Breakaway in review: what have we learned?

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

For the show, that's roughly 8 feet per second on a non-mecanum drive. I know my team was planning on a 12FPS configuration using 6 motors, but a few tests showed that 8FPS was plenty fast for a driver that hadn't tackled carpet before. With the bumps less than 24 feet apart, being able to get across 2 zones in 4 seconds would be nice but I think that's definitely not integral this year

Actually the gear ratio gives ~11.5 fps before losses. The direct drive and burn in process make it VERY efficient, so I'd say we were hitting 9.5-10fps.

[Wayne C.]

Originally Posted by rsisk

Hilarious, like watching brothers and sisters fight What was even better was the robots from the other zones coming in to swoop up balls while you guys were battling.

Great clip, thanks for sharing.

actually we would rather be shooting balls into the goals but 2016 had other ideas!!!

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by ks_mumupsi

all agreed.... i think watching this match will show you what durability means.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbklr2IPDmw

Team 2016 (our team) and 25 took it to the maximum limit possible without getting penalized.

It was brutal it was harsh and it was fun...

(we destroyed two drive modules on team 25, we found out later).....

durability means everything in this years game, being on the field and functioning 100% of the team.

HAHAH where have I seen that before? http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35102?

If we get some video of it, it will look so similar! Nice job 25 and 2016!

[coldfusion1279]

Watching that match, I am not sure the refs were counting the 6 feet off for 3 seconds rule. At one point the ref was counting (with the hand like in wrestling or basketball back court violations), but stopped after 2016 backed away... but that was it. Interesting.

[DiehardCybercard]

One thing I learned at the DC regional is that soccer balls like to go inside robots a lot more than anyone had anticipated. that penalty must have been called over 200 times. I would suggest teams make sure they have good ball gaurds.

Penalties make a big difference this year.

[coldfusion1279]

Good point but most of the time it was for robots driving on top of the ball... at least at NJ that was the case. They fixed the rule so that the ball can intrude more than 3 inches accidentally, but you must try and fix it before continuing to play... Update 16

[tanguma26]

Hey Guys

our regional is next week and i was wondering if any of the teams use their camera during competion or the gyro.

Please let me know

Thank You.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by tanguma26

Hey Guys

our regional is next week and i was wondering if any of the teams use their camera during competion or the gyro.

Please let me know

Thank You.

There were a handful of teams using the Camera in Various Capacities at NJ.

Most of these just had the Camera Feeding to the Driver's Station, but a few teams were able to use them for camera assisted autonomous scoring.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by tanguma26

Hey Guys

our regional is next week and i was wondering if any of the teams use their camera during competion or the gyro.

Please let me know

Thank You.

Our team uses the camera to line up the suction cup and balls. It is aimed down in the front of the robot so it helps the drivers get balls in tough spots. We also use the gyro in our autonomous.


Good luck next week!

[SteveGPage]

Originally Posted by tanguma26

Hey Guys

our regional is next week and i was wondering if any of the teams use their camera during competion or the gyro.

Please let me know

Thank You.

We do. In both autonomous and teleop. We have a camera assisted shooting mechanism.

[Sumathi]

When driving over the bumps be careful, there is a chance to lose connection if the robot hits the bump just right. >.<

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by DiehardCybercard

I would suggest teams make sure they have good ball gaurds.

We used cable ties between our wheel pylons, and got one ball penalty all regional (for driving over a ball against a hump that our driver didn't even see).

[TomH]

Originally Posted by Sumathi

When driving over the bumps be careful, there is a chance to lose connection if the robot hits the bump just right. >.<

Well, I agree with that, but not just the bump, but any major contact anywhere on the field could result in a failure of some sort.

What I think everyone has really seemed to have an eye on though is the bumps, and seeing some go under, some over, it seems that there is an attempt by almost everyone to get to a different zone. I think the bumps of Breakaway are a scare factor in the game as well, as that we all don't want to go up one side alive, and down either side dead (kinda like climbing a mountain). I think FIRST was trying to make us think, whats really worth attempting in a 2 minute, 15 second game. Now don't take my thought the wrong way, I definitely believe that the bump is not the worse thing that could be placed on a field to be tackled by robots, but it also forces some teams to think small and compact for the tunnel which can be easily blocked accidentally or on purpose. So yes, Breakaway has some scare factors in it as well as last year (Lunacy and the trailers and little traction), as most likely for years to come. Keep you eyes on the bumps though, they can definitively make or break a game and/or a robot.

-Tom H

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by TomH

Well, I agree with that, but not just the bump, but any major contact anywhere on the field could result in a failure of some sort.

That's why we played 'robot-tipping' before we shipped. We knew it was going to be rough!

That said, while our robot *can* climb over the humps, we never had to at the FLR. We sat in our comfy little middle zone and did our job very well, and trusted the other robots to do theirs.

Cooperation is key to winning this game!

[JesseK]

One thing I forgot to mention is that this year it's especially important for teams to Clean the Mecanum Wheel Rollers! at least every other match. The difference was like night and day in determining whether or not we could traverse the bump. Rubbing alcohol or isopropyl swabs found in most first aid kits do the trick very nicely and won't kill electronics if a drop is spilled on them.