[ALIBI]

The drivers wanted the ramps to be as user friendly as possible. They could easly see last second ditches for the ramp (gotta place that spoiler) coming from the rack and needing a high speed direct from the floor approach. However, one good defending bot could probably cause enough problems to keep a robot from getting up directly (straight in) from the field. The ramps to the side require a 90 degree turn and take more time and the only way to really defend them is for a robot to get penalty points. Because of the weight budget for the ramps, especially with four ramps and two parking spaces, support legs etc. the kids had to design a ramp without anything mechanical other than a secure release mechanism. I can remember the mentors standing there saying it could not be done (three folds, four including the leg support, using gravity), that is until a couple of the kids showed us how using cardboard mock ups. Before I forget, it takes less than two seconds to deploy all four ramps and the parking spaces.