Aerial Assist Discussion Thread

[Kabir Manghnani]

Originally Posted by shades23

Wait so what is the max amount of points you can score in a single run?

60pts
Max cycle: 3 assist, truss-catch, high goal (60 points).
Different strategies: 2 assist, truss-catch, low (51 points);
2 assist, high (40 points);
2 assist, low (31 points)

[andrewia]

It seems to me that "assisting" is the act of another robot possessing the ball in another zone; assistance is not defined by passing. That would mean one alliance robot could get the ball from outside (+10 pts.), pass it to a human player, and then the human passes the ball to another robot in another zone (+10 pts.). This means that robots with poor passing ability can use the human players. Human players can pass much quicker than robots (unless you have really good drivers and programs) so this might be a more efficient method of passing.

[bs7280]

I have a question about getting 30 assist points AND the over the truss + catching bonus:

After watching some of the field tour videos about assists, I learned that, in order to get all the assist points, you have to pass between color zones, and to the opposite sides of those color zones (different row and column if you will). And for the Over the truss + catch maneuver my first thought was to have a robot with an arm/elevator that lifts the ball over, and only a few feet away is a catching robot with a large bucket.

So, in order to get 30 assist points AND the over the truss with a catch, do you have to make some huge 20 foot pass across the field from one zone to the next in order to get all the points? or can you do a short pass like I said, then have the other robot drive into the different zone to get the same number of points?

[mechanical_robot]

Originally Posted by npalm2849

What happens if a ball is stuck inside a robot during autonomous. Then you cannot score until you get that stuck ball out it seems. Hope FIRST fixes this issue.

That's a you & your team's problem not a FIRST problem. Find a way to combat this. Be innovative.

[bs7280]

Do the supershifter gearboxes work with the new 2014 frame?

[Coin3]

Originally Posted by bs7280

So, in order to get 30 assist points AND the over the truss with a catch, do you have to make some huge 20 foot pass across the field from one zone to the next in order to get all the points? or can you do a short pass like I said, then have the other robot drive into the different zone to get the same number of points?

I believe doing so would only net you 2 assists. Assists are defined as "when a unique ALLIANCE ROBOT POSSESSES the ALLIANCE’S BALL in a unique ZONE (i.e. red, white, or blue ZONE) during a CYCLE." So passing the ball across the field from one robot to the other and then scoring would only count as 2 unique alliance robots possessing the ball in 2 unique zones, and therefore 2 assists. The "correct" way to get 3 assists with an over the truss catch would be for the furthest back robot (opposite alliance zone) to launch the ball over the truss, the second robot (white zone) catches it and passes it over to the third robot (alliance zone) who then scores it.

[4AngryNutjobs]

By removing the end game they've reduced the number of different things a robot can do and given us more opportunity to increase the complexity of a single mechanism.

[Jibri Wright]

Anybody know how much the balls weigh?

[MOOcow]

Originally Posted by Jibri Wright

Anybody know how much the balls weigh?

Someone mentioned earlier that the balls were 5 lbs exactly without air.

[prachinawathe15]

I can't seem to find where to buy just the bladder, but that may not be the best idea because rubber and cloth will act differently when you try to pick them up. For example, a suction method may work for just the inflated rubber bladder, but it will not work if the cloth cover is on.

[Jibri Wright]

Originally Posted by MOOcow

Someone mentioned earlier that the balls were 5 lbs exactly without air.

ok thanks. Any guess as to how much with air?

[Ankit S.]

Originally Posted by Kabir Manghnani

Exactly 5lbs without air (air wont add much weight though).

AndyMark says 2.75 pounds.

http://www.andymark.com/FRC-2014-p/am-2720.htm

[MOOcow]

Originally Posted by Ankit S.

AndyMark says 2.75 pounds.

http://www.andymark.com/FRC-2014-p/am-2720.htm

Ah. I just saw someone said 5 lbs earlier, I should have done some research.

Originally Posted by Jibri Wright

ok thanks. Any guess as to how much with air?

Air shouldn't add much.

The volume of the ball is about 4.19 ft^3
According to Wolfram Alpha, 4.19 ft^3 of air weighs .334 lbs.
2.75+.334 = 3.084

The ball with air will weigh approximately 3.084 lbs

[Jibri Wright]

Originally Posted by Ankit S.

AndyMark says 2.75 pounds.

http://www.andymark.com/FRC-2014-p/am-2720.htm

Oh wow! Any verification on this?

[4AngryNutjobs]

Couple questions. Do assists other than the truss pass/catch count if the goal is not scored? Also if you missed and made a couple more assists and managed to score this time, could you get over 3 assists for a cycle?