Team 3018 certainly has a unique and effective design this year! We completely forwent any stored energy and rather utilized a winch-driven linear shooter. The carriage lowers to the ground to pick up the ball, and a multi-sided intake effectively collects the game piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8sxcxqOOMA
Our design has proven quite effective as an offensive robot, as it has won us the Lake Superior Regional and gotten us to the finals of the Wisconsin regional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wBP8sIBLnM