The Future of FRC Teams....

[M.Wong]

Originally Posted by JABot67

On ship day in 2008, we had a robot with a non-functional arm and no autonomous mode. I thought we were screwed with all the catapults/shooters out there that could elegantly toss the ball over the overpass.

So I guess you guys didn't hear about our predicament? On ship day, we had a robot with an arm...that was outside the envelope. So at Midwest (our first regional) we had a huge amount of work to do in order to legalize it. Even after our fix, it was incredibly awkward. It was top heavy and almost never worked.

As an added bonus, our first practice match was disastrous. One of our encoder free-wheels for auto program was accidentally tightened a bit too much; to the point where it was no longer contacting the ground. Well when the match started, our robot dropped into 4WD and rammed full speed into the alliance wall. We pushed the alliance wall back (top leaned about a foot back), put a gash/dent into the alliance wall, and knocked off the Wildstang's control board (breaking it, sorry!).

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Bad robots win IRI?

Everything else aside, I agree with your post.

I'm not sure if you observed it closer, but it was an incredible piece of engineering (17 motors I think?). However, with so many moving parts, it was liable to jam. But when it did work, it work well.


As another member of Frog Force, I believe the main issue we have is motivation. While those who came before us were deeply invested in a team they helped to start, it is no surprise that those who join now do not see past the current year. Considering our team started in 2001, those who joined the team in its infancy were seniors the year we won Worlds (2005).

Their motivation and vision for the team assisted them in their desires. They wrote the bylaws for our team, keeping in mind that those who would follow would have the same passion and drive that they possessed. Sure, there is a group of us who have the drive, the passion, and the vision to push the team forward, but there are many more who do not. While some of us attempt to just maintain the team, quite a few of us are pushing the team forward, to evolve.

Hopefully, we can continue our push for change and progression.