[FRC Blog] Kit Hints?

[Greg Needel]

As much as we (REV) would have love to give every team a few pieces of our extrusion, it is just too much for us right now as a start up. Hopefully in the future we can offer that kind of support to FIRST teams.

I still suspect that it is raw building materials and am happy that there are companies that can support FIRST in such a big way.

[who716]

what could that 3x3x6o be i highly doubt it would fit in the dimensions of the robot as a whole piece so i think it either something you can cut down and use or its a field element

[MrTechCenter]

Originally Posted by Whippet

That could be hazardous because teams would be unable to hear directions from referees and the FTA.

Not if you use the kind where one ear is uncovered. As a coach, I always thought it would be so cool to use headsets like they do at NFL games and have like a "box" with a better view of the field and all of that jazz, but that will never happen, nor does it need to. The game runs perfectly without all of those bells and whistles.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Whippet

That could be hazardous because teams would be unable to hear directions from referees and the FTA.

Bah. They don't listen anyway.

[pfreivald]

I ran a Deaf team for two years. You figure it out pretty quick.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

I ran a Deaf team for two years. You figure it out pretty quick.

Is it that much different from dealing with regular high school boys

[g_sawchuk]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Is it that much different from dealing with regular high school boys

Insulted.

[MrForbes]

Headsets at a robot competition can be fun.



ps. Water game!

[Tem1514 Mentor]

At last I figured it out and it is what FIRST is so good at providing us

Of course it is another water game.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Is it that much different from dealing with regular high school boys

Yes: They pay attention when you wave your arms in a panicked manner!

I was, of course, kidding about robots not being allowed to touch the floor, but a student pointed out the phrase, "not sure if you heard" and replied, "everybody's heard that the bird is the word!" Birds don't touch the ground; hypothesis confirmed!

[Dunngeon]

Originally Posted by dellagd

Are suggesting that there could be one member of each of three alliances on each side? I'm not really sure, you just highlighted a bunch of things...

My response is this: Don't you, I don't know, like being able to talk to your alliance partners? I do a lot during a match. I think FIRST shares those same ideals of cooperation, so that setup doesn't make much sense to me at all.

I mean, what would you do, wear headsets? Like those would last a few matches

I highlighted this,

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

Which says he thinks the amount of alliances and teams on the field will stay the same

Then I highlighted this, from AndyMark

Field Perimeter has the ‘fit and function’ necessary for use in the 2015 FRC.

http://www.andymark.com/Field-p/am-2800.htm

Which makes me concur with the above statement, especially if you look at the product photo

[mrnoble]

I won't completely discount some other possible arrangement than the 3v3 we've had since forever, but it's unlikely. Very.

I still think the possibilities for the mystery box are, from most to least likely:

1) Bumper materials, due to standardization
2) Raw materials, such as a sample of VexPro's aluminum
3) Game piece

[jvriezen]

The video at the AndyMark field page clearly shows that the partitions between the alliance stations have elliptical holes cut in them. Is this for communication between drivers? Or to get all you guys talking, could there be some object that needs to be passed from station to station, such that only one alliance partner at a time is permitted to do something, perhaps? Or maybe, if there are three alliances of two bots each, and the holes are so that you can cooperate with your opponents

Could this be related to the 'something different' that Frank alluded to a couple months back?

http://www.andymark.com/Field-p/am-2800.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C9rKZAxsu8#t=71

[Bryan Herbst]

Originally Posted by jvriezen

The video at the AndyMark field page clearly shows that the partitions between the alliance stations have elliptical holes cut in them. Is this for communication between drivers? Or to get all you guys talking, could there be some object that needs to be passed from station to station, such that only one alliance partner at a time is permitted to do something, perhaps? Or maybe, if there are three alliances of two bots each, and the holes are so that you can cooperate with your opponents

Could this be related to the 'something different' that Frank alluded to a couple months back?

http://www.andymark.com/Field-p/am-2800.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C9rKZAxsu8#t=71

My interpretation was that it was to facilitate communication.

The current field has nothing there. My best guess is that it was added to help minimize noise between teams, allowing coaches to talk to their drivers with less shouting perhaps. The hole would allow the drivers to still talk to each other when needed.

Keep in mind that the not every event will be using the new fields. Last I heard, FIRST will be slowly rolling out the new field over the next few years to avoid dumping a metric boatload of cash on new fields all at once. I won't rule out the possibility of retrofitting existing fields with those pieces, but I wouldn't count on anything in the new field being a clue for the game.

[Squillo]

So far, the ideas I like are:
- poles of some sort, possibly for capture the flag or something we haven't even begun to imagine,
- golf clubs,
- hula hoops (bend into a circle and connect), Giant ring toss? Onto other robots or a field rack?

Not pool noodles or fabric. Probably not field surface. Not a sizing box. Maybe long poles for constructing something, though.

Just my thoughts.