Value of a Turret in STEAMWORKS

[EricH]

Originally Posted by IronicDeadBird

While a more traditional drivebase might be pushed around less I have yet to see a robot that couldn't be pushed.

I have, in video if not in person.

Robots from the early 2000s could be very good at not being pushed if they didn't want to be. Admittedly, many of the tactics used at that time are no longer legal, but the fact remains that anybody trying to push 71 in 2002 lost.


One tactic that is still legal (if your bumpers won't violate the zone when you do this) is to have a plate on the bottom of your robot covered in, say, blue nitrile tread and actuated by something so that it drops below your wheels. You could also raise your wheels and put all that blue nitrile on the bottom of your frame instead--same result. I want to say I've heard of this strategy being used in shooting games, too. Line up, drop, empty, raise, reload, repeat.

[gorrilla]

Originally Posted by EricH

I have, in video if not in person.

Robots from the early 2000s could be very good at not being pushed if they didn't want to be. Admittedly, many of the tactics used at that time are no longer legal, but the fact remains that anybody trying to push 71 in 2002 lost.


One tactic that is still legal (if your bumpers won't violate the zone when you do this) is to have a plate on the bottom of your robot covered in, say, blue nitrile tread and actuated by something so that it drops below your wheels. You could also raise your wheels and put all that blue nitrile on the bottom of your frame instead--same result. I want to say I've heard of this strategy being used in shooting games, too. Line up, drop, empty, raise, reload, repeat.

I remember seeing a video or clip of a robot that achieved this concept with the pivoting Octo-drive modules that have been available for a few years, can't find it though.

[IronicDeadBird]

Originally Posted by EricH

...have a plate on the bottom of your robot covered in, say, blue nitrile tread and actuated by something so that it drops below your wheels. You could also raise your wheels and put all that blue nitrile on the bottom of your frame instead--same result...

I saw that once wasn't sure if it has an official name that is recognized on Chief Delphi, the team I saw doing it called "gastropod drive" was back on Aerial Assist, in the wild pits of a Utah regional. Does it have an official name?
Anyway those teams must have been really worried about being pushed around.

[Ginger Power]

Very helpful thread, thank you. 4607 has decided against a turret for now which has helped to simplify many aspects of the robot.

[ShIfTiNgBoT]

If you have faith in your team and its resources to be able to design and manufacture a turret, then yes, go for it. If you think that you can't control and tune it enough to be as accurate as a fixed shooter, don't.

[bEdhEd]

Well, after 2 weeks of hard work prototyping two wildly different shooter designs, 701's students have decided to lock in on the turret idea that takes the best elements from both prototypes and puts them together into one design. We feel very ambitious this season, both in strategy and build execution. They have determined that the turret will be valuable for our strategy, and I have the confidence in our students to get it working as we want it...but you might have to wait for the reveal video to see how it goes.