Quote:
Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV
We already saw design convergence with the systems that are easy to modify in many years. It didn't ruin anything.- 2011 - Minibots
- 2015 - Can Grabbers
- 2012- Bridge Balancing devices (stingers)
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I bolded one statement for emphasis. I'm not really sure that I agree with this. I think the teams who were first to come out with dominant versions of the mechanisms you described above would disagree. By the end of 2011, nearly every competitive team in St. Louis had a <1.5 second minibot. Our team has never been more burned out than we were this year because of the constant iteration caused by the Canburglar wars. Frankly, the can wars from last season are a major reason I'm not even remotely excited about the upcoming season (and frankly, I barely even participated in Canburglar iteration, compared to the rest of our team). Burnout is a real thing.
Now, regardless of what I just wrote above, the big question is will eliminating "bag day" reduce or increase participant burnout. I think it's obvious that it would allow for more polished robots. As for burnout, I'm really not sure which direction it would go. I do know a lot of teams need to be saved from themselves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jman4747
I also think that design convergence might not be too bad since, depending on how drastic a change, it could be unreasonably expensive for most even given the time.
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Yup. The design convergence was bad on minibots and can grabbers because they were small and could be done at a relatively low cost. (I say relatively. For some teams the money spent on these arms races would be more than many teams spend on their entire robot.) However, doing a full redesign similar to what 33 did in 2009, or 254 in 2015, is something that very few teams can pull off; both due to a lack funds and a lack experience.