Quote:
Originally Posted by Chief Hedgehog
2013 and 2014 were the ones I have in mind. I don't remember 2015 - I have blocked that season from memory.
525 and 2052 are in this video here - zippy little buggers |
In the 2013 videos I saw, they saved maybe a second per cycle lining up to the HP feeder when compared to teams who had enough practice to realize they were misaligned and readjusted with tank.
I watched their 2014 videos over lunch today. It seems the biggest increase in agility they used to their advantage was to whip the robot around - going full reverse in a direction, doing a 180, and then continuing forwards in the original direction via a single, smooth maneuver. There were a few times they were pushed around the field, but at least at the Regional level it didn't hurt the overall match. They didn't directly strafe very much, but the increase in agility combined with smart driving and good strategy decisions seemed to help them win their Regionals.
At Worlds, however, particularly in the QF matches, they were definitely pushed around without question. The worst situations, due to the passing nature of that game, were when they went to pass to a partner and defense pushed them INTO that partner. In one case during QF's it was an effective open-field pin against 2 robots. Again, there was little strafing, but the increase in agility helped them bob-and weave in some cases. In the other cases, the defense that was played against them did the bobbing and weaving for them.
I don't mean this isn't an opportunity cost analysis, or what went wrong with 2052's 2014 season. There are obvious reasons to want Mecanum and to not want Mecanum drive, and 2052 seemed to use it pretty well. Versus non-aggressive defense, I think Mecanum will handle fine and can give the teams who have practice with it an edge. Yet on the World stage (which are what the high-profile guys above are alluding to), it will wind up being an exploitable weakness of an alliance.