What will the winners have over the rest of us

[thoughtful]

I totally agree. Strategy, coach, drivers and scouting will play a HUGE part this year. Having an amazing robot that can stack 3-4 at a time is one thing, but to finish the match with 5-6 rows is another. But its all the better for us. Imagine matches going down to the wire, roaring crowds, nail bitting calls, that classic commentary, rejoicing teams, high-fives, hugs, and hand shakes at the end of matches! Oh boy i cant wait!. Its going to be a sweet ride.

[Alex Pelan]

Having an excellent drive team, as previously stated, is going to be huge this year, in my opinion. That means a number of things including awareness of events on the field and score, teamwork, general driving skills, and perhaps a small bit of luck.

[AJunx]

My prediction is that in general, the winning alliances in regional competitions, and particularly the winning alliance in Atlanta will consist of:

-1 robot that is a true tetra scorer, that is, they will be capable of scoring approximately 12 tetras per match. I can think of two primary designs that might be capable of such a feat:
1) a robot that can store 4+ tetras on its base and score them quickly (see Team 340's awesome robot)
2) a robot that can score 4+ at a time by using a forklift type design with a hinging fork (see "I wish my team's forklift could lift 4+ tetras").

-2 robots that will be strong, fast, and capable of quickly scoring on any of the goals.

Strategy, I imagine will go like this: the first minute and 20 seconds after the autonomous period will consist of trying to score as many tetras as possible. The remaining 40 seconds, the 2 strong/fast/single-tetra-scoring robots will begin strategically placing tetras so as to assure they come out on top as far as the rows are concerned.

I also expect there will be some wild and innovative defensive solutions that I haven't thought of yet. It's going to be a great competition. I can't wait.

-Andrew

[Tim Delles]

Okay so here is what i think a winning team will have.

First they will need a great strategy team. They will have to freely communicate between scouts and drive team.

Second they will need to be able to have a great coach, that is able to keep track of all 6 robots, and the score, at the same time.

A driver that doesn't have to be baby walked through everyhthing, and that has experience on the sticks and who nows how the game works, inside and out.

An operator who can help the coach, but that can also do there own job.

But then agian it is also going to come down to what they can do.

[Kyle]

I just think the teams that will be winners will have a higher score then us