Are FIRST robots actually robots?

[Jack Jones]

What’s in a name? That which we call a robot, by any other word would smell of magic smoke.

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by Jack Jones

What’s in a name? That which we call a robot, by any other word would smell of magic smoke.

If it smells of magic smoke, it is a robot? I would think if it smells like magic smoke it used to be a robot.

Wetzel

[GaryVoshol]

FLL's got robots!

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by GaryV1188

FLL's got robots!

Yeah, they do. No teleoperation there. Well, maybe a little bit of dead reckoning, or point-and-shoot.

[Taylor]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

If it smells of magic smoke, it is a robot? I would think if it smells like magic smoke it used to be a robot.

Wetzel

Much like the piece of paper inserted into a golem's mouth made it live, the magic smoke makes our bots live.

Personally, I think we're just one power surge at Nationals away from having a couple dozen Johnny Fives.

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by GaryV1188

FLL's got robots!

Thats true.

Does it make sense that the FLL robots made mostly by middle school students are autonomous, but the FRC robots, build by high school students and real engineers, aren't?

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

Thats true.

Does it make sense that the FLL robots made mostly by middle school students are autonomous, but the FRC robots build by high school students and real engineers aren't?

As Woodie or Dave said at kickoff a couple years ago, "We know autonomous is hard - that's why we make FLL do it."

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by boiler

Much like the piece of paper inserted into a golem's mouth made it live, the magic smoke makes our bots live.

Personally, I think we're just one power surge at Nationals away from having a couple dozen Johnny Fives.

Couple dozen, more like a couple hundred!

[Imajie]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

Does it make sense that the FLL robots made mostly by middle school students are autonomous, but the FRC robots, build by high school students and real engineers, aren't?

You kind of need to think about the games that each plays. FLL plays games by themselves while FRC bots compete both with and against other bots.
Programming autonomous for just your own bot is one thing, making it have to interact with the 5 other bots on the field is another.

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

Does it make sense that the FLL robots made mostly by middle school students are autonomous, but the FRC robots, build by high school students and real engineers, aren't?

Let's see how well those FLL robots can do autonomously when there's 5 other robots on the field, and game objects which roll around and are effectively in random locations all the time...

[efoote868]

<off topic>
lets give FLL mplab... the CMUcam, a few gyros, ultrasonic rangefinders, geartooth counters, IR rangefinders, limit switchs, and potentiometers. We'll just see how much their robots will do then.
</off topic>

I say if it still has magic smoke inside of it, and is capable of at one point releasing that magic smoke, its a robot.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

If we are not building robots, then I have blown the last twelve years under a serious misconception.

Of course our robots are robots.

[petek]

Which of these is a robot?

Yeah, most of us would agree that these are robots. But what about this one?


In the life science field, the Beckman Biomek FX is called a robot - a liquid handling robot, to be precise. While we're handling things, is this a robot?


According to the manufacturer, it is.
All of those were pretty well planted in one place, but how about this little guy?


Yep - they call it a robot, even when it's being driven by students.
Well, if that's a robot, I ask you, how can this not be one?



Disclaimer: I've worked with robots for most of my career, starting with Unimation 6-axis arms in the 1980's up through today with lab robots like the Biomek. Even turned a 40 ft long bridge crane into a remote vision and control "robot" for a nuclear waste processing study for the Department of Energy. Whether a 'bot was under pre-programmed control, adaptive autonomous control, telerobotic operation or operated by a teach pendant, they were all robots. Except for the little Puma 260, FRC robots are the most versatile and fun of them all!

[Protronie]

Whatever it might be called...
1. If one kid stays in school because of First... its worth it.
2. I wonder if the people raising this question could build one themselves.
3. Its better than watching MTV all afternoon.
4. Its awesome to see your hard work in action.

[Dan Zollman]

Some people would say that a robot must have at least one sensor; or, the robot can in some way extract information from its environment and respond to it.