Team update 3/6/2012

[Joe G.]

http://frc-manual.usfirst.org/TeamUpdates/0

Week 1 Observations and Reactions

The 2012 FRC events have begun, and Week 1 was a great testament to the FRC community’s ability to respond to the challenge. The events went well, and we hope that the Week 1 participants had fun and valuable experiences. Congratulations to Week 1 teams and volunteers for contributing to Week 1 successes.

That said FRC Staff and Volunteers have reviewed issues and opportunities that manifested in Week 1 and, in the spirit of continuous improvement, share the major ones, and their reaction plans, below.

The Arena

At some events, there were more trapped Basketballs toward the lip of the Bridges than originally expected. To address the issue, we have made a minor change to the way the ball deflectors mount under the bridge. We expect this will greatly reduce, but not necessarily eliminate, the instances of Basketballs trapped under the Bridges. These modifications effectively leave the dynamics of the Bridge unchanged. For details, please see the modified drawings GE-12017 and GE-12064.

The Robot

Inspection

Week 1 Inspectors have shared the three most frequent issues at Week 1 events. We share them below as a heads up for future competitions.

Bumper construction and placement

Robots had Bumpers shorter than 8”, measured from the vertices of the Frame Perimeter. A ‘Bumper’ is made up of the plywood backing, pool noodles, cloth covering and fasteners. Soft fill at the ends of Bumpers does not contribute to minimum Bumper length. Reference Rules [R27], [R28] and [R31].

Bumper numbering

Robots had their team numbers displayed in more than 4 locations on their Bumpers. Reference Rule [R35].

Robots had numbers that were not white or outlined in white, or not properly sized. Reference Rule [R35].

Robots had team numbers split between Bumper segments. Reference Rule [R35] and GDC Q&A answers related to this rule.

Motors
Robots used motors that are not permitted, or modified motors in ways that are not permitted. Reference Rules [R48] and [R49].

DLink Wireless Bridge – Hardware Version

DLink has released a new version of the DAP-1522 wireless bridge hardware used on the Robots. The new hardware revision, Rev B, is legal for use in FRC events; however, is not programmable by the Radio Programming Kiosk at events.


If a team has a DAP1522 Rev B (which would only be if they purchased a wireless bridge on their own, all bridges shipped in Kits are Rev A), they will need to retrieve their WPA key from the FTA at the beginning of the event and configure their bridge manually. Due to this inconvenience and opportunity for error, FRC strongly recommends that teams use the Rev A version of the hardware if possible.


A user can easily tell the difference between the Rev A and Rev B hardware platforms. In addition to being noted on the box and the back of the device on a sticker, the front of the bridge is also visibly different. In the image below, the Rev B is the upper radio, with the Rev A below it.

General

The official Android App for the 2012 FRC Q&A system is now available.


Good luck to all teams in Week 2!

Glad to see that FIRST is addressing the balls trapped under bridges.