842's Ball Sucker

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Pat Major

At Kettering two teams had the two bar system and when they put their front wheels on the ¾ inch plywood at the base of the bump they were both carrying the ball. A piece of paper was slid under the ball. Both teams agreed that they were indeed carrying the ball at that point and had to avoid that area when they had a ball or risk a penalty. They were also carrying the ball if the front of the robot went into the goal and there was no floor left under the ball. They solve this issue by not driving into the goals.

I'll give away the simple solution for teams using the "pinching" method of grabbing the ball who happen to lift the ball in the manner that Pat described; Put your roller system on a pivot and spring load it down. We have done that and it ensures that our ball always stays on the ground, even when our back wheels are on the carpet and the ball is on the plywood lip in front of the bump.

Now, teams like 188 and 217 in Rochester had pinching rollers, which weren't spring loaded, but they managed to keep the ball on the ground with no difficulties. This just goes to show that there are multiple ways to solve this problem.