New AndyMark Product Game Hint???

[BumblingBuilder]

Originally Posted by Cothron Theiss

But what if da red wunz go fasta!?

I can attest to the fact that red DOES make things go faster

[rlance]

Originally Posted by jamesmcip

That shape is disturbingly close to the blimp flying at the top of the Steamworks trailer...

This recently posted video does show a team having a robot load a Nerf football into their robot. Maybe they know something....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE3RIf0Xjfs

[electroken]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

I think these might be good for shooting some things. Maybe wiffle balls?

But the GDC would never do that to us, right?

I drive past the one and only Wiffle factory every day and I've noticed no unusual activity lately. Plus, I probably would have heard something unless they're VERY good at keeping secrets. The place is smaller than most would think, considering every real Wiffle ball anyone has ever seen came from that little building.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by billbo911

The Nerf Howler is actually quite rigid!

Throw one and see if you hear a Steam Train Whistle!

My team has actually been playing with these this fall... I wanted something challenging for them to prototype around, and these fit the bill when I saw them. At Target. First prototype shooter went about 15 feet run off a drill, could definitely go full length if we spun it up to CIM speed!

[mrnoble]

I agree with the several of you who don't believe that this is some sort of game reveal. These wheels have been showing up on amazing robots for at least the past several years, so it is consistent with many other FRC products that get designed, developed or implemented with high level teams and eventually become COTS. My team was developing something similar within the past year, to be 3D printed using NinjaFlex. This new product makes that effort kind of obsolete.

[chandrew]

Frisbee intake wheels?

[BMiller2559]

Well if we truly believe these are specifically designed for this year's game they should be sold out within the week and will not be back in stock until mid to late March.

[Peyton Yeung]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I'm curious to see how well these hold up at 5K RPM, and if they slip on the shaft or anything at that high of a speed.

I have similar concerns about the wheel slipping on the hex at high speeds but I think a pair of plates will keep the rubber from expanding near the hex.

[bobbysq]

Originally Posted by chandrew

Frisbee intake wheels?

Shoutouts to Team Botman's 2014 bot, which used frisbees as a grabber.

[IndySam]

Back in the day when Mike invented these stars for Breakaway soccer balls they worked great. We also made a version with a plastic center hub to stop the problem with rounding out the square hole, these were never released to the public.

They did solve the problem of rounded holes but that little change stiffened them up a little tiny bit and made them less effective. I was pretty amazed how that little change made such a big difference.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by billbo911

The Nerf Howler is actually quite rigid!

Throw one and see if you hear a Steam Train Whistle!

The Nerf Howler is also in stock and readily available from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.co.au, and elsewhere...which, combined with an earlier not-supposed-to-be-a-hint-but-was-totally-a-hint, tells me the Nerf Howler is not the game piece.

(Of the four possible hints--if you count this as one--that point to the game piece being a standard regulation football, it's the "First Choice Points to get some shipped, International Teams Only" that seals the deal in my mind. There is literally no other playing piece I can think of that is ubiquitous in the US but difficult to obtain elsewhere. I've been pretty good at guessing overall game themes most years, and game elements some years, and I've never been as convinced I'm right as I am this year.... That said, it'll be fun to be right, and as fun to be wrong.)

[Branden2648]

Andymark just uploaded a new video on Facebook with the following http://imgur.com/a/PHbIB

[Munchskull]

Originally Posted by Branden2648

Andymark just uploaded a new video on Facebook with the following http://imgur.com/a/PHbIB

WHEELS!

[Michael Hill]

New LED Strips at AndyMark (WITH CONNECTORS EVEN!). What could this mean?

http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-3543.htm

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

(Of the four possible hints--if you count this as one--that point to the game piece being a standard regulation football, it's the "First Choice Points to get some shipped, International Teams Only" that seals the deal in my mind. There is literally no other playing piece I can think of that is ubiquitous in the US but difficult to obtain elsewhere. I've been pretty good at guessing overall game themes most years, and game elements some years, and I've never been as convinced I'm right as I am this year.... That said, it'll be fun to be right, and as fun to be wrong.)

That international game piece option was available in 2016, as well.