[archiver]

Posted by Paul Dickman at 03/08/2001 9:25 AM EST


Coach on team #312, Heat Wave, from Lakewood High School and Baxter Healthcare of Tampa Bay.


In Reply to: Team 95 Bot capabilities, take a look.
Posted by Lee Sussman on 03/06/2001 8:45 PM EST:



Hi Lee,

The name of this game is beat the clock. The strategy you described has a few flaws. To do the task you described, you need alliance partners who can reach the end zone without the aid of the bridge. That means they go under the rail. More realistically, your partners "will" need to use the bridge, which means they (2 robots)"piggy-back" over the bridge. The reality is that coordinating that task takes precious time (10-20 seconds). Many robots move slowly and drivers have a difficult time aligning their robots. Let's assume they accomplish this task and reach the end zone in 30 seconds. Meanwhile, you have grabbed the goal and loaded it with black balls. Woops, the bridge is now down on the far side. Your robot now has to tip the bridge back towards you. Another 20-30 seconds to do that. The clock now reads 1:10-1:00 minutes, maybe a 2.5 multiplier. Assume you do tip the bridge. Now you have to climb over the bridge with a loaded goal. If your robot is as fast as you describe, power + traction problems will be an issue.(Another 20 seconds to cross) Clock is now at 40 seconds with a 2 multiplier still possible. You crossed the bridge and perfectly grab the 2nd goal in 10 seconds, now the clock is at 30, 1.5 multiplier, maybe???. You now begin to back up onto the bridge with 2 goals attached; the power + traction issue is now doubled. Now you have to balance the bridge. Like most robots holding 2 goals, this will take 15-30 seconds. Now the buzzer sounds signaling the end of the match and a 1.0 multiplier. Lets add up your score: 2 robots in end zone + 10 balls in the goal= 30 points x 4 (balancing 2 goals)= 120 points. I hope that you see my point???