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Navigating the Minefield
Many matches will be lost this year because of upside-down discs getting stuck under robots.
After kickoff our members powered up some of our old bots and tried driving them over the discs. We did tests with Ball-Shark ('10) which has 6" wheels and lots of ground clearance and with G-Wrath ('11) which has 4" wheels and only about a 1/2 inch of ground clearance.
In normal driving, G-Wrath pushed the upside-down discs out of the way. When the robot was pushed on-top of the discs (lets say by a defender, or by its own power against a wall) a serious problem occurred. The discs became caught on the wheels and the robot lost traction. The wheels touching the ground continued to propel the robot but the wheels trapped inside the discs spun freely.
Driving over right-side-up discs caused G-Wrath to pitch violently.
Similar problems occurred with Ball-Shark, only that robot was able to drive out of the discs more easily due to its larger wheels.
Anyone else concerned by this? Strategies to overcome it?
I'd hate to see a field of robots spinning in circles helplessly on piles of discs.
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"Cooperation; because life is a team sport" -Philip J. Fry
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