Driver Selection: A Discussion

[Duke461]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't mean that literally any action a driver can do should be unable to break the robot, though that's obviously ideal. But a robot isn't something that should require constant thought to its safety to drive.

It's funny that you mention Breakaway, because that seems like the best example. Barring deploying the hanger and intentionally tipping, how exactly could you break a good robot that year? If your robot could be damaged by anything other than an unusual circumstance like getting chain caught in your wheels, it simply was not robust.

Seriously, do you guys really tell drivers to "go easy on the robot"? That's just prolonging a failure that WILL happen.

I see your point, and i agree you shouldnt go easy on the robot, but there were times where robots were hit, or were going too fast over the hump and flipped over. I'm definitely not saying you should be really cautious; im just saying that all of these robots could have catastrophic breakdowns.
But even a year like this, aggressiveness could be bad. Lets say you're farther away from a tube than the opponent, and you're both driving full speed. The only way you have a chance of getting that tube is by putting your arm to the ground way before you get there. Now theres a good chance you'll smack the arm/wrist, and high speed side loads can harm basically any arm/wrist/lift.

Originally Posted by thefro526

This reminds me of something that was told to me when I first learned how to drive a robot.

'A robot can always be fixed - but a match can never be replayed'.

Ever since then I've designed, built, driven and coached with that in mind.

Thats not always the best way to look at it. In my example above, i'd rather decrease my chances of winning that match by a little bit as opposed to having to play defense or sit out 2-5 matches because your arm was smashed.