multiple tetra stacking

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by elknise

As CNield said, we though about this, but we could not come up with a effective gripper to be able to pick them up. We also thought about how much power we would need to be able to pick all of the tetras up. It also is unpractical and we think that with the time it takes you to stack them and put them up, you could have done the same amount individually.

Also, what happens if you stack a bunch of tetras and the opponent then comes and knocks over the stack. That wouldn't be very fun. All that effort wasted...

[UsmanB]

Originally Posted by Eria4044

Also, what happens if you stack a bunch of tetras and the opponent then comes and knocks over the stack. That wouldn't be very fun. All that effort wasted...

that'd actually be good, u want ur oppenents to knock down ur tetras in the rules it says that the oppenents cant knock down the tetra's and if they do u own the goal for the rest of the match and i think there were some penalty points

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by UsmanB

that'd actually be good, u want ur oppenents to knock down ur tetras in the rules it says that the oppenents cant knock down the tetra's and if they do u own the goal for the rest of the match and i think there were some penalty points

What I meant was if you were stacking them to place a bunch on a goal at one time. If your robot were in, say, the loading zone, and mine knocked over your stack, then you'd have a problem.

[Sachiel7]

Well, I think our arm may be able to pull off stacking more than one tetra (after adjusting our regulator), but we don't plan to do it.
It makes more sense to focus on effectively capping individual tetras to be more precise in forming and maintaining rows. I think that is our key strategy this year (oops!, well, not entirely )

[UsmanB]

Originally Posted by Eria4044

What I meant was if you were stacking them to place a bunch on a goal at one time. If your robot were in, say, the loading zone, and mine knocked over your stack, then you'd have a problem.

yet again, if the opposing team messes with you while u are loading tetras or on the loading zone the opposing team gets penalty.

[n0cturnalxb]

Yet.. if you stack a stack of tetras on one goal quickly enough, you might be able to make it a hell of a lot harder for the opponent to stack a tetra of theirs on top of that specific goal. it'd be even better if it's the center goal, considering how many potential rows you can get out of that

[Mike Norton]

You can put a tetra on top of the goal with out having to go 2 1/2 feet out

Have you not thought about going over the bottom bar then dropping the tetra unto the goal. So as long as up the human can place the tetra far enough on the robot arm and the arm is in the center of your robot you could put many tetra on at one time and place them all on the top at once without flipping. 5 tetra is not un heard of.

To give you what we had in the past

http://www.valleytech.k12.ma.us/robo...1Robot2001.jpg

this arm went up 14' to place that ball on. It is all about keeping the CG low enough

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by UsmanB

yet again, if the opposing team messes with you while u are loading tetras or on the loading zone the opposing team gets penalty.

Only if they interfere with the actual loading of the tetra. As long as the robot in the LZ retrieves the tetra successfully, there is no penalty. You have to put the tetras somewhere, which would be a stack, and it is not against the rules to knock over a stack as long as you don't interfere with the robot itself.

[UsmanB]

one quick question, in autonomous mode if your in loading zone getting a tetra and an opposing team's robot hits u, thats a penalty right?

[BNield]

I think the only arm that could effectively do this would be an arm that pokes through the tetras. i.e. does not grab the tetras at the top or on the sides. So maybe a forklift kind of arm design?

[Pi Is Exactly 3]

Strategically... I feel that the quantity of tetras placed will be only slightly less important than strategic placement of tetras on the goals. Although if two members of an alliance work on that strategy while another just works on getting large quantities of tetras to rack up points, then it would be a good idea.

-Alex

[Ctrl Alt Delete]

we are thinking of multiple stacking. We are currently making prototypes.

[Ianworld]

I think what will happen is that the multiple tetra stackers won't be stacking a bunch and then capping the whole bunch. They'll probably have multiple "lances"(tetra manipulator term for a stick) coming out of their lifter. For two reasons, one to make it harder to miss a tetra you're trying to grab and two, if you need to you'll have an other available lance to grab another tetra.

[Eria4044]

Originally Posted by UsmanB

one quick question, in autonomous mode if your in loading zone getting a tetra and an opposing team's robot hits u, thats a penalty right?

The rules jut say that if you interfere it's a 50-point penalty. They don't specify if it doesn't apply at any point in the match.

EDIT: Because I can't post again, I'll just edit the post. Thanks to whoever pointed it out, but it is, in fact, a 30-point penalty. Maybe I need to reread the updates.

[Stephen Kowski]

Originally Posted by Eria4044

50-point penalty

I believe it is a 30-pt penalty....

<G15> A ROBOT may not interfere with an opposing ROBOT while any part of the opposing ROBOT is touching its LOADING ZONE and the ROBOT is in the process of retrieving/receiving a TETRA. It is intended that TETRAS be introduced into play as rapidly as the alliance ROBOTS are able to retrieve and utilize them. Violations will result in a 30-point penalty (i.e. three 10-point penalty flags will be thrown) to the offending alliance.

oh and for the discussion earlier of being to tall and too easy to tip.....why not just make your footprint larger....you just have to fit in the envelope at the START of the match. Use some outriggers like on a crane....