Defense: Pushing and Blocking

[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....

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.

[Henry_Mareck]

We will be able to block low shooters, but out emphasis will be on pushing

[Cody Carey]

We'll be able to push pretty much anybody... I hope and we SHOULD have a functional launcher by ship, So We didn't have to sacrifice anything. At least I don't think we did

[TEAM456MS]

We will be able to push anybody in our way.

[bobotics319]

Bob can do pretty much anything... we have a strong frame and a strong offense....so pretty much bob is the man!!

[DjAlamose]

By the results of the poll thus far it seems as though there are allot of teams out there that are unstoppable. Well I guess we will just have to wait and see how many of these robots can actually live up to their names. Torque is nothing without traction. I just don't see the necessity of being uber defensive. My belief is that offense wins championships, defense wins matches. A defensive robot can hound a robot all it wants, but if that robot can score one point than that is all that is needed to win.

[Jeremiah H]

We chose to sacrifice a ball shooter for a good, strong drive train.

On the pushing more than one bot at once, I reckon that if they (being the said bots to be pushed) had omni wheel drives, then we could push all of them without any problem. The bots with drive trains similar to ours are going to be a little more difficult.

On the blocking, our bot isn't going to be tall enough to stop a shot from a robot with a five-foot tall shooter, but they might have problems getting off an accurate shot while they are being shoved around the field.

That said, I think that we are going to live up to our traditional reputation of being "defensive specialists" Anyone remember last year's model with the wheelie bars that <accidently, sort of> served as wedges? (we didn't design them for that, I promise.)

[artdutra04]

How can a majority of the teams have a transmission with above-average pushing power?

It's like the statistic that says a majority of drivers [for cars and trucks] think that they are above-average drivers.

[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

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

How can a majority of the teams have a transmission with above-average pushing power?

It's like the statistic that says a majority of drivers [for cars and trucks] think that they are above-average drivers.

well what is considered "average pushing power"? i think a lot of teams (including mine) overestimate the amount of actual power their drivetrain has, and that is responsible for the statistic

[d.courtney]

Originally Posted by Nuttyman54

well what is considered "average pushing power"? i think a lot of teams (including mine) overestimate the amount of actual power their drivetrain has, and that is responsible for the statistic

would winning a pushing match against the year's before, which happened to be unbeatable in puching matches overestimating... what I am getting at is test on how well it does against previous years (unless you are a rookie team) it will give you a general idea of greatness

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by d.courtney

would winning a pushing match against the year's before, which happened to be unbeatable in puching matches overestimating... what I am getting at is test on how well it does against previous years (unless you are a rookie team) it will give you a general idea of greatness

Excellent standard. unless the challenger has a really weak drivetrain, you should be able to get a reasonable idea of how good it is.