Question of the Week!!! (6/21/04)

[Andy Grady]

Hi everyone!

Here is a good technical Question of the Week for you...

Question of the Week (6/21/04):

This year, some people thought the LED's weren't really working out as hoped, due to the fact that they were too difficult to see from a distance. In past years the rotating light was considered too bulky and heavy. What ideas do you have for indicating a robot's color on the field?

As always, you can request questions by PM, e-mail (skrach42@aol.com), or AIM (QuietRiverRage1).

Have fun!
-Andy Grady

[MrToast]

Neon underbelly lights.

MrToast

[Marc P.]

I like the idea behind the LEDs. They are MUCH more flexible than the rotating lights, which were often the subject of huge debates when deciding which components will integrate where on the robot. It would always come down to the final 5 pounds, and the light was always blamed as the curse that put us over by .5 pounds.

I think they can improve it by changing the blink rate. On power-up, they should be just on, with the color of the alliance. Once the match starts, they should blink at a much more rapid pace, maybe 3 or 4 times per second. The blinking is important to call attention to it's color during a match, rather than mistaking it for a steady red/blue colored robot part.

I also like the fact that you don't have to worry about forgetting to bring both lenses to the field when up for a match. It also adds a potentially interesting element to future games- the alliance color is controlled by software. What if there was a game where you don't know who your alliance partner is until halfway through the match, or your alliances switch around at some point during the match. So many possibilities with LEDs!!

I guess a non-technical answer would be to use something like a cloth flag. Tie a red or blue ribbon/flag around some part of the robot in an easy to see place. Low weight, no power drain, potentially limitless placement, easily seen, and no danger of getting smashed open!

[Joshua May]

I prefer the LEDs because there were just too many problems with the rotating light. For one, it was big and we had to figure out a good visible spot to mount it, and secondly switching covers was a hassle. Seeing as one team borrowed our red and never returned it, so then we would have to borrow someone else's red, and all that. But with the LEDs, there's no hassle, the competition does it for us.

Then again, we could use Ground Effects, and even get them to pulse with music.

[Corey Balint]

How about red or blue stockings to slip over a part of the robot... ...kind of an inside joke on 25.

How about more powerful led's lol. they were lightweight and small. i really think it would either have to be that or back to the dome lights. because the only other thing that would stand out is something attached to the robot, but then the problem is what if it falls off or gets broken or the robot itself is blue or red.
or maybe a string of christmas lights-that no what color to turn- that go across the base of the bot.
the underbelly lights would be cool too lol. just add some gold rims to the wheels too.

[Joshua May]

Originally Posted by boodah

the underbelly lights would be cool too lol. just add some gold rims to the wheels too.

Yeah, one team at Southern California (I think it was 634) actually had spinners on their wheels.

Seriously, though, I think stronger LEDs are the way to go.

[Ricky Q.]

One problem we found with the LEDs was finding a place on our robot for all 4 of them where they would not constantly get broken/beaten to death. One match in Atlanta on Archimedes our robot went up to hang, cleared the high platform, swung and hit the vertical pole. Our front LED cover smashed into a million pieces, it was amusing to watch, but we ran 2 covers down the rest of the competition, we had already lost one at Midwest. I liked the LEDs better than the rotating light because they are lighter and much cooler, you just have to place them well and not break them.

[Adam Y.]

LED's all the way. They are used in stoplights all over the place so it wouldn't be that hard to build a light that people can see.

[Beth Sweet]

I definately did not like the rotating lights, they tended to fall off and get squished. Totally didn't work.

As the LED's were a bit difficult to see at times, they wouldn't be my favorite choice either.

A lot of the time, I was scouting, and so way up in the stands, you hafta be able to see the lights, otherwise, scouting life becomes very difficult. My best idea would be to have something (yes this is a fairly impossible dreamer idea) that would, when lit up, turn the entire robot whatever color it was supposed to be. Maybe like, fiber optics in the plastic (yes I know, this is completely intangible, but still...) That way, the entire robot would turn the color of what side they're on.

Please note that I am in no way, shape or form, and engineer or scientist of any sort, and that my sole purpose on my team was that of a dreamer. Whether or not something is truly possible, well, that's a whole other story...

[Adam Y.]

My best idea would be to have something (yes this is a fairly impossible dreamer idea) that would, when lit up, turn the entire robot whatever color it was supposed to be. Maybe like, fiber optics in the plastic (yes I know, this is completely intangible, but still...) That way, the entire robot would turn the color of what side they're on.

It's possible but not practical. There would probably be money and weight issues.

Neon underbelly lights.

No... How about the led bars underneath the Neon underbelly lights.

[Max Lobovsky]

I would say definitley just stronger and faster blinking LEDs. They are simple, solid-state, and can be reliable if they aren't on the outside of your robot.

[Andy A.]

One important thing to note about raising the blink rate on the LEDs;

Once you get up into the 2-4 times a second rate, you do run the risk of causing epileptic seizures in some people. It's rare, but when you're dealing with 20 thousand people at nationals, there is the potential for a problem.
Good enough reason to leave the blink rate were it is now.

I also think the LED's are very powerful as they are. Try looking at one with the cover off. It hurts! Stronger ones would probably not increase their visibility much more. The fields are lit up so much that anything is going to look dim in comparison, but I can usually see them even outside on a sunny day.

I don't think there really is a problem big enough to warrant any change. Teams will be more careful in placing the panels next year, I hope. After that, I think they were fine.

-Andy A.

[Dorienne]

how about just a flag that can be secured on the top of the robot, and then taken down when you need to switch?
--d0ri

[Beth Sweet]

Originally Posted by RoboGirl007

how about just a flag that can be secured on the top of the robot, and then taken down when you need to switch?
--d0ri

The problem with that is in the word "secured" as games do tend to get a bit, shall we say, interactive, at times. Flags would fall off very easily and get lost easily as well.

[Joe Matt]

I like the idea of LEDs, but not the current ones. I know Dave explained the reason behind it and such, but I still think this year's sucked. I think there should be a cross between the LEDs and the spinny lights. Imagine having the LEDs spin 180 degrees, then go back the other way, etc. I think that will catch people's eye well.