Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Ross
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I was driving that year. Funny story about that video: it was our second practice match at NJ. The first practice match was a little of a letdown because we were still figuring out how to use the robot correctly. The co-driver controlled the roller speed with a pot, and had to keep the rollers spinning fast enough to get the balls in, but not so fast that the balls just shot out the top of the hopper. As we ran the line she had to increase the speed to offset the weight of the balls filling the hopper.
So the first practice match we biff out both lines of balls by running the line
way to fast and tossing them all 20 feet in the air, showering first the judges table then the scoring table with balls. Entertaining for the crowd, but not very productive. Second match we were too slow- I ran the line slowly and she ran the rollers slowly. You can tell by the end of the line that the rollers didn't have enough speed to push the last balls into the hopper, and the very last ball didn't get picked up. Of all the runs we did that gobbled up every ball, usually even faster, that's the
one run that managed to get videoed and online. It's still impressive looking, but, arg, that stinking ball! It haunts me.
Eventually we got it figured out and went on to have a really good season. We got a play of the day award, and I think a design award for it. Ultimately we lost our regionals to 'bots that controlled the goals, but we sort of saw it coming. It still stands as my favorite 'bot, and one of the best games I've been apart in.