surefire ways to break you robot

[samir13k]

hmm...

blame it on the programmer until the point where he needs an extensive break half way through the qualifying matches. Only to realize it was the mechanical peoples fault who needed to shave down some metal to fit within the size limits, while the piece is in the up position which is strategically located right over the electronics panel... which makes the autonomous go insane which causes the robot to suffer extensive mechanical damage from a run in with a wall in the middle of the playing field....

or short and sweet: BLAME IT ON THE PROGRAMMER SINCE HE DID NOT WRITE CODE THAT FIXED MECHANICAL PROBLEMS!!!

[jnoor]

1.) Just program the robot to drive backwards without notifying the drivers.
2.) Unplug the battery chargers the night before the competition.
3.) Sabotage another teams robot and your robot is definitely broken then.

[MagiMage]

Drive into a local reporter (true story).

[tim_reiher]

Driving it repeatedly into a wall will usually do it.

Given the wall, you might have the added bonus of that breaking, too.

And hey, if you're really lucky, you might knock down another team's OI, or just knock down the whole receiver tower.

[samir13k]

Originally Posted by jnoor

1.) Just program the robot to drive backwards without notifying the drivers.

..hmm. we had an orientation switch to switch between the directions.... of course i was the only one who ended up using it at competition For some reason it confused all the other drivers lol

[Justin Montois]

Let Rees touch it.

Haha

[sunnyboy780]

Tell the programmers to build anything. ANYTHING.

[thefro526]

1) Let it sit for almost 6 months and then take it to an off-season because someone said it "looks ok".

2) Tell a judge your robot has been designed not to break.

3) Deprive your driver of their sleep or morning coffee, they may just break the robot out of spite.

[daltore]

-Put your OI on top of the robot on the practice field to test autonomous.
-Assume that since you've shown someone how to make a part, that they've made it correctly.
-Let the robot exist the night before ship day.
-Host a major demo.

The first one was how Tom almost got flatter. The second is how we ended up with magic wires. The third is how I found out heat guns are really good for use on cold pizza at 3 in the morning. The forth is what Murphy was trying to say.

[roboraven15]

1. Drive robot down stairs when practicing driving threw hallways in school

2. Let aaron make a unnecisary "improvement" (lmao inside joke)

3. spill slushee on the controls.

5. pour thermite over robot, then pour lighter fluid in mouth. Take a match or lighter, put it up to mouth and blow fluid out over robot.

[Katie_UPS]

...Get picked by the number one alliance. Scream and cry because the alliance is awesome and there is no way you won't go to Atlanta. Scream and cry as the alliance's robots' motors burn out and arms get bent. Lather. Rise. Repeat.


EDIT: I'd also like to add that you guys are abusing the crap out of the programmers. (Although I'm not any better...)

[Renee Becker-Blau]

Tell Renee to tighten the electrical block. (She then loosens the electrical block >_>)

[Abra Cadabra IV]

A good way to break your bot is 1) accidentally set your joysticks up backward, 2) make your programmer write autonomous at the last minute, 3) don't read the instructions while setting up your gearboxes and 4) don't tighten the wires in the power distribution block enough. Nothing quite like running into a wall and knocking the wires out of the PDB... and even if that doesn't happen, the wheels aren't running at the same speed anyway so it's all good.

And blaming the programmer is a good way to ensure that nothing gets fixed. I remember some "code errors" last year that were caused by plugging our left wheel PWM into the port for our piston, the piston into the port for our compressor, etc. Gotta love rookie year.

[The Megan 2207]

You could always fix something on the robot, then order pizza for the whole team. When the pizza arrives, the team will drop everything and go eat, feeling satisfied that whatever was wrong is now fixed. According to our good friend Murphy, by the time the pizza is eaten, the robot will no longer function.

[ExarKun666]

Originally Posted by Abra Cadabra IV

And blaming the programmer is a good way to ensure that nothing gets fixed. I remember some "code errors" last year that were caused by plugging our left wheel PWM into the port for our piston, the piston into the port for our compressor, etc. Gotta love rookie year.

However when we did plug everything into the wrong ports I remember very clearly that Hima said that it worked for that round, don't ask how, I'm still trying to figure that out.

Another way is to let someone to touch the controllers, they mess with the trim, and don't tell anybody, then you turn on the robot, do I need to say anything else? lol