BeachBot design is driven by requirements developed during the design/concept phase. Some of these requirements are driven by the game or rules and others by experience. We call the later "BeachBot requirements". One of those requirements is that the robot will be self-righting to the extent possible. Extreme examples of this were our 2008 and 2010 robots who could right themselves from any stable position, given enough time.
Because we mount our arm motors low and do the reduction in chain between the motor and the pivot point, the arm system is quite weight efficient. Self-righting may not be possible with a "balanced"arm.
Due to our design philosophy of keeping everything as low as possible on the robot we rarely have to use our self-righting ability. Twice in a season during competition would be alot, but it sure is handy (and a crowd pleaser) when you need it.
Every design has its trade-offs. We like using brute force in the arm because it helps with secondary issues. But there might be a good reason for using a balanced approach. Just be aware of what you might be loosing in going with a particular approach
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me
There's a lot to be said for just throwing a gear reduction at the problem. It naturally slows your arm down a lot more so you are less reliant on software to control it. Plus depending on your configuration, you can probably self-right your robot. I mean, adding a spring can only help an arm, but if you gear like 330 it's not mandatory.
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