Team 2359 - 30 pt Climb Prototype

[blackwood]

We were able to successfully climb for 30 points the last couple of days... Still some tweaking to do and need to moving it to our drive base, but it is looking good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDV86oKXZXw

[Kevin Sevcik]

I don't know that I'd score my robot climbing video with "Landslide". Seems like a bad suggestion. Plus I prefer the Dixie Chicks version anyways.

That looks like a heartstopping climb at the moment. Especially executed across the field. Hope you guys get it a bit further from a landslide in the final version. I'll be interested to see how much use you get out of those bar crawling wheels you have on there.

[blackwood]

Landslide probably wasn't the best of choices, my wife suggested "Climb Every Mountain" from The Sound of Music, but I seem to not have much music on my new computer, and Landslide was the first song that popped up on Pandora, so I went with it. Obviously concerned about how well they can control the robot climb from across the field, the control is a bit sensitive at the moment. Hoping to do some tweaks to make the climbing a bit more robust. The team felt the bar rolling might be helpful if we don't get centered before we climb. While not evident in this video, they work nice.

[JohnSchneider]

While not expecting you to divulge your full strategy, I am curious, Do you have a method for scoring colored disks from the inside of the pyramid?

I like the mechanism, but it seems to take an entire match to climb to the top, and I don't see a frisbee scoring mechanism on there. I think a lot of robots will be able to outscore 30 points on discs alone during the entire match.

[nicholsjj]

This is a great way to go "landsliding" up the pyramid. I would suggest that you try to climb closer to the corner where you could put out a catch bar to prevent you from swinging out so far into the middle.

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

I like the mechanism, but it seems to take an entire match to climb to the top, and I don't see a frisbee scoring mechanism on there. I think a lot of robots will be able to outscore 30 points on discs alone during the entire match.

How many 24th seeded teams do you believe will be able to score 10 high level goals?

Originally Posted by nicholsjj

How many 24th seeded teams do you believe will be able to score 10 high level goals?

Including Autonomous, a decent amount.

If teams score 2 discs in the top hoop in auton, that's 12 points. 18 left. That requires 3 top discs in teleop and a 10 point hang. I think any last place team can do that.

[nicholsjj]

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

Including Autonomous, a decent amount.

If teams score 2 discs in the top hoop in auton, that's 12 points. 18 left. That requires 3 top discs in teleop and a 10 point hang. I think any last place team can do that.

Even though an average alliance couldn't do that in rebound rumble? I can see your point but I think 30 points can be hard to overcome by an "average team". Not trying to be pessimistic, but team's had a tough time scoring baskets last year in a shorter goal with a game element that was relatively easy to pick up. I also think team's are not factoring in the vision of the drivers when lining up to shoot this year will be a lot more limited. Especially if a team climbs the far side of the pyramid early.

Originally Posted by nicholsjj

Even though an average alliance couldn't do that in rebound rumble? I can see your point but I think 30 points can be hard to overcome by an "average team". Not trying to be pessimistic, but team's had a tough time scoring baskets last year in a shorter goal with a game element that was relatively easy to pick up. I also think team's are not factoring in the vision of the drivers when lining up to shoot this year will be a lot more limited. Especially if a team climbs the far side of the pyramid early.

I agree that many teams will fail at scoring a single point this season. However, I'm saying it's possible for any team to play a simple and smart strategy such as this one. But because of the teams who cannot play smart (and there always are some), this climber will be better than a lot of teams.

However, I still think a climbing-only robot can only go so far.

[nicholsjj]

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

I agree that many teams will fail at scoring a single point this season. However, I'm saying it's possible for any team to play a simple and smart strategy such as this one. But because of the teams who cannot play smart (and there always are some), this climber will be better than a lot of teams.

However, I still think a climbing-only robot can only go so far.

Definitely, I believe even a 6 point dumper in auton that can pick up off the floor with a 10 point hang could captain an alliance this year, but I think a 30 point climber with an 18 point auton is needed to win this year one with out the other is like sitting down to make a pb&j and realizing you forgot to buy bread.

[teachsail]

I think your climber is very impressive. You have prototyped a well engineered robot.

As far as strategy is concerned a robot that can consistently complete a 30 pt climb would make an excellent alliance partner. Three robots can not be shooting high goals simultaneously, and three robots dancing around the pyramid taking shots in turn while avoiding the opposition eats up the clock. An alliance of two good shooters and a 30 pt climber should be very competitive.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

Including Autonomous, a decent amount.

If teams score 2 discs in the top hoop in auton, that's 12 points. 18 left. That requires 3 top discs in teleop and a 10 point hang. I think any last place team can do that.

I think you are fatally optimistic.

I don't think there's ever been a season in which you could average out the last picked robot's performance and see them scoring 30+ points, or whatever ratio you want to use to account for differences in top scores.

[Akash Rastogi]

Great climber, do you guys have a method of stabilizing yourselves on the bars a bit more?

[Donut]

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

Including Autonomous, a decent amount.

If teams score 2 discs in the top hoop in auton, that's 12 points. 18 left. That requires 3 top discs in teleop and a 10 point hang. I think any last place team can do that.

I'm skewed by the regionals I've attended but at some events half of the robots chosen to be a 3rd alliance partner are incapable of scoring any game pieces effectively. They are primarily picked because of a strong drive train and usually just play defense, only scoring as a lap runner/bot on a bridge/bot behind the line/etc. when that year's game allows for it.

Just as an example, we were the 13th seed at Wisconsin last year (which was a relatively strong regional by OPR from what I remember). We did not get picked in alliance selection but came in as a substitute for the #1 alliance when a robot failed in the first quaterfinal match. I don't think we scored more than 24 points in a match by ourselves the entire regional, and had an OPR of 12.6 for the regional (which was very close in ranking to our actual qualification ranking, I believe around 15th for the event).

If you can consistently score 30 you're in line to be a lower seeded alliance captain at most events. Definitely a 1st round pick outside of the district systems.


To get back to this original thread, this climber is quite entertaining to watch. The rollers remind me of 330's bot in 2004, with the ability to crawl sideways on the bar to block opponents.

[nathannfm]

Beautiful mechanical design, but I'm curious what the motor pictured here http://screencloud.net/v/x6pW is for? I see what the curved wood(?) part is for but why have it spin?
Lateral motion if you start the climb off center is the only thing I can think of...

If you tell me it's part of a Frisbee shooter this may be my most favorite robot ever but I doubt it cause that looks like a couple 100 to 1 BaneBots box