FASTEST 2008 ROBOT

[ParkerF]

Originally Posted by RyanN

I definitely noticed 148's transition to a defensive bot, especially at the championship. I congratulate your team's success. I believe I watched one of the videos with your team geared to 30FPS. When Tumbleweed went around a corner, it tipped on its side (can't really say one or two wheels). I would hate to keep control of the robot going at that speed.

I almost want to say we filmed that after gearing the speed down, but John would have to confirm that. I can't remember exactly when things happened during the build anymore hehe. The main reason we never tipped as far up like that during the season is the wheelie-balls we added underneath.

I also thought 1114 was pretty fast, but they assured me it was only geared around 15 f/s.

If I had to choose my favorite 'fast bot' it would definitely be Cheesy Poofs. I just loved their robot and their techniques on how to not only have a fast drive, but fast slide, etc.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by francistexas

I also thought 1114 was pretty fast, but they assured me it was only geared around 15 f/s.

It depends on how you look at it. If you assume 100% efficiency throughout our system, and a 5500 RPM free speed for the CIMs, theoretically we're geared for 18.4 fps in high gear. That being said, the 100% efficiency assumption is clearly flawed. Using some standard efficiency numbers, we figure a more accurate top speed for our robot is between 15-16 fps, as quoted by Parker.

So, we were pretty fast, but definitely not the fastest. (I'm sure there's some Canadian metric vs. imperial joke to be made in all of this, but I'll leave it to someone wittier than myself.)

[Ripper]

I think 148, 1114, 381,102

[Mr. Lim]

1114 was an interesting "fast" robot. I walked away from both GTR and Waterloo with the idea firmly planted in my head that 1114 was the "fastest" robot there. But I also knew they weren't geared for a top speed as high as many other robots there.

It's a world of difference when your drivers find the seams with such skill that they rarely have to slow down.

Now THAT'S fast...

[XaulZan11]

While 1114 clearly isn't the fastest, they appear so fast because they have no wasted motion. They don't ever overturn, misline up picking a ball, or any other inefficient motions. They get the max out of thier 15 or so f/s due to thier fantastic drivers.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by SlimBoJones

1114 was an interesting "fast" robot. I walked away from both GTR and Waterloo with the idea firmly planted in my head that 1114 was the "fastest" robot there. But I also knew they weren't geared for a top speed as high as many other robots there.

It's a world of difference when your drivers find the seams with such skill that they rarely have to slow down.

Now THAT'S fast...

This is the exact same feeling I've had watching 330 over the past four years. In 2007, there was no doubt in my mind that they were the fastest team in FIRST, until I heard what they were actually geared for. There's a world of difference between fastest robot in open space, and the fastest robot in an actual FIRST match.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Karthik

(I'm sure there's some Canadian metric vs. imperial joke to be made in all of this, but I'll leave it to someone wittier than myself.)

Furlongs per Fortnight?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

Furlongs per Fortnight?

Nah...furlongs are, as I recall, 1/8 of a mile, or about 200 yards (English) and both metric and imperial use the same time units (Fortnight=2 weeks).

I'm guessing that 1114 found foot-wide gaps and made them meter-wide ones, though.