View Single Post
  #272   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 05-03-2006, 22:28
bombadier337's Avatar
bombadier337 bombadier337 is offline
1337 U53R
AKA: Shaver
None #1541 (MidloCANics)
Team Role: College Student
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Rookie Year: 2005
Location: Richmond VA
Posts: 123
bombadier337 is just really nicebombadier337 is just really nicebombadier337 is just really nicebombadier337 is just really nice
Send a message via AIM to bombadier337
Re: 2006 NASA/VCU Regional!

Just wanted to get everyone else's opinion and post mine. I personally think FIRST should talk to team 539 after what I saw at the VCU regional. I'm fine with teams building purely defensive robots, but I was appalled by what I saw from 539. You never would have known that machine was made to play Aim High, let alone be in a FIRST competition. The machine consisted of a ramming plate, driven by a large pneumatic actuator, that looked like it was designed to push robots extremely hard and most likely lead to damage. I wasn't happy about that, but what really made me angry was the vacuum. They had a 120 lbs vacuum on the front of the robot, whose purpose was to try and latch onto lexan plates of other machines. This robot honestly made me wonder if they had even seen the game before they built it. Last year, they resorted to trying to flip other robots repeatedly when their tetra placer didn't work properly, and this year they simply tried to damage other robots. I just feel like they really have no respect for the ideals that guide FIRST, and that they need to refocus their goals. I don't know what caused this, and I don't know if other teams mentoring would help. I just figured I would throw that out, and see what everyone thought.
__________________
Midlothian High School - Team 1541
2005 Radioshack Innovation in Control - NASA/VCU Regional
2005 Rookie Inspiration - NASA/VCU Regional