Concept Lock

[DUCKIE]

Don't know if this will help... and MOEmentum probably has better information, but MOE starts off with the following basic process every year...

Day 1: Watch Kickoff, Re-watch game animation a couple times, break down scoring/field/rules basics while also creating a question-list for mentors at kickoff/remote kickoff locations or things/field parts to get pictures of. Eat Lunch. Divide up into 4-5 general strategies -like aggressive defense or offense- Student homework is to read the rules and be ready for tomorrow.

Day 2: Parent volunteers and couple mentors oversee the construction/inflation of important field elements / scoring items while students take part in brainstorming. Students encouraged to draw/sketch anything and everything... from an autonomous program track or gripper design to a drive train idea or an entire robot. While students and mentors take turns presenting their ideas to the group, the ideas are taped up to the wall in groups with similar concepts/robot parts. Usually before or after a short visit to see the under-construction field parts / prepared scoring items, each person is given so many vote ticks or dot-stickers to vote for their favorites ideas. Top items or concepts are collected after voting, and are used for the designs as well as to how sub-teams will be broken down for the build season.

From there we are able to finalize a robot concept or at least strongly narrow down what will be built with everyone before the first week is up... although some items [like last year's kicker or the bin lifter in '04] need mock-ups and testing by relevant sub-teams to finalize.

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by DUCKIE

From there we are able to finalize a robot concept or at least strongly narrow down what will be built with everyone before the first week is up... although some items [like last year's kicker or the bin lifter in '04] need mock-ups and testing by relevant sub-teams to finalize.

The #1 thing that "throws a wrench" in achieving concept lock in Week 1 is rules clarification and the slow turn around time of the Q&A. It take a significant "leap of faith" to lock a concept (primary strategy) when there is a significant chance that that strategy will be declared illegal in the following weeks.

For example, last year by Day 2, we were dropping soccer balls onto the bumps and noticing we could score them into or get close to the corner goal. In the next few days we built prototype plywood ramps to demonstrate this concept (crude but a similar concept to 469's amazing machine). Our strategy was to drive onto the platform using the bump in auto. We built a prototype 4wd drivebase with a pop-down turntable in the middle to execute a 90 degree turn on top of the bump. By climbing onto the platform it was hanging and had a neat idea to suspend partners. We waited longer than usual to lock in a concept (giving more time to demonstrate the redirector concept), but when it finally came time to vote between this redirector and a variable power kicker we still didn't know if the redirector would be legal (it looked illegal by the kickoff rules). The variable kicker won in a land slide and I was the only person to vote for the redirector gamble. The 4wd on the competition bot is an artifact of the prototype for the redirector bot and time not spent prototyping an 8wd. the Kudos to 469 for rolling the dice on their strategy that was later clarified t be legal. We have hit snake eyes on those rolls in the past so we are averse to those big risk, big reward gambles on unclear rules.

It is important to get everyone on the same page and move forward as a cohesive group once the concept is locked. If you have a dissenting opinion make your case before the concept lock. If your concept isn't the choice of the group let it go and focus on making the locked concept the best you can in the few remaining weeks. It may not be what you consider the "best concept", but all concept have pros and cons like all engineering decisions.

If you can't tell by now I have significant experience being the dissenting opinion to at least one aspect of our eventual locked concept. This year I made the case for a mecanum drive instead of 6wd and argued that "pushing power is of little to no use for a tube scoring bot in this game. In fact, pushing a defender into your zone is one of the worst things you can do since they would be in your zone blocking your rack without a penalty under G61". I didn't win this argument, and I ended up being very wrong in Wk4 of build after TU6. TU6 added G61 exceptions, dramatically changing the game and undermining my argument (pushing power was now quite valuable).

In summary, my advice is
-Lock a concept early, usually around week 1
-Even if you don't fully agree with the concept, work together to make that concept the best it can be.
-Anticipate potential rules changes in Team Updates and appropriate changes to your concept (particularly if your concept is "risky"). However, don't waste resources developing these changes until they are necessary.
-Sometimes your concept will work well and sometimes not. Sometimes after weeks of work, you find out you can't build a mechanism to implement part of the concept satisfactorily within the many constraints. Even though you may fail, it is still better to focus on one concept the best you can. The rules may be a bit of a moving target with all the Updates, but there is no tougher moving target than multiple ever-changing concepts.

Our robot this year is very much like the concept we put forward in Week 1. The big change is the PVC surgical tubing slingshot minibot had to be completely scraped due to rule changes. We already had a great prototype for that minibot, but at least that rule change was early (TU1 in 3 days).

[Hawiian Cadder]

we design something very flexible. this years robot was designed with multiple redundancies in mind.

the slider drive became 6 wheel tank

the lift is set up in such a way that it could be replaced with a 4 bar or arm. the manipulator was designed in such a way that it could be mounted to an arm

the manipulator could be replaced with a simple clamper.


for next year i layed out a simple frame that is essentialy an upgrade from the KoP. using configurations, and by altering a few linear patterns it achieves an outstanding level of flexibility.

it can accommodate any drivtrain, mechanum, holonomic, crab, up to 10 wheel tank. the drive base is also set up to support both internal manipulators (think kickers from 2010, and conveyor belts from 2009) as well as external manipulators (arms, lifts, anything that does not take up a large amount of space in the belly of the robot.

the aluminum parts of the frame weigh only 9 lbs, and for every wheel you add .6 lbs.

crab modules were not cadded, because of the extreme unlikelihood that we would suffer the weight and complexity.

[LightWaves1636]

On our team we prototype A LOT in the off-season. We take our students and study every old FRC game and start CAD work and 2D's for end effectors, mechanisms, and chassis designs. If we have the resources, we'll actually build the robot.

By the time Build Season rolls around, we lock down what we(The Mechanical Sub-Team) want by the end of Sunday. Chassis 2D's is due at the end of Sunday. Due to our preparation and anticipation, Build Season just becomes about integration.

The more you do off-season as a full team, the better and easier build season will run.

Of course there are some few exceptions where we haven't prepared for like minibot.