[gvarndell]

Not in response to any particular post, I love that this is being discussed.

I really hope FIRST will find a way to design next year's game such that clever software will stand a chance to share the limelight with clever mechanical systems.

I know some teams (1629 included) used software to _assist_ with goal scoring.
That is, the robot (under operator control) never decided to go for a goal.
Instead, the robot took a command to kick the ball and attempted to do a little fine-tuning on the aim -- using the camera; but this is a baby step.

Think about implementing "situational awareness" in software:
What does my universe (the field) look like?
How big is it and where are the fixed objects?
Where am I within my universe and which way am I facing?
Where are my friends and where are my foes?

These are robot smarts that should prove valuable to you next year, no matter what the game is.