pic: Whoops

[Bill_Hancoc]

loading photo ...

[cziggy343]

that just sucks! but the arm is above the alliance station, they called that once at vcu, even though it happened more than that one time.

[mizscience]

WOW, was there any particular reason, or was it just bad luck that they both fell off the same time?

[JoeXIII'007]

Originally Posted by mizscience

WOW, was there any particular reason, or was it just bad luck that they both fell off the same time?

They both had one side over the edge of the ramp... and thus, one by one, gravity bit them and took them down...

[Po-ser]

Awww! Part of my is crying and part of me is laughing hysterically. I hated it when a robot would fall off our ramps.

[Travis Hoffman]

Guard rails for the win.

[Raul]

Originally Posted by T. Hoffman

Guard rails for the win.

Or maybe practice.

Actually, guard rails are over-rated. In 2001 we had guard rails and we were 4 ft wide. Some robots could still manage to climb over the guard rail and get stuck. Others that had low clearance could catch their frame on the rail and it would lift their wheels off the ramp so they were no longer making contact and then they would get stuck also. So, the only way to have fool-proof guard rails is to make them taller than any robot's clearance. Even then, if they do not line up properly to start up the ramp, they can ride up the guard rail and really get stuck.

Like I said to begin with, drivers need to practice driving their robot straight up a ramp.

[GBIT]

At GSR team think pink didnt have guard rails (i think) but they had really wide ramps that worked great (nice job guys)

[KTorak]

I saw that match and was just....wow.... I was kinda worried because most people probably did not design their robot to with stand something like that.

[1359th Scalawag]

Pretty funny pic there. I'd be so dissapointed if I was on that alliance when that happened though.

My team's robot has a ramp built into the chassis. It's kind of like a rectangle made of two trianges so we hinged a corner and it unfolds to be a ramp.
*i'll see if I can draw it with text*

______________
|..--..............|
|.......--.........|
|............--....|
|................--| <-------Hinge goes there
|...................|
|...................|
|..O wheels O..|

Anyway, using the arm to push it up, we can deploy it and then using two little lifter leg things, we can raise it to a horizontal position 14 inches above the playing feild.
At first, it was too narrow for other robots to climb, so we added a bungee system so that the bottom two plates would flair outwards a little when it opened and give the robots more room to drive.

Wish I had a picture, I guess i'll be posting one as soon as we get the robot back. Hope you understood at least a bit of that!

[Jimmy Cao]

I was in the stands watching when that happened... it was interesting to say the least. I hope none of the robots were significantly damaged...

i was at that regional, but i was stuck watching the pits, and no one ever told me that that had happened, and this is the first i've heard of it.

[meatmanek]

The perfect ramps, in my opinion, would have guard rails as tall as the bumper zone, would be able to accompany a 37" wide robot, wouldn't rip up IFI traction wheels...
The alignment problem could be nicely solved by flared guard rails.

I'd be impressed if a team managed to make 2 ramps that satisfy those conditions, still be effective defensively, and still make weight.
I'd be amazed if a team could make ramps that satisfy those conditions and be able to score on all 3 levels.
You'd win if your robot had ramps that satisfy those conditions and you could score on all 3 levels effectively.

[Steve Kaneb]

Team 190 used guard rails throughout GSR and we've mostly found that they do little to affect robots getting up ramps. Simply put, you're getting up there or you aren't based on driving ability and robot capability. Everything else is decorative.

[Pickwick II]

Originally Posted by Lostmage333

I was in the stands watching when that happened... it was interesting to say the least. I hope none of the robots were significantly damaged...

Team 1015 had *no* resultant damage. We were thanking our lucky stars...
That was a less-than-fun moment, though the picture is funny now.