[Jonathan Norris]

I can see the theoretical appeal to an automatic shifting system, but the practical application is not as clear. The ultimate horror situation I can think of with an automatic shifting system, is if you are in a pushing match with another robot and your software decides to shift you into a lower gear. But because of this extra force on your robot the shifting does not work properly, I have had this situation with a dog-shifting system. Theoretically this seems like a good idea, but practically I am not sure its necessary or as advantageous as it seems. Possibly the best solution would be a mix of automatic shifting with some operator control still involved.