Team 71's 2002 robot

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by tim_reiher

You mean, like soccer balls or kickballs?

They would make sense, in terms of availability.

I mean, compared to orbit balls, they're everywhere (however, it's not quite as easy to make your own....)

Actually the soccer balls of 2002 were not widely available. You pretty much were stuck with the one or two that were in the kit. They had a unique surface coating that made them handle differently than readily available soccer balls. They also cost like $10 or $20 each.

My favorite robot that year was 980's "popcorn popper" that shot the balls straight up and bounced them into a hopper at the top. The first time they tried it the ball blew through the bouncing plate and hit the ceiling, of the gym.

I still use 71's robot as an example of the tradeoffs of power. They were able to transmit a tremendous amunt of torque to the floor, but to do so they travelled very slowly. But they had something like 2 minutes to go 3 or 4 feet. They had all the time in the world. I also remember seeing file card shaped spots where the pile had been ripped off of the carpet at IRI.