[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

With that mind set, you have already lost. You are limiting yourself. Every year there is someone who states, "GAH! these rules are going to make sure that all the robots look/play alike. How Boring!" Every year I am amazed at the ingenious and creative ways teams go about solving the challenges in both FRC and FTC. So you can continue to think along these same lines and get what you expect, therefore proving yourself right, or you can try and look beyond those limits you are placing on yourself.

I agree with you in principle, but in this particular instance there is literally one way to do it. You need to convert as much electrical energy into mechanical motion as possible in as short a time as possible, and you are allowed exactly one way to convert it. One energy source, one energy output, one design.