Robot Diversity

[WJF2011]

Bjc I agree with what you're saying, almost everyone is either winch, cam, or pneumatically kicking and almost every successful team uses a pincher or roller. Most teams are switching to the grab and turn upward bar due to speed and drive trains are almost all tank. I am not trying to insult anyone's designing if they use these things, I mean my team does too, this year in my opinion is about how good your driver is and how smoothly you do the same things as everyone else (with the exception of loops). Simbotics, I think, does these things more smoothly than most and has a good driver, these are the reasons for their success.

[Tetraman]

Even if robots have all the same abilities or most of the robots have similar tactics, there is also how that tactic is implemented during building and how effective it is. While the outside of robots can be very different, the inner workings makes every robot different, and slight differences that you can't see on the outside can change everything.

Also, I originally disliked games where robot diversity was at a low, but especially this year I don't seem to mind it at all. I think this year, having a bunch of robots that are very similar really focuses on how that team plays the game with the robot they have, which is a good thing...but I agree, sometimes you sometimes what to see a big shift in styles and play styles.

[Rion Atkinson]

Originally Posted by WJF2011

...this year in my opinion is about how good your driver is and how smoothly you do the same things as everyone else (with the exception of loops). Simbotics, I think, does these things more smoothly than most and has a good driver, these are the reasons for their success.

Yes, it is about how smoothly you do things. But every year always relies on driver skill. And you said Simbotics does things smoothly. I pray that you are talking about the design of it and not how smoothly their driver moves the robot.... Because no ones driver is worth crap if their chains act funky and the kicker jerks the whole robot when it kicks.

Just my $0.01

-Rion

[WJF2011]

@formerly famous
I was definitely talking about the smoothness of their robot, not necessarily their driver.