[rich2202]

Max points during autonomous mode: Unlimited

1) Each bot shoots their balls. Each inbounder then has 2 balls.
2) Get the 4 balls (2 off your bridge, and 2 off the center).
3) When those balls are shot, they have to be replaced by the inbounders, and you can keep shooting.

Also, it may be possible to get balls off the other team's bridge by touching only the ball. If you had a strong enough suction device, you could get balls father than 14 inches from the edge.

Hoarding

One hoarding strategy is to hoard the balls on your bridge. Once placed on your bridge, it is hard for the other team to get them without creating a foul. You could park a bot on the alley side of your bridge, and have it hold the bridge level.

I would argue that the placing of the ball on the bridge is controlling the ball, but once you let go, you are no longer controlling the ball. Thus, an unlimited number of balls could be on your bridge and not be considered controlled. To wit: The competition starts with 2 balls on your bridge, and no bot is considered to be controlling those balls.

I would also argue that controlling the bridge (keeping it from being tilted by the other team) is not controlling the balls.


Balancing strategy

1) design your bot (bot 1) so you can remove dead weight
2) prior to the match, remove enough weight to match the weight of another bot (bot 2).
3) Bot 1 goes on the bridge
4) Bot 2 immediately follows bot 1
5) Bot 3 immediately follows bot 2

Bots "inch" along. As soon as the bridge tips, you are balanced (within the tolerance).

I do not see another way to keep from flipping bot 3 off the bridge. You can't move bot 1 to the end until bot 3 is fully on. Thus, they all must inch along together.

By having Bot 1 and Bot 3 equal weight, you minimize the balancing problems. Ideally each bot has a center of gravity in the middle of the bot. Otherwise that may cause an imbalance that is hard to correct.

Having a high center of mass also causes balancing problems. As the center of mass will move as the bridge goes from tilted to flat. Thus maximizing the dead weight close to the bottom of the bot would be helpful.