My team is planning on using the kit chassis and building a sort of forklift for the totes and the cans, and also having an arm on one side that can "clean up" noodles/litter and deposit the noodles/litter in to the cans. I've already prototyped the arm, and it works surprisingly well.
We will also attempt to enlist a football player to my team as a noodle/litter-thrower.
We plan on using a couple of pool noodles as a bumper.
Unlimited mini-CIMs will help a lot.
This claw can easily grab noodles/litter and is relatively low-cost, but if you can get your hands on a 3D printer, you can print your own using
the STEP file here. FYI, the link automatically downloads the file, so if you just want to look, use the other link.
Good luck everybody!