[dlavery]

To repeat my comments to JVN when he showed me the pictures last night - this thing is absolutely beautiful. Team 148 did not just set the bar higher, they have completely redefined the region of sky where the bar is located. I was impressed, excited, and jealous all at once. I want to see this thing run, and watch it play the game. But I really, really want to have two hours alone in a small room with it, to poke and prod and learn everything I can about what they did, and how they did it (if you think it is nice on the outside, just wait until you see how it looks on the inside!). Tumbleweed is a great example to show that robots can be functional, well designed, and artistic all at the same time.

Ten years ago omnidirectional drive systems were virtually unheard of within the FIRST competitions. But after a few excellent initial examples, many teams got inspired and said "I want to do that too!" But today, omnidirectional drives appear at virtually every competition. Today, there are a very small number of FRC teams that consistently turn out work of this quality. But I truly hope that all teams can look at the work of the Robowranglers and get inspired - and that this becomes the next standard that most of us try to achieve.

Excellent job Robowranglers - you have shown that robots and art DO go together!

-dave


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