[Ken Streeter]

Team 1519 (Mechanical Mayhem, from Milford, New Hampshire) Robot Info:

• Wide orientation robot
• Drive: 8 WD, 6" Pneumatic Wheels (extremely grippy on bridge and carpet)
• 2-speed transmissions; very low gear (~2fps) for fine control on bridge
  
• Bridge Balance Assist: no specific mechanism; however, we designed our entire robot to optimize balancing. Can hang end wheels off of bridge with exceptional stability (see video below) so that only 17.5" of our frame is over the bridge surface. As seen in the video, extremely low gearing effectively serves as a drivetrain brake.
• Bridge Balancing Experience: Don't just take our word for it -- see 1114's scouting database which lists us as the #1 balancer at both GSR and NCR. Performed more co-opitition balances at both regionals (GSR and NCR) than any other team there. Fast double-balances in all of our elimination matches (except GSR finals where robot failure took our partner away!)
• Bridge Tipper: tip down on one side (normal approach); can also use robot to flip bridge up for partner on opposite side
• Ball Intake: Two-sided (front and back), each 21.5" wide
• Ball Storage: Three balls, controlled by sensors to avoid pickup of 4th ball
• Ball Shooter: Single axle, camera-processed PID controls of shooter wheel speed, shooter exit angle (elevation) and turret direction to increase shot accuracy (recent software tuning has increased our accuracy since NCR)
  
• Autonomous:
  • Tip co-op bridge w/ball pickup to score up to 5 high baskets. (Normally only balls available for 4 high baskets.)
  • Tip own alliance bridge if an alliance member has autonomous which can score balls from co-op bridge
  • Configurable shot times to avoid ball congestion with partners. (Two balls shot 1-2 seconds apart, with time of first shot varying from 2-13 seconds into hybrid.)
  • "Sit and Score" including "A-Bomb" modes (send or receive)
• Other Capabilities:
  • Barrier crossing
  • Defense: High-traction drivebase for pushing (used this to great advantage during GSR elimination matches - yes we were the defensive robot!)
• 2012 Tournament Performance:
  • GSR (Week 1): Finalists. #7 seed, most co-op balances of regional. Selected alliance partners of 885 and 2791. Went 5-0 in first five elimination matches against #2, #3, #1 seeds before catastrophic failure of alliance partner in 2nd finals match reduced our alliance to 2 robots.
  • NCR (Week 6): Winners. #1 seed, most co-op balances of regional. Selected alliance partners of 1311 and 2642.
• 2012 Robot Video:
  • Bridge Hang-off Demo: Our practice robot hanging off bridge, showing dynamic stability of the robot -- we can hang 10" off a moving bridge without danger of tipping. http://youtu.be/j0xDC5w6mzc
  • NCR Finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tZXspeCOAM with teams 1311 and 2642.