pic: Robostangs 2012 Final Robot

[Bjenks548]

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[Lil' Lavery]

I'm struggling to think of a team that showed better improvement during the course of the season. While they certainly weren't a poor performer in Toronto, if you told me that they were going to be one of the best teams in Michigan and captain an alliance to Einstein I wouldn't have believed you. What a special season.

[O'Sancheski]

Just goes to show that you don't need to be like everyone else to make it to Einstein.

[BrendanB]

One of my favorite robots this year (along with 330). I loved this design it was so out of box and you guys really brought it come MSC and you guys played extremely well on Einstein. I personally loved how you would collect from your in bounder before flying over the barrier to drop in 9pts making it look so easy!

Amazing robot again 548!

[LeelandS]

An amazing robot, all around.

A lot of what I'm about to write feels like a rehash of what I wrote about 1323, because there are so many similarities.

548's design was one of the designs I toyed with early on in the season when I was thinking of ways to score. I threw it aside, though, because I decided it would simply be too susceptible to defense and figured it would be hard to effectively get from point A (the shooter) to point B (the net) (i.e. tracking seemed difficult to me).

Well, when I saw 548 first compete in Toronto, I was thrilled to see a team had done it! I was kicking myself by the end of the season because 548's implementation of the "Arm-Shooter" was outscoring almost every other team by leaps and bound. When 548 took first seed on Newton and subsequently made it to Einstein, I vowed to never doubt my first gut instinct.

Congrats to 548 on an amazing robot and season. I look forward to seeing what you guys bring to IRI!

[Ekcrbe]

One of the most unique and inventive designs in FRC this year. It was unbelievable to see this machine take shots from the fender for the entirety of its matches and then back up and drain shots from the key when it was running well. It was great to have two robots of the "muzzle-loading cannon" type in the Newton Finals, with 330 on our alliance and you on the other side (the only 'bots of this style I know of). Seeing 548 routinely perched precariously at the edge of a bridge was amazing, and every balance defied conventional wisdom. Of all the things it did, the nuances made the machine, especially the front skis to slide over the bump, something I really wanted to see someone do. Congratulations on the division championship and for having an amazingly elegant robot.

[Robogineer1649]

I loved this robot one of my favorites and after coming back from St. Louis i spent a few hours trying to figure out the one different looking robot i saw on Einstein. I love your design to raise your shooter even higher i presume to get more accurate shots and you didn't need a camera because of this.
Congratulations on a great season!

[Bjenks548]

Originally Posted by Robogineer1649

I love your design to raise your shooter even higher i presume to get more accurate shots and you didn't need a camera because of this.
Congratulations on a great season!

We did have a camera on the robot (on the right "smoke stack"). We have auto tracking but when shooting from the fender the camera is not needed. When key shooting, the driver simply looked down at the classmate screen and knew where the backboard needed to be. Thanks to everyone for all the compliments, I thought we were crazy at the start to. Also it find our inspiration for this design...FRC548-2011
Ps. the tubes are COT's and nothing is exactly the same between the two.
Pps. We don't have a name for this yet, nothing seemed to stick. Suggestions?

[sdcantrell56]

Originally Posted by Bjenks548

We did have a camera on the robot (on the right "smoke stack"). We have auto tracking but when shooting from the fender the camera is not needed. When key shooting, the driver simply looked down at the classmate screen and knew where the backboard needed to be. Thanks to everyone for all the compliments, I thought we were crazy at the start to. Also it find our inspiration for this design...FRC548-2011
Ps. the tubes are COT's and nothing is exactly the same between the two.
Pps. We don't have a name for this yet, nothing seemed to stick. Suggestions?

Where did you get the carbon from?

[mikemat]

Originally Posted by sdcantrell56

Where did you get the carbon from?

Rock west composites.

On the subject of a name, last year was Scorpio, so perhaps Sagittarius is appropriate.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by mikemat

Rock west composites.

I was just browsing that site today. Can you point me toward the exact materials used for both your 2011 and 2012 robots?

[mikemat]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

I was just browsing that site today. Can you point me toward the exact materials used for both your 2011 and 2012 robots?

Unfortunately I can't remember more than outer diameters off the top of my head (3in, .75in and .5in iirc). I'll see if I can find some more info once we can get back into our lab.

[sdcantrell56]

Wow that carbon tubing is surprisingly affordable

[jmiller48167]

The large uprights are 83mm in diameter, 4-bar arm is 1.25in diameter, and the barrel and ingester is .75in diameter. Most are in 60in lengths.

[Gregor]

How did you find the 17 FPS. Was the robot still "easily" controllable, or would a slower speed have helped.