pic: Me driving at Bayou '08

[ParkerF]

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[Qbranch]

So, since as far as I know you drive the robot with the fastest top speed this year... I have to ask... how's it drive? have you ever flipped it? do you have to slow down for turns?

Do you like the R/C car controls? Do you guys have any kind of field-centric drive or do you just turn tires left/right?

Well... I guess I could wait to ask at Atlanta... but octagonal (excuse me! nonagonal) robots are just so cool!

-q

[chaoticprout]

Originally Posted by Qbranch

So, since as far as I know you drive the robot with the fastest top speed this year... I have to ask... how's it drive? have you ever flipped it? do you have to slow down for turns?

Do you like the R/C car controls? Do you guys have any kind of field-centric drive or do you just turn tires left/right?

Well... I guess I could wait to ask at Atlanta... but octagonal robots are just so cool!

-q

Nonagon

[TD78]

Originally Posted by chaoticprout

Nonagon

Neun-agon

[ParkerF]

Originally Posted by Qbranch

So, since as far as I know you drive the robot with the fastest top speed this year... I have to ask... how's it drive? have you ever flipped it? do you have to slow down for turns?

Do you like the R/C car controls? Do you guys have any kind of field-centric drive or do you just turn tires left/right?

Well... I guess I could wait to ask at Atlanta... but octagonal robots are just so cool!

-q

Drives like a beast. I'll be straight with ya haha. Tumbleweed is very fun to drive, but definitely has a learning curve when you're used to joysticks.

The one time I ever got close to flipping it was at practice before ship when we had 3/4 inch boards to simulate the steel plates instead of the regulation 1/4 inch. [That was quickly changed.] I came around the turn nearest me and caught the board, which launched the bot off of all three wheels. It began cartwheeling around the corner on the bumpers, where a by-standing team member attempted to stop it. That ended with him being slapped in the face with our mast. In order to flip Tumbleweed, we'd have to have our wheels over 80 or so degrees from the floor.

Ah, controls. We had so many versions of controls for this thing, it isn't funny. I'm very glad we ended with the RC controls, however. They're great for it. The wheels turn a full 360 in any direction. That's the hardest part to explain to people who ask us about the 'front' of the robot...There just isn't one.

And yes, tis' a Neun-agon!

[JVN]

Tumbleweed is NOT an easy robot to drive, but Parker makes it look effortless.

Feel free to stop by the 148 pit in Atlanta (and hopefully IRI) to take a closer look at her.

[Arefin Bari]

How fast is tumbleweed? To my knowledge, team 102 has the fastest robot this year going 27 fps. They attended NJ regional.

[ParkerF]

However we are quite fast, I do believe there may be ATLEAST one or two robots faster. I'm also very sure there are several at our same speed. The great turning ability that our robot has definitely comes into play to make us faster than some other robots.

Of course, not 20 minutes after John posted, I made a...'mistake' during the beginning of driver practice that almost gave him a heart attack. I won't go into detail.