Black and Colored all over

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Posted by andre at 1/11/2001 11:10 AM EST


Student on team #49, Delphi Knights, from buena vista high and Delphi/Dow.



O.K. to let you in on my thougts I think every team should be able to pick up the big and the small balls.
Please incorporate this into your robots. My beleifs are that while two teams are getting big balls the other two will be collecting black balls and positioning the goals for the extra 10%. Does this sound right?

Please Reply

Go DELPHI KNIGHTS #49

[archiver]

Posted by rebecca at 1/11/2001 11:21 AM EST


Student on team #192, gunn robotics team, from gunn high school.


In Reply to: Black and Colored all over
Posted by andre on 1/11/2001 11:10 AM EST:



Well...we're not. we think the human black balls, 3 robots in the endzone, one balanced with two goals as fast as we can is the way to go.

what are some other peoples strategies?

becca

: O.K. to let you in on my thougts I think every team should be able to pick up the big and the small balls.
: Please incorporate this into your robots. My beleifs are that while two teams are getting big balls the other two will be collecting black balls and positioning the goals for the extra 10%. Does this sound right?

: Please Reply

: Go DELPHI KNIGHTS #49

[archiver]

Posted by Josh Vetter at 1/11/2001 1:04 PM EST


Student on team #548, Robostangs, from Northville High School and BOSCH.


In Reply to: Re: Black and Colored all over
Posted by rebecca on 1/11/2001 11:21 AM EST:



It sounds like you have basically the same strategy as us. What are you going to use to pick up the big balls?

: Well...we're not. we think the human black balls, 3 robots in the endzone, one balanced with two goals as fast as we can is the way to go.

: what are some other peoples strategies?

: becca

: : O.K. to let you in on my thougts I think every team should be able to pick up the big and the small balls.
: : Please incorporate this into your robots. My beleifs are that while two teams are getting big balls the other two will be collecting black balls and positioning the goals for the extra 10%. Does this sound right?

: : Please Reply

: : Go DELPHI KNIGHTS #49

[archiver]

Posted by Michael Martus at 1/11/2001 6:54 PM EST


Coach on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central H.S. and Delphi Automotives Systems.


In Reply to: Re: Black and Colored all over
Posted by rebecca on 1/11/2001 11:21 AM EST:



Many angles, time will tell. I think you are on the right track.

[archiver]

Posted by aTm at 1/11/2001 3:39 PM EST


Student on team #111, Wildstang, from Wheeling High School and Motorola.


In Reply to: Black and Colored all over
Posted by andre on 1/11/2001 11:10 AM EST:



After several days deliberating and running through scenario after scenario of possible events during a match, the calculations seem to say that picking up black balls is almost never worth the extra time spent in doing so. To be worth the time, the mere amount of black balls needed to be scored is simply ridiculous. On the other hand, the big balls usually did offer an additional couple of points instead of simply ignoring them altogether, although the payoff was MUCH smaller than going after the multipliers. There's also the fact that a great amount of resources must be expended in order to make a mechanism to pick up and balance the big balls. While we're still in debate as to whether or not to bother with the big balls, I believe that it's my teams concensus that the black balls are simply not worth it, UNLESS you're talking about simply loading from the human player which Rebecca brought up. But that does not require picking up black balls, therefore does not require a mechanism, and therefore should not really be taken into account when designing the bot. As for optimal strategy, I believe that while we might not decide to focus on the big balls, a team that does is certainly extremely valuable. It all boils down to simply what you want in most cases, seeing how this year there is no definite way to go (ie last year: score the most balls) The best alliance might be one person specializing in balancing the goals, one bridge-keeper, one big ball handler, and a very quick robot. So as you can see, nearly everybody's take ( balls vs no balls, bridge vs bar, balance vs stack) has a very important role in the game this year, it simply might be the best combination of an alliance that wins it all. Just my thoughts.


aTm

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Posted by Matt Leese at 1/12/2001 10:36 AM EST


Other on team #73, Tigerbolt, from Edison Technical HS and Alstom & Rochester Institute of Technology.


In Reply to: Not so Sure
Posted by aTm on 1/11/2001 3:39 PM EST:



Well, here's the rub about the black balls: There are four robots out on the field. They all really should be doing something. Just sitting there helps no one. The idea therefore is as soon as the first one gets across the ramp, it starts picking up the black balls while the others are waiting to cross or doing things on the near side. There's a limit to what number of things can be done. Make use of the whole alliance and get out of the thinking that you're the only (or even most important) robot out there.

Matt