Defense: Pushing and Blocking

[Josh Murphy]

our robot can play defense if needed and offense if needed so we are potentially a balanced machine but we are leaning more towards one of the two so time will tell.

[Shu Song]

Any robot can play a very good defense, even if it doesn't have "defensive measures". Short range pushing has always been allowed by FIRST and that's all you need to get a shooting robot of target. The robot that can plant itself somewhere and can't be moved will have the easiest time at shooting balls in.

Ideally, the best robot would be one that can shoot on the move, its barrel aimed at the goal all the time and adjusted for movement. But due to the not so accurate nature of the camera, this type of tracking system would be incredibly hard to implement. (if a team has achieved this, I appologize for underestimating)

So really, any robot that can move can play defense just as good as any other. Lots of pushing power isn't necessarily important, because all that is required for a robot to miss is a little nudge while shooting. Granted that great pushing power is never bad thing, it's (IMO) not a very integral part of this year's defense on robots.

[artdutra04]

This year's game will be a very dynamic one, in which the strategies that you start with will not necessarily be the ones you stick with. Because there are so many different ideas on the best way to actually win, and/or prevent the other alliance from winning, we will see some very interesting strategy this year.

For the past two years, my team has always focused on solid offense. As great as a good defense is, if you can put up six tetras per match, or score twenty poof balls into the center goal in ten seconds, you are at a much better advantage. I love amazing offensive dominations; as the amount of creative engineering and design and thought that goes into them is unbelievable. After all, why are teams like 71 and 111 held in such high regard among the FIRST community?

Defense wins matches. Offense wins competitions.

[pyroslev]

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=41

This was a nutty idea had in the beginning. Longshot at best as stated but a dumbed down version could easily be at home an alliance with 2 Mass Shooters.

[rocknthehawk]

Last year our team perfected the art of being defensive, while still scoring major points. This year our robot is more of a tank and should have twice the torque of last year, so we'll have plenty of pushing power if need be, and the capability of holding around 50 or so balls, so score a few easy points, then push some guys around.

I'm still pushing for the pneumatic lift system. Basically like a car with an air-ride or hydraulic suspension. Build the drivetrain on a small frame, and build the rest of the robot on a seperate frame, over the drivetrain frame, supported by pneumatic cylinders. when you get where you want to be and aim, let the air out of the pneumatics, and set the actual frame down on the ground and pull the wheels off the ground. just be sure not to have the edges tear up the carpet. with all the weight, it would probably be pretty tough to push it a little. I want to build something like this in the offseason this year.


ohhohh i remember i had a picture of a chevy s-10 doing this, on air ride suspension, mono-leafed in the rear. It lays frame an pulls the wheels off the ground. i'll try and post it later tonight or tommorow...i have to find it....

[greencactus3]

oh man, a robot that lays frame. us minitruckers will LOVE to see this. a couple titanium dragblocks and then you'd have a LOT of fun at night too.
monoleafed air ride is bad. nice 5links and stuff is mucho better for the truck.
for pics of s10s dragging and laying just browse the s10forum.com

[rocknthehawk]

Originally Posted by greencactus3

oh man, a robot that lays frame. us minitruckers will LOVE to see this. a couple titanium dragblocks and then you'd have a LOT of fun at night too.
monoleafed air ride is bad. nice 5links and stuff is mucho better for the truck.
for pics of s10s dragging and laying just browse the s10forum.com

yeah, the picture i had was from the s10forum, but it is down right now. Monoleafed is crap, the ride quality is horrible. hahaha dragblocks would be great.

i agree with the links. I want to build a robot with a mini-4 link this summer. then i'll set it down on air ride next to my ranger.

[dude__hi]

We're built for speed, shooting and pushing strenght, we should be able to push at least 90% of other robots around

Our defense is simply pushing. With our wheels, and our 2 speed, we can race up to an opponent, and push just about anyone across the whole field. If somone is out of range, they can't score, correct?

[Nuttyman54]

Where's the "We could go either way" option?

we have a multi-speed transmission, and should be able to push fairly easily. I've noticed a number of robots using casters, holonomic or omni wheels, which could prove very easy to push. We intend to test different strategies and go with what works best.

[akshar]

with a 2gear transmission, we proved today that we can be a very good defensive bot..

[Richsgt]

Defense, as it turned out to be today, is a huge part of the game. One of the robots with no true offensive capabilities made it to a top seed at the scrimmage, whereas ours with a full drive system powered right was able to knock most shooters out of the way, pushing them sideways across the field, nullifying their abilities. As time progresses defense will probably become lesa of focus as offensive strategy changes to counteract, eg less stationary systems that were shown today