[FRC Blog] Kit Hints?

[dellagd]

About D:

Has FIRST ever given teams part of the field in the KOP? In my short time I haven't seen it, they've always had you buy cheap alternatives to the field elements yourself, and there have been plenty of poles used in the games.


Therefore I have to conclude that it is for some reason special, so doubt about that. I'm not quite sure how special a pole can get, and I can't think of any "coating" that would make it special either. I doubt they'd do mini-bots again, that wouldn't make sense to reuse such a specific end game after only 4 years.

That really only leaves some kind of surface rolled up... fabric would be my guess, maybe because they've added something more to the bumpers this year, I don't know.

The other option is a field surface... And the only surface that really matters is the floor during the competition...



PLEASE. DON'T! My team was just starting to make awesome progress with drive trains... I don't want to drive on regolith...

[GUI]

The game piece is a fluorescent light bulb, the long package is a bundle with a few spares to account for expected breakage.

[mrnoble]

By far the most reasonable explanation is a roll with two or more colors of fabric. Spooling fabric is the quickest, safest and most practicable way to package and ship large amounts of material. Six pounds, including the center roll and the box, is totally within reason.

It's been clear to me for a while that bumpers are an area of the competition where two problems are developing for FRC. One is the constant frustration and occasional danger that is caused by teams that come to competition with incomplete or insufficient bumpers. It is often the last thing that young teams consider in build season, and with the goal being to get all teams to pass inspection, I've seen questionable bumpers okayed for play. The other is teams that are using bumpers to gain advantage through materials and construction that augment the original purpose (protection). See this year's sailcloth experiments.

All that is to say I would not be at all surprised if bumpers were standardized, and even increased in size. Three pool noodle height, perhaps? That would also increase protection, as well as the visibility of the (larger) team numbers, both of which would be highly desirable. I'll bet that the light 29" box is also bumper material.

[mrnoble]

Jinx, Chris.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by mrnoble

All that is to say I would not be at all surprised if bumpers were standardized, and even increased in size. Three pool noodle height, perhaps? That would also increase protection, as well as the visibility of the (larger) team numbers, both of which would be highly desirable. I'll bet that the light 29" box is also bumper material.

I could get behind these changes.

I, too, think standardized bumpers are by far the most plausible explanation.

[mrnoble]

This is enough information for me to scrap plans to buy fabric and noodles prior to build. It's also enough to convince me that this year's game, whatever else it may be, will include plenty of robot-to-robot contact.

[RamZ]

To quote this thread:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...hreadid=131453

-In the source code for the site, the word "Choice" in the title "FIRST Choice" is split into "Ch", "o", and "ice". The word "ice" being alone is the first real hint towards it being a hockey game.
view-source:http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...5-kit-of-parts

Not sure if this means anything, it's definitely odd, here's the snippet in question:

<h3 align="left"><strong><em>FIRST</em>&nbsp;Ch</strong><strong>o</strong><strong>ice</strong></h3>

I don't see any purpose for this to be written other than to:

• Hint at an ice related game
• Watch us freak out on CD

Yeah, probably the latter.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

As much as I'd love to see some sort of baseball bat/hockey stick/minibot pole hybrid, I have a feeling that the box just holds bumper materials. Bumpers have become such an annoyance for most teams and an opportunity for the better teams to gain advantage over the past few years that I think FIRST may have just decided to standardize them.

[BigJ]

Originally Posted by RamZ

To quote this thread:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...hreadid=131453


Not sure if this means anything, it's definitely odd, here's the snippet in question:



I don't see any purpose for this to be written other than to:

• Hint at an ice related game
• Watch us freak out on CD

Yeah, probably the latter.

I would guess it's just weird artifacts from a WYSIWYG editor that they use for blog posts.

[Monochron]

Figured I should throw in my prediction on "the long box" as well.

1. "Rods" with which to construct a goal or game piece
2. Linear motion construction pieces (thinking along the lines of this year's game lending itself to one)
3. Random metal pieces like rail. (Being that some random company donated a ton)

[kjohnson]

Originally Posted by Monochron

Figured I should throw in my prediction on "the long box" as well.

1. "Rods" with which to construct a goal or game piece
2. Linear motion construction pieces (thinking along the lines of this year's game lending itself to one)
3. Random metal pieces like rail. (Being that some random company donated a ton)

The three of those are my guess as well.

I've been keeping up with this thread and have a few observations/assumptions:

• The 60" box isn't fabric.
• Pool noodles aren't in the kit.
• FIRST wouldn't waste resources shipping teams items that are readily available (COTS) unless they have been donated
• The 60" box is a set of items. As others have said, there is no need for a 60" box for items that could be packed in more efficient ways. These items are most definitely close to 60" in length. Frank likes to troll us but not to the point of spending more money due to inefficient packing.
• Foam balls don't ship compressed (2006, 2012)
• Inflatable things don't ship inflated (2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014)
• There will not be 3 alliances or more than 6 robots in a match. FIRST has made too much of an investment in the current field perimeter, including fields owned by districts.

[mklinker]

Originally Posted by nukemknight

[*]There will not be 3 alliances or more than 6 robots in a match. FIRST has made too much of an investment in the current field perimeter, including fields owned by districts.[/list]

I think that this is faulty logic. What if there were 3 alliances of two teams each with one member of each alliance stationed at each end of the field? This would require NO field modifications whatsoever.

[kjohnson]

Originally Posted by mklinker

I think that this is faulty logic. What if there were 3 alliances of two teams each with one member of each alliance stationed at each end of the field? This would require NO field modifications whatsoever.

This thread is full of "what if." What is actually practical? Just because it is possible doesn't make it practical. FRC has come a long way since two team alliances were last seen in 2004. Going back to two team alliances would be exactly that, moving backwards. We just barely moved to four team alliances at the Championship, stepping back is not the direction this program is moving.

[dellagd]

Originally Posted by nukemknight

This thread is full of "what if." What is actually practical? Just because it is possible doesn't make it practical. FRC has come a long way since two team alliances were last seen in 2004. Going back to two team alliances would be exactly that, moving backwards. We just barely moved to four team alliances at the Championship, stepping back is not the direction this program is moving.

Agreed. FIRST is all about cooperating with your alliance, why would they make it impossible to even talk to them during a match?

[Shifter]

From the reference to "swing":

box D ("sizes and weights are approximate"):

16 standard tennis balls in one of these which can be fixed at several points around the field perimeter and act as ball dispensers. They can also be used in hand by the field reset crew.

weight = 2.1 ounce/ball x 16 balls + 2.1 lb tube = 4.2 lbs vs 6 lbs stated for KoP box D
shipping size = 4" x 4" x 49" vs 3" x 3" x 60" for KoP box D

box C:

8 oversized tennis balls

weight = 1.15 lbs/ball x 8 balls = 9.2 lbs vs 9 lbs stated for KoP box C
shipping size = 20" x 20" x 20" vs 29" x 22" x 22" for KoP box C


total qty = 16 + 8 = "24" game pieces

Volcano Volley...