[Ryan Dognaux]

Did we choose to make a low bar capable robot? Yes. Like many others who came to this conclusion, we figured having 1 defense that was always the same was too valuable to pass up when combined with our goal of shooting in the high goal multiple times in a match.

However, we also highly prioritized defense crossing. So far it seems like we will be able to do category A, B and D defenses simply by using our drive train & intake mechanism, along with some creative geometry. The category C defenses may take an additional mechanism, but the great thing about the low bar this year is that we have a ton of weight to play with. Like 30 pounds of additional weight.

Tons of people mentioned blocked shots - why anyone is trying to shoot from 1/3 of a field away is beyond me. We're going to drive right up on the batter and shoot with our robot against the castle. It's 2014's corner shot all over again and we're taking it. I'd rather us fight your spy bot for position and win that battle than hope we sink a miracle shot through a tiny goal opening.

I'm scared every year that we'll be that team that completely blows it for an alliance, but more often than not it's not our team doing awful. I'm optimistic that our low bar, high goal shooting / hanging strategy will be successful. I'm fearful that we'll get paired with a robot that had good intentions but can do nothing effectively because they tried to package everything in a small amount of space. My guess is Karthik is too.