded, mostly aluminum, robot and it's a lot less bulky.
Two people could lift all the steel on the field.