Quote:
Originally Posted by HumblePie
On a slightly unrelated note, there has been a lot of speculation re: the return of minibots. Why not apply the "miniaturization" principle to the grown-up bot? The 38 x 28 footprint has been somewhat sacred lately, and it's possible that the GDC had issues with so many chassis designs being "recirculated" from Rack 'n Roll last year. The new CRio is smaller, why not the robots? A smaller footprint would force many teams to rethink their entire packaging scheme.
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Keep in mind that Rack 'n Roll had different bumper rules than we enjoy today - specifically, you were not required to have bumpers around the entire robot. In fact, standard bumpers weren't even required at all - they were optional! As a result, many teams ended up with a chassis design that allowed a gap in the front which made tube mechanisms easier and more protected (as some of the mechanism would be recessed within the frame, with only the rollers sticking out).
The cRio is smaller, but the overall footprint required for the electronics is larger than it was with the old IFI system - Jaguars are larger than Victors, the PDB is larger than the distribution board we used to use, the cRio (even the new one) is significantly larger (in 3 dimensions) than the old robot controller - plus you have to have a digital sidecar attached, which increases the footprint even more.
With the KitBot chassis, I don't think the GDC is worried about recirculated chassis designs - We've used the exact same chassis (the KitBot) 4/5 years our team's been around!