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Unread 26-04-2005, 14:39
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Andy Baker Andy Baker is offline
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FRC #3940 (CyberTooth)
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Re: Should FIRST address "ramp bots"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Ciance
i've been pretty angry about wedges for a long time. ...
wedges give robots a clear and unfair advantage. shouldn't a pushing match be decided by the strength of the drivetrains, rather than who makes a cheap shot?

we put a lot of work into our drivetrain. nobody could push us back... as long as we had all our wheels on the ground. ... what reason is there for a wedge other than to get under other robots?
The main reason teams design wedges or wings on their robots is to provide themself a defense against a team who is ramming them. Many teams, including yours, rammed other teams in 2003. This was done to knock other teams from the HDPE platform during Stack Attack gameplay. Some teams rammed in 2004. Seeing teams make ramps or wedges on their robots is simply a passive defense against aggressive drivers who like to use their robot's momentum as a tool to play defense.

Now, if a ramp or wedge is used to get under another robot and continue to drive into them until they are flipped, then that is an illegal use of a ramp, imo.

Andy B.