2009 Aparatuses

[thefro526]

I think we're going to see a lot of conveyors and ball (moon rock) lifting devices this year. Shooting is possible but not feasible for most teams. I think the shape of the Orbit ball would make it hard to shoot because your shooting apparatus would touch different rings of the ball at the same time.

[bkwrm92]

Originally Posted by Hachiban VIII

We considered using a wedge that could be driven into the goal and then opened (like a beak) releasing tons of balls. It would make driving/aiming a lot easier. We'll have to see how that goes in prototyping...

Originally Posted by Hachiban VIII

using a wedge

<R17> kinda kills that idea. Sorry...

[Andy L]

I think a lot of people are thinking we're gonna be in a fast paced game like last year. From what I can tell this game will be much slower than last year and shooting could be possible, maybe not long range shooting like 2006 but shooting from a few feet away.

People may also be overlooking the ability to pin someone's robot or trailer to a wall to get a quick ball dump.

[Fred Sayre]

Originally Posted by bkwrm92

<R17> kinda kills that idea. Sorry...

Different kind of wedge. I however might be worried about the no out of bumper zone contact rules might be applied everything but the rocks and cells.

[Booksy]

Originally Posted by bkwrm92

<R17> kinda kills that idea. Sorry...

Not really, as long as it can't be used to push a robot, as in if it was placed sufficiently far from the edge.

EDIT: Fred beat me to it.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

I believe she might mean the rule where you cannot go outside the 28x 38 x 60 footprint this year. NOT AT ALL.

Honestly, I believe shooters are really inconceivable because in the past few game, the targets have not been moving as crazily as they will this year. The trailers are attached to the OTHER team's robots, and obviously taking your time to line up to shoot will prove fruitless if the trailer moves.

Go back and watch 2006 a little. There were teams that could hit the goal while being hit.

Originally Posted by Hachiban VIII

If I learned anything in 2006 it was that driving while shooting is pretty-much-darn-near-impossible. The robots just jiggle too much while driving to make good shots.

The best shooters of '06 had turrets and tilts that could get into position in seconds and fire off all the balls while the robot was sitting still (think 25). Robots that could'nt shoot very fast got pushed out of position and missed most of their shots.

That year there were plenty of robots who could fire on the move, I know RUSH did it.

Originally Posted by Andy L

I think a lot of people are thinking we're gonna be in a fast paced game like last year. From what I can tell this game will be much slower than last year and shooting could be possible, maybe not long range shooting like 2006 but shooting from a few feet away.

People may also be overlooking the ability to pin someone's robot or trailer to a wall to get a quick ball dump.

Go watch 2006 again, I can't recall the exact number but there were fewer balls that year and they COATED the field. The robots might not be racing around as fast but I think that balls will be flying all the time.

[CCCP]

what do you guys think about a two wheel robot???thats attached to the goal.

[ame.lia]

Okay so there's bound to be a lot of offensive strategies in the game, but in terms of defence has anyone come across a rule saying a robot can't block their trailer or take moon rocks/empty cells out of their trailer?

[Browzilla]

I haven't seen any rule against it, and there've been threads mentioning this. However, it would have to be accounted for in the initial dimensions, and I believe could not actually make contact with the goal.

Can't remember which rules to cite here though, and don't have the time to look it up at the moment.

[GregW11]

What if you were to hook up a pneumatic-like system to the trailer hitch that would pull it in closer to your bot, thus making maneuverability easier? (and somewhat preventing damage to the hitch too)

[Andy L]

Originally Posted by GregW11

What if you were to hook up a pneumatic-like system to the trailer hitch that would pull it in closer to your bot, thus making maneuverability easier? (and somewhat preventing damage to the hitch too)

<R18> Part B:The Trailer Hitch must be rigidly attached to a fixed location on the ROBOT

[Japper]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

I think you might get some good ideas from the 2006 game (especially the "behind the design" book for that year) and the 2004 game.

Both games had to move balls, 2004 required players to shoot them into mobile (and stationary) goals similar to this year's goals.

Jason

Where might some of us newer teams find these "behind the design" books?

[MrForbes]

amazon.com is a good place to start looking for any book

http://www.amazon.com/FIRST-Robots-H.../dp/1592533663

[Dr Theta]

As far as the wedge design concept goes I believe that it would violate the rule regarding intentional entanglement.

[joshsmithers]

Originally Posted by Japper

Where might some of us newer teams find these "behind the design" books?

Amazon. I reccomend that book to rookie teams, but more so going back and watching some TBA matches from 2006. And you can never go wrong with a few advanced searches for Aim High discussion on CD.