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Re: First (or is it FIRST) post--and a question on competitions.
Well, given the lack of GPS on a Mindstorms robot, I ruled that idea out immediately.
I figure it'd come out one of two ways...one is my previously mentioned extreme line following (uphill, downhill, over bumps--everything that requires a robot to be 1293-robust in construction. (For those who didn't see us at Palmetto, our frame was so overly strong that we'd only get a nick from another robot checking us in the side.)).
Or perhaps a dead-reckoning contest. Set some key points, then judge the robots based on how close they aimed it. It'd force a lot of creative programming, given the wide performance spectrum of lego motors.
And then there's the financially more straining plan C...set up a few RCXs, each transmitting a certain number. You've just got to hit the RCXs (if cactus plural is cacti, is ar-cee-ex plural RCI?) in order, without hitting other stuff.
A parking lot would be a distinct possibility, if you didn't mind your robots getting a little dusty. I think a nice big cafeteria would also function, plus it's easier to have food in.
On a side note, if a regular group got together once or twice a month and competed for a prize/small-time cash, what would be a fair number to finance that and the competition? Five bucks? Ten? (In R/C racing, ten seems to be the going rate. And that's weekly.)
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William "Billfred" Leverette - Gamecock/ Jessica Boucher victim/ Marketing & Sales Specialist at AndyMark
2004-2006: FRC 1293 (D5 Robotics) - Student, Mentor, Coach
2007-2009: FRC 1618 (Capital Robotics) - Mentor, Coach
2009-2013: FRC 2815 (Los Pollos Locos) - Mentor, Coach - Palmetto '09, Peachtree '11, Palmetto '11, Palmetto '12
2010: FRC 1398 (Keenan Robo-Raiders) - Mentor - Palmetto '10
2014-2016: FRC 4901 (Garnet Squadron) - Co-Founder and Head Bot Coach - Orlando '14, SCRIW '16
2017-: FRC 5402 (Iron Kings) - Mentor
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