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Unread 22-02-2007, 21:03
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Pavan Dave Pavan Dave is offline
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Re: Drive Systems... ...The FIRST Arms Race?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gdeaver View Post
The Tim Allen mentality is what I think Joe is referring to. " More Power". During the off season it seams that most teams that were doing off season projects focused on drive trains. How many teams worked on manipulator development, sensor integration, or autonomous navigation? First could control the drive train arms race with a very simple rule. Limit the energy, Make it precious and expensive. ( like what is happening in the real world). Each team is allowed 2 batteries at the competition. On practice day each team submits 2 batteries at inspection and their serial number is recorded and a permanent label is affixed. Those are the only 2 batteries allowed for the entire competition. Teams can do what ever they what with the motors and mechanisms, but the energy budget is limited. If a team gets to the finals and is forced to compete with dead batteries then they pay the price for poor energy management. This generation of kids will have to face the looming energy challenges in their life time. First can help focus them on this social issue. The other way to take the focus away from the arms race is to make the autonomous period longer and more important.

I understand exactly what you are saying with this and how much work is done off season (if any at all) on the base, but the thing everyone is missing out on is the fact that the manipulator and autonomous modes and other things change EVERY year and that certain subgroups on your team have a "static" position, meaning they have to think and come up with something completely new, while others just innovate older designs et cetera. That is why the BASE or DRIVE SYSTEM of teams is becoming more and more interesting every year from what I have seen on the forums (including archives) because the base usually stays constant or at least the framework or principles of it does.

I think the energy rule is limiting just as how you choose your motors because if you are limiting energy than you are saying you have to cut power from "A" and add it to "B" and that is similar to saying you can only use "N" amount of motors out of the number given for a certain operation (drive train, manipulation, et cetera).

Pavan.
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