What's the coolest (or most complicated) linkage ever used in FRC?

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by Tubatroopa

190 in 2008 had a crane like appendage. If i can find a picture i'll post it later.

While this was a very unique system, the crane was essentially a very long version of 233's famous arm, mounted vertically. It wasn't a linkage by any sense of the word, so I don't think it qualifies for this discussion.

190's 2007 championship winning robot did have a 7-bar linkage on it, in the gripper:

Open position, closed position

It was operated by a single piston which when extended would first actuate the "finger" linkage, gripping a tube and pulling it back into the claw. Once 13 lbs of grip force is achieved, the continued extension of the piston would lift the entire arm up to a 45 degree angle (all while maintaining a constant grip force on the tube).

Video here, best shots are from 0:30 to 1:00