View Single Post
  #75   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 21-03-2007, 17:58
Joel J's Avatar
Joel J Joel J is offline
do you..
no team
 
Join Date: May 2001
Rookie Year: 2000
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 1,445
Joel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond reputeJoel J has a reputation beyond repute
Re: 2007 best tube scorers

Team 56 is THE fastest scorer I've seen this year. I only wish they'd be more productive while being defended, and that they could find it within themselves to climb ramps. I've been wondering why they don't dance circles around the defense with their low, fast, and agile machine.. is the drivetrain sub-par?

Team 1114, after watching the GLR video, is a little bit slower (at putting up the tubes) than 56, but their drivetrain is rock solid, and I look forward to watching them again in Waterloo to see how they handle defense. Their low(er) ground clearance makes it a bit of an issue for them to climb ramps, but if they are smart, they'll learn to pull away and use their own set of amazing ramps to get it done for their alliance.. or send their partners back for 30 points.

Team 148 is also amazing. They are tied right now with 217, in my mind, for coming up with the fastest scoring roller claws. While they do roll the tubes in, they can simply yank the tubes from their grasp and onto the rack using a pneumatic wrist motion (148), or by pushing down on their arm (217). 217 was very smart with their roller claw design, only picking up 50-70% of the tube, making for a quick release. Both robots are adept at climbing ramps. If only 217 responded better while being hounded by defense.

175 is good. They (only) put up 4-5 tubes per match, but their drivers have a lock on this game: they know how to play on the field. This agile machine is much like 56 in speed, and maneuverability, so it takes smarts, rather than muscles to make it around the defense. This isn't a bad thing, because spinning circles, a team can put up 2-3 with defense. Using brute force, maybe a team can get 1 or 2. They have ramp climbing ability, and the drivers haven't been afraid to use it.

67, another team with a roller claw. I watched them in the finals with 1114, and saw a great display of team work during autonomous, and during the match. I watched their qualification rounds, and saw that they are fully aware of what they are doing. Their roller claw is doing a great job for them, but so are their drivers. They are learning how to play the(ir) game. Its only a matter of time. They have a tremendous amount of raw skill, and scoring power. Perhaps they'll have to out run the defense in the future, the drivetrain doesn't seem ready to help them force their way into scoring position.

121 is on deck! They'll be making an appearance tommorow at the Boston regional. Their robot is solid, once again, this year, and they've gone with the roller gripper design, a very promising choice. It looks like their drivetrain is at a medium between pushing ability and speed, so it will be interesting how they perform under the pressures of defense. I saw the American Robot video of their drivers practicing, and it looks like they still have a bit of work to do as far as getting the operation of their robot down to a science. But as soon as the drivers come up to speed, this robot will be worlds ahead of the competition at Boston. We may finally see the 121+173 alliance! Or perhaps it will be 121+69........

100. I haven't seen them in action yet, but I'm curious how well they deliver. I've seen pictures of their roller claw design, and it looked good. I'm sure they are everything they are being made out to be.

a few others I've seen:

45
233
254/968
375
365
469
1124
1369/1902
1730
__________________
Joel Johnson

Division By Zero (229) Alumni, 2003-2007
RAGE (173) Alumni, 1999-2003

Last edited by Joel J : 21-03-2007 at 18:01.
Reply With Quote