Robot Aesthetic Appeal

[Jon Stratis]

Some thoughts:

- Powder coated/painted robots tend to look a little nicer. Usually done in two colors, with nice stainless steel fasteners holding it all together. If you don't have access to a powder coat supplier, spray paint can work, although it's typically less durable!
- Work with a local copy center to produce your sponsor stickers. Having a single large sheet that lays out the stickers tends to look nicer than an assortment of small stickers.
- Clean up all of your edges. When working on the robot, it's common to have a rough edge from cutting something. Getting a clean, perfectly straight cut or bend on your material typically looks better.
- Make nice bumpers. Good fabric, nice numbers either screen printed or sewed on, and tight construction so you don't have loose fabric or saggy bumpers. If you're going to use bumper covers, make sure they tie up securely and don't sag, and look nice. Since everyone has them and they're a great place to get the team number from, bumpers tend to be one of the most noticeable parts of the robot!
- If you have access to the appropriate machines, you can do some really cool stuff with your covering panels. At Champs last year, 548 had a side panel with their team name, team number, and team logo cut out of it (some sort of CNC machine, probably), with LED's behind it, making it all glow. Very nice and clean!
- Focus some on your electrical wiring. Many teams end up with a "rats nest" of wires under the hood - all those power and PWM wires pop up and aren't pretty to look at, or easy to find problems with! Get all of that cleaned up with neat, straight wire runs that are secured to the board or the robot. Consider using wire channel, wire mesh, or zip ties to help hold everything together and make it look neat. For your electrical board, you can get a great look by running the wires through the board and underneath, having them all hidden from view! All of this applies to pneumatics too, although teams tend to keep that a little neater.