Best Feeder Bot of 2012

[Ekcrbe]

Originally Posted by Dchandler

Although the argument to this question will be between "who is better 16 or 4334" I want to bring more attention to 125. One of the biggest differences between 125 and 16/4334 is size. Both Bomb Squad and ATA were compact compared to the NUtrons. I'm unsure of their dimensions but they were similar to ours which were 26"X34"X50".

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel that their feeding strategy didn't come from design but rather by strategy. Where as 4334 designed their robot to be primarily a complimentary bot instead of a main scorer, I see it as once 125 realized how good they were at feeding they stuck with it and honed that ability.

Even though, our teams played together twice this year I never realized, just how good they are at feeding until qualification rounds at IRI.

I wish someone had video of match 46 when 125's alliance pulled off the upset victory against 1114 and 67. That match definitely goes in my list of favorite matches this year.

And, as the beneficiary of that feeding in match 46 (along with 359), I noticed that they not only feed well, they have a special way of making feeding look majestic. Our driver once said in that match, "We don't have any balls!" and then three balls instantly fell out of the sky onto the field. I would call their feeding superior to most others, though not quite 16, because they can stick the balls in the open areas of the field. Whereas other teams sometimes spray balls across the field and into the corners, 125 makes it easy to collect the balls. I once saw them land three balls within a second or so just off the key, two touching and one about a foot away, and they froze right there. I think this is an underrated attribute in feeding well.