This year we decided to focus on scoring high in autonomous, gather disks from the floor when they are available and the feeder when necessary, then hang for 10 points at the end. One key to a high scoring autonomous mode is gathering from the floor. Here is a video of our prototype floor pickup mechanism. While not perfect (it is, after all, a prototype), this has given us the confidence to proceed with final design and fabrication of a competition quality version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVD6P...ature=youtu.be
The arm is mounted on our practice bot chassis. The software team has been working with the competition bot drive train for a week and a half (the second key to a high scoring autonomous mode).