Quote:
|
Originally Posted by punkrawker303
Who want[s] a little more weight for there[sic] robot instead of 130lbs? I mean at the last couple days you [could] have more weight then you need or should have. I think they should add 5 more pound[s] to the weight limit. [W]ith this 5 pounds you could open the possibles [possibilities] with 5 more pounds. What could you add to your robot that is 5 pounds that could really help you? [S]o who likes the idea[?]
|
Have we considered the possibility that the teams that run up against weight problems each year just aren't taking 130 as a serious limitation until much too late in the process. They tend to do this because they are unconsciously thinking "130 pounds - that's a lot. We don't have anything to worry about - if we run into problems, then we will just cut a bunch of holes at the end." As a result, they don't plan their robot weight budget properly, and have to resort to hacking off entire subsystems or drilling 1482 lightening holes at the last minute.
I think we need to be going the other way. Rather than promote the belief that 130 pounds is a rather generous number, why not reduce the weight restriction to 120 pounds (or less)? I theorize that at 120 pounds, including the battery, nearly all teams will recognize that the weight restriction is a hard problem right up front and will begin to plan accordingly. As a result of the earlier (and arguably better) planning, I would predict that teams will have more weight-conscious designs and the number of last minute "slash-and-hack" weight reduction efforts will be reduced.
So, rather than increasing the weight restriction, we need to decrease it by 10 pounds or so (or just increase the mass of the battery or other non-negotiable parts by 10 pounds while keeping the restriction where it is, which would have the same effect). And then have FIRST throw a copy of the Atkins diet book in with each kit...
-dave