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Drives:
FRC16, Swerve Drive
-Omnidirectional drive system allowing FRC16 to move in any given direction, and drive their robot in almost any way they see fit.
-The Bomb Squad's Swerve drive gave them the speed and maneuverability they needed to quickly and accurately traverse the field, avoiding opposing robots and acquiring balls to score or pass to their alliance partners.
I agree that swerves were an excelent drive system for this game, they allowed you the orentation shift for long over the bump and wide for balancing. I would say that 16 and 1717 both have the market cornered on this one.
Ball Acquiring System:
FRC973, Wide Drop-Down Intake System
-A drop-down intake system consisting of a series of rollers and urethane belt that sucked the ball into the robot, no matter what part of the device the ball contacted.
-This system gave 973 an amazing intake ability, being able to touch a ball with any part of the system and have it be acquired. Since the device was 3 balls wide, they could quickly fill their robot to capacity whenever needed.
The over the bumper collector's were definitively better then any other ball collection system this year. I would say that 2056 and 2826 had equivenlent systems, 469's was the fastest and probably slightly superior to both of these. However, 341 was wide so despite being slightly slower their collector had a larger area to grab balls with (especially for auto.) 971 and 254 also get honorable mentions, but I really haven't watched either enough to make a judgement on theirs. All, however, were excelent.
Ball Transport System:
FRC33, Rotating Turret
-33's entire turret and shooter rotated, as opposed to just the shooter on top rotating.
-In doing so, 33 (and other teams who used the system) were far less prone to ball jamming, as the balls would enter the tower the same way every time.
There is not a doubt in my mind that this one should go to 971. They could bring a ball from their intake to exiting their gun in maybe 3/4's of a second. Additionally, they pulled the balls into a perpendicular vector and around a corner so they never had ball jams (as opposed to forcing the balls into a column in the same vector like everyone else.) If you want the best with a turret, I sincerly liked 118's sissor ball stoppers which were the source of the clicking when they shot although 1114's piston and cup also appeared very effective for putting the ball into the shooter in the same way every time.
Ball Scoring System:
FRC548, Arm/Shooter System
-548's robot had an arm and shooter combo, allowing them to get their shooter up to the top basket, and pop the shoots out from a much closer distance.
-548's system allowed them a much easier shot from the fender as opposed to from the key. As the season progressed, 548 also became proficient distance shooters, allowing them to avoid defense when the fender was occupied.
548 is a good choice for this. However, this is probably the catagory most open to debate. 1717 scored more basket points this season then anyone else so their shooter should also be in this argument. Going from memory I believe they had a big solid machined drum as a flywheel and a lot of compression on the ball as well as a bit of wraparound on the flywheel but someone else will have to chime in on that.
Bridge Manipulator:
FRC67, The Utility Arm
-67's Utility Arm allowed them to acquire balls, go over the bump, and manipulate the bridge. This arm would push the bridge down with little effort.
-The utility arm was built to be robust, so 67 would always be capable of manipulating the bridge. It could quickly and easily push the bridge down to allow 67 to drive on smoothly.
For putting the bridge down nothing beat the wedges. 1918 especially comes to mind for me as a Michigander. If we are talking about multiple uses 67 probably has everyone else beat there. They used their arm to pick up balls, to get over the barrier, put the bridge down, lift the bridge up, help balance the bridge, and could also slightly change their CoG with it.
Bump Crossing:
No Teams Added Yet
Just for bump crossing I give this one to 1114 and/or 2056. Their is a difference between crossing the bump and CROSSING THE BUMP. While many others could cross just as quickly, these guys ability to cross equilly well either forwards or backwards puts them slightly ahead. If we are talking overall game though my opinion changes slightly as keeping the bumpers low is a huge deal to me which in my humble opinion makes the flip down ski jumps like 33 and 610 had (among others) or the drop down castor like 254, 971, and 111 had (among others) slightly better overall.
Bridge Balancing Aid (i.e. Stinger, etc.):
FRC1986, The Teeter-Totter Talons
-1986 had a pair of pneumatically powered 'talons' that would push down and aid in the balancing of the bridge.
-With the aid of the talons, 1986 could not only push up on the bridge to even it out, but they could even brace the bridge from falling. Quick and effective. With the addition of the Twin Tucking Tabs, 1986 was a balancing machine.
The fourbar linkage which extended out of the bumper zone was definatly superior to the straight down deploying piston. Mostly all the good teams could assist in triple balancing by the CMP. However, very few teams could double balance without the partner robot moving. I know 33 and 469 could simply push a robot up and balance without them having to drive which is infinantly valuable on the Co-op bridge in quals. I am not aware of any other teams that could also do this although I have no doubt that others could (973 had a four bar linkage stinger for CMP but I never saw it used)