pic/vid: Team 1114 - Simbot Panthro

[Travis Hoffman]

I miss the shower curtain.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Jay Trzaskos

mmmmm sexy...


Did 148 help out with the sheet metal work?

They sure did. Our sheet metal was done by our sponsor Innovation First at their sheet metal facility in Greenville, Tx, which also happens to be the hope of Team 148. After working closely with Teams 148 and 217, and seeing the amazing sheet metal work on their robots, we decided to jump on board. The entire experience has been amazing for our team, as it opened our students and mentors to a totally new world of design. The entire super structure is made of 0.063 Al, and weighs only ~16 pounds.

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

I still say it would look better in silver.

Well, we actually wanted to powder coat the superstructure Simbot Red, but we went with black to ensure maximum visibility of the Orbit Balls. Plus, it's pretty neat having a robot that looks like it was made out of a VEX field.

Originally Posted by s_forbes

I knew it! Pause the Robowranglers video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCVLZFyEI1Y) at 0:39, and you can see a picture of the Simbotics bot hanging on the whiteboard! Huzzah!

We were wondering if anyone would notice that.

For those who asked about the lens, it's general purpose fisheye lens, that's commonly used on "peepholes" in doors.

Special thanks to all the teams who we discussed with and inspired us throughout the build season, including 148, 217, 254, 1503, 2056, 2166 & 2809. Part of what makes this program unique are the close bonds that are formed between competitors, and we definitely have these bonds with each of you.

We absolutely cannot wait for Midwest to play with all the great teams who are attending and to finally find out what Lunacy is really all about.

Getcha popcorn ready...

[jblay]

Originally Posted by roboticWanderor

How does the roller system in the back align all of those balls that nicely?????? i see the spiral rollers but is that it??

i think that in the center of all the rollers there is some frictiony material and the rest of the roller is frictionless so the balls that touch the center go up and the others slide to the bottom and are funneled to the center.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Karthik

Part of what makes this program unique are the close bonds that are formed between competitors

Amen, I can really relate to this after going through the 09 build season.

I can't wait to see 2166's bot. Karthik, any chance of posting up a pic of what they created this year? I like to keep up-to-date with former alliance partners. Many don't know this but a deciding factor in us and Beatty picking 2166 last year on Archi was who they were mentored by (Simbotics) so I'm curious to see what they pulled out this year. Wish them and the NiagraFIRST teams best of luck for me please.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

I can't wait to see 2166's bot. Karthik, any chance of posting up a pic of what they created this year? I like to keep up-to-date with former alliance partners. Many don't know this but a deciding factor in us and Beatty picking 2166 last year on Archi was who they were mentored by (Simbotics) so I'm curious to see what they pulled out this year. Wish them and the NiagraFIRST teams best of luck for me please.

I'll leave it up to 2166 to post a photo of their robot. I'm not at liberty to divulge details, but I can say that they stuck to their recipe of simplicity and have another effective and elegant robot. This year they worked very closely with us, building most of their robot in our shop. It was a treat having them around.

[Uberbots]

i like the camera tracking turret (:

its scary how accurate that thing is, and unlike dumper robots there is no alignment that you have to do... just jam your robot up close and dump away, 100% accuracy.

i wanna see that turret firing at a moving target

[GaryVoshol]

Would all you teams please stop! My chin will be bruised for weeks from dropping on the floor so much.

I am SO glad I'm a referee and not a scorer this year.

I wonder if anyone at Traverse City will be watching the action on the floor, or if they'll all be looking for a webcast from Midwest?

[Jimmy Nichols]

Karthik, awesome bot as usual. Too bad I won't get to see it in person, unless we qualify and raise the funds for Atlanta. 1038 has a bit of a fiscal problem that we are having to work through this year, so we are only able to attend one regional, Buckeye.

Good luck!

[astephen68]

Wow amazing looking robot. Good luck at the Midwest regional.

[Raul]

Wow, another great robot that will certainly be one of the best, if not thee best in the field. I don't know what else to say but that the rest of us at Midwest will have to sharpen our pencils on strategies to beat this firepower.

Luckily, for the rest of us, the robot's effectiveness in scoring only accounts for what in my opinion is about 1/3 of the formula it will take to win.

[GODUX123]

I think those bumpers are legal.

[Beth Sweet]

I'm calling a penalty for assaulting the videographer with all those balls at the end

Looks great Simbots, tack another tally on the awesome bots list!

[TD78]

Great bot guys! I like the turreted shooter...especially shooting behind. I'm thinking it might come in handy when you want to avoid some <G14> penalties and score in your own trailer? Looking forward to seeing the bot down in Atlanta.

[2056Durfey]

Wow, another great robot as usual! To bad you guys are missing Waterloo this year, though we'll look forward to seeing you in GTR!!

[Warren Boudreau]

Another Simbotic beauty. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in Atlanta.