Quote:
Originally Posted by Oblarg
Then what exactly is "lost?" What benefit was there to a competition where most teams struggle to get something that moves?
Also, I have a hard time construing something that's not at all designed to play the specific game an "entire" robot.
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The benefit was the experience of building the chassis and drive train, of having the students innovate and work with what they were given. Of having built something completely from scratch. Now that innovation has shifted to the manipulators and autonomous mode, with the upper echelon teams also being free to develop their drive trains and chassis. I really don't see what you're arguing about. All I said was "something" was lost when they transitioned towards a more COTS oriented foundation, and that whatever was lost was offset by what was gained with respect to opening up the game to more teams.
A team can purchase everything necessary to create a robot (including elements specifically designed for the individual competition, especially Aerial Assist) and assemble it. I suppose we can argue about whether or not using AndyMark's bumper kits count as assembly, but I put that on the same level as having to cut the frame to the right size.