in the pits

[Alavinus]

Originally Posted by Zippiot

so its a no to the removeable panels, but wut about a shell for the robot (fits over the frame to protect it and such) we cud have 2 different color ones, a green and a black so that if we have a sensing bot on our team we can change it prior to the match to avoid problems.

Please, Please, Please, read the rules! This is a banned example from the rulebook. You are not allowed to do ANYTHING color wise to disrupt the sensing capabilities of any Robot on the field. Let the sensing robots sense and applaud them for the difficulty in getting a complex system off the ground within build time.

As for the cart- I strongly suggest a nonpowered cart pulled by people power. The pits are very tight and that can make a motorized cart hard to control. Plus, you are not allowed to have anything off tether in the pits, so you would have to have a driver anyway.

[Anthony Kesich]

Again, this answer can be easily answered by searching or reading the manual. But I have done the same thing before.

Anywho, anything that would interfere with a sensor (like painting the robot green or yellow, possibly even blue or red) is strictly prohibited. So anything green or yellow (besides something really small and out of the way) is a no-no.

Hope this helps.

-Tony K

[dez250]

Please see the following post (via the link) to see how making your bot green will effect the competition. While saying this i will reiterate the rules, [at this time] it is legal to make your robot any color you would like, including florescent green, but it may not be the best choice to do so.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=88

The rule on whats illegal in respect to disrupting the vision system is as follow:

Originally Posted by Section 5 The Robot

<R26> No devices or decorations are permitted on the robot that are intended to jam or interfere with the operation of the vision system (i.e. changing robot color to confuse opponent’s vision system).

[RoboMom]

Although not specifically addressing any of your issues, there is an overview handout in the white papers on "Tips for In the Pits" that everyone might take a look at.

[Mark Pettit]

A hovercraft to carry your robot around would be neat, but you better make it so that it can navigate over obstacles. I can't remember any regional that didn't have electrical cords spanning across the walkways (we even have trouble getting our rolling carts over them sometimes) to power the pit stations and admin tables. These are covered over for safety, but it's still a leap to get over them at times.

[Zippiot]

I know that the pits are crowded, what my team wanted this year was an easier way to tansport the bot than a push or pull cart. This is because at my regional there were wires everywhere, many not taped over, which made it very difficult to push a 130 pound cart around. We have experimented with the hovercrafts and have calculated that we can make a 4-pod craft that will be about 4 feet wide and 5 feet long, it can easily overcome a watterbotle in the way nonetheless a few wires. We have complete control over it because of the 4 pod design, and it takes as much effort to push the cart as it does to brush my teeth. If you still think that this is too big we may be able to scale it down a little, but i am confident that it wont be too massive.

[BoyWithCape195]

Don't forget, you might be required to fit through a standard size door, with minimal room, such as turn to get in the door. Last year we had trouble fitting through the doors with our cart which was smaller then four feet wide.

[jimfortytwo]

Don't fool yourself-- a 130 pound robot on a hovercraft is not going to be any easier to accellerate or stop than a 130 pound robot on a good cart. Its still a lot of mass to get moving. Also, it will be harder to steer. If you consider a pull-wagon, if you want to turn you just walk in a small arc and the cart follows behind you. The lateral friction of the tires helps you turn. With a hovercraft, if you want to turn 90 degrees you'll first have to stop its motion in the original direction, and then get it started again in the new direction. Our team build our carts with 8" outdoor pneumatic tires... its a smooth ride over almost anything.

[Gamer930]

Originally Posted by Zippiot

4 feet wide and 5 feet long

Let me see. . . . . .
48 inch wide hover craft fitting through a standard 36 inch door. Please take a picture when this happens.
The robot max size is 28 x 38. My suggestion would to build a cart that is max 32 inches wide.

[Zippiot]

we never had to go through a 36 inch door...so i dont know wut to say. plus is is easier to accelerate think about it, there is no friction from the ground that tires woudl cause, but yes that does mean its harder to stop. u dont have to stop it in order to make a turn, just nudge it inthe new direction. if u had to stop a regular hovercraft in order to make a turn then there would be no use for it. and the hovercraft itself is made of 4 smaller hovercrafts, making it very stable and it will not rock from side to side either.

[Greg Ross]

Originally Posted by Zippiot

...im sorry for my puncuation and spelling i usually look at the keyboard when i type.

[dons curmudgeon hat]
No excuse. Please proofread before you post.

It's one thing if you have a learning disability, and are unable to learn to spell and punctuate correctly. But from your excuse that you "usually look at the keyboard while [you] type", I surmise that had you read before you posted, you could have corrected the errors. Therefore, no excuse.

If it's worth posting, it's worth taking pride in. Please proofread.
[doffs curmudgeon hat]

[russell]

I personally am really bad at grammar and such. I dont remember ever being taught, but I may just have forgotten. Just thought Id throw that in.

[D.Fahringer]

I would always want to see something cool and unique at these events, but you have to be reasonable. Not all people are going to be as enthusiastic as you with your new creation. I am pretty sure the hovercraft cart would be blowing dirt, dust and little metal chips into the breathing air of teams near the floor working on their robots. There is leakage around the skirt to consider. Use it for technical education, fund-raising, and FUN !

[Koko Ed]

I still remember that massive boombox on wheels that one team had in Atlanta (forgot the number) and beside it being illegal I wonder how well they got along with the otehr teams who probably don't want to hear thumping bass all day long.
Remember, if you're looking to make something unique one, make sure it is within the rule and two make sure it's not going to turn every team against you. I'd rather have the support, goodwill and respect of every FIRST team at the competition than to have something cool and everybody hates our guts.

[dlavery]

My all-time favorite "addition" to the pit area was contributed during the 1998 Championship Competition in Orlando. One of the Florida teams (perhaps 233/Space Coast?) arrived with an eight-foot-tall Trojan Rabbit, right out of Monty Python! The entire thing fit over one of the team members who was riding a bicycle, and they wheeled it around the pits and food court areas all weekend long, threatening to storm the castle of any team that beat them in the competition. It was great! (and it worked wonderfully, all the way up to the point where the French team threw a cow at them; but that is another story... ) If anyone still has any pictures of that contraption, I would love to see them!



-dave