Intakes

[Answer42]

So. From the various robot in 3 days efforts we have some cool ground pickup already. However I haven't really seen any pickups that have a really wide area. Given that quick ball pickup will be crucial this year I was wondering if anyone has any really wide area ball pickup prototypes they've been working on. You don't necessarily have to post pictures if you want to keep your advantage to yourself, but a general idea of how well aligned your pickup needs to be to work would be interesting. Thanks.

[bEdhEd]

What is your definition of "wide?" Do you mean a pickup that is wider than the width of the distance between the edges of the bumpers? Because I already though the intakes they made were wide in the first place, since they spanned the width of the robot, but I guess in the case of this years' game, "wide" would describe a pickup that is significantly wider than the ball itself.

[Answer42]

Sorry I wasn't very clear there. By wide I meant a wide effective area of intake. Meaning you could come at the ball very misaligned/while it was bouncing and still pick it quickly.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Answer42

Sorry I wasn't very clear there. By wide I meant a wide effective area of intake. Meaning you could come at the ball very misaligned/while it was bouncing and still pick it quickly.

Check out Team JVN's intake, it has some features that give it a deceptively wide range.

A wide range pickup this year makes a robot better at every aspect of the game. I expect successful teams to put a significant portion of their efforts into pickup - possibly more time than they spend tuning their shooters!