Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Hardest rules for refs last year? Minibot deployment times. Could the photorecepters help with the equivaliant of launching something early and sending a signal to deactivate the new tower?

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Well, based on some of the items in that list, it sounds like FIRST is planning to count out quite a few of the game pieces, and at high speed, too!

:cool: yeahhhhh!

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

My short perusal would indicate the same thing... counting mechanisms...
high count -counting mechanisms which of course could be used for low counts too...

If high counts are needed it could either be large numbers of objects on the field OR the anticipation of large numbers of objects all at ONE time...say perhaps in the end game.

High speed would also probably mean round... spherical...because other types of objects don't move through a scoring position quickly...

tennis balls - probably not... real easy to get up to speeds above 100 mph.
this provides a danger for refs, staff and spectators.. unless the speeds are controlled...

Same issue (in SPADES) for golf balls...

If I were guessing... wiffle balls...high initial speeds possible but they quickly slow down... limited flight...
these have been used in other competitions (FTC-VEX)
Cheap, easily obtainable...pretty visible if you get the yellow ones..

size...probably the softball sized ones...

Or perhaps a return to poof balls (hmmm in honor of the 254's CMP alliance win last year?... just kidding)

Those are excellent projectiles of a relatively smaller size... fairly easy to obtain... terminal velocity characteristics are pretty good....we have precedent for their use...

just my ideas... what say you?

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Alright. I'll get to work with what I did last year and design a game based on this hint. Give me a day or two though...this looks like a challenge.

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

I don't know if anyone has thought of this yet, but:
The Photo sensors they are using(RA 42SMR--7100) have an effective FOV of 8 degrees,
So if they are using these for sensing a goal being scored, it could be a small goal, the sensors could be spaced farther away inside the goal, or they would have multiple sensors per goal. Does this sound right?

Spec sheet: http://literature.rockwellautomation...a501_-en-p.pdf
page 110

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Exactly. If the Orbit Ball passes muster, anything could pass muster.

*looks forward to the jello cube game*

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

I also highly doubt they will use tennis balls as they are so small, the 1992 robots were the size of modern day FTC robots. That would be a pretty low kitbot to eliminate the driving issues!

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Yes. :ahh: :ahh: :ahh: about sums it up.

Or more, if there are multiple parts/pieces per kit.

Me too. :) I say scrap all this cRIO stuff - PLC-controlled robots for everybody! ::safety::

Thanks for all the P/N information.

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Rockwell *sang* "Somebody's Watching Me". In 2012 FIRST, field watches you.

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Ladder logic n. archaic 1. How to program old stuff, slowly. 2. The 1998 FRC game.

So you can imagine my sense of revulsion when I saw the RSLogix stuff. Fortunately, I think FIRST is going to keep it far from the robots. Its presence implies to me that the game elements need to be processed/scored in a way that occurs too rapidly for humans—hence the sensors and PLC stuff—yet it's important enough to the game that teams will need it after kickoff to test with.

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

As I see it, the only things the teams will have is the signal light, just like previous years. All of the rest will be buried in the field.

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

I don't remember exactly but didn't one of bills blog's mention something along the lines of difficult driving conditions this year?

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

I think that maybe FIRST wanted us to think more then what the items going to be used as..
Maybe even the list it self is an hint or the amount of items in it.. I think we should think bigger..
My guess is the Kinect will be used to notice objects by those lights maybe we should be something very quickly or throw something very quickly and there will be this Very High Speed counter.. I'm just waiting to the #2 clue and try to finally understand more about the game..

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Whatever the photosensors are for, I don't want them to be for counting penalties, especially if they are like the ones this year! :ahh:

Re: First Official 2012 Game Hint
 

Interesting. 2 of Allen Bradley stack units can produce noise / music / sounds. I wonder why.