pic: FRC Robots are the best mode of transportation!

[jason701802]

Although your concerns about insurance companies are legitimate, his chance of being injured is far lower than his chance of getting in a serious car wreck on his way to school that morning. As long as the driver is being careful, not going very fast or accelerating quickly, his danger of being injured in negligible.

Considering his position of the robot, there is no feasible way that any of his limbs could get caught in any moving parts.

P.S. why don't some of you go harp on the people making PVC t-shirt cannons? they are immeasurably more dangerous than this.

[Steven Sigley]

Did someone say robot chair?

Meet the SigWay.

A chairbot I built that was named after me. Got to ride it around a few times a week or two before graduating and then just a little after as you can tell by this picture. I think it's my coolest achievement because a lot of the work done on it was by me and an underclassmen, Josie Murphy.

http://www.vandenrobotics.com/plogge...icture&id=3255

[fireyoshi]

I was the driver. I always made sure his hands were away from the chain, made sure we had constant communication, and made sure the e-stop was close by. This was done in front of a college-styled classroom (tiered seats and desks) so we had about 25 feet of room. The robot was also tethered with a shorter than usual ethernet, so we didn't have a lot of leeway to drive. All I did was drive forward 10 ft at about 1-3 fps. Stop. Drive backwards at the same rate. Stop. Repeat about 3 times. We didn't go down the hall at full speed or crash into the walls or anything to that vein. Skateboarding, bicycle riding, and four wheeling (all three very popular in my area) are way more dangerous than what we did. If anyone else has any more questions please ask away.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by jason701802

P.S. why don't some of you go harp on the people making PVC t-shirt cannons? they are immeasurably more dangerous than this.

We do--every time one gets posted. There hasn't been one posted for a month or two.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by jason701802

Although your concerns about insurance companies are legitimate, his chance of being injured is far lower than his chance of getting in a serious car wreck on his way to school that morning. As long as the driver is being careful, not going very fast or accelerating quickly, his danger of being injured in negligible.

Considering his position of the robot, there is no feasible way that any of his limbs could get caught in any moving parts.

P.S. why don't some of you go harp on the people making PVC t-shirt cannons? they are immeasurably more dangerous than this.

And the chances of a plane crash are even lower but we still have to hear those lectures every time we fly. I fail to see the point of this comparison however since he isn't driving a car he was doing a pointless activity.

Put a helmet on him at LEAST. The human skull is not that durable and head injuries are nasty. Yeah, it may make him look silly but so will having a fracture in his skull or permanent brain damage.

As for your PS, just because you don't want to hear something doesn't make it "harping on something".

[iblis432]

Do I think this was unsafe? Yes. Do i ask everyone here not to drive their car because a drunk driver might be on the road tonight? no. Could the drink i be drinking right now be spiked with poison? Possibly. There's always a risk, this carried a greater one then others. But I fail to see the significance in telling him he was stupid when we should be happy he's ok. There have been stupider things done in robotics than this (for anyone on my team reading this, LIKE PUTTING A BATTERY WITH FRAYED WIRES ON THE ROBOT) Personally, I think it looks like fun, and judging by the picture and what he said, I'd say at this time he wasn't some freshman riding the robot, but a senior or a graduate that knew the risks. He seems to recognize the robot's center of gravity quite well, so i for one applaud him on taking many of the nesacarry saftey measures.

[pacoliketaco]

I think everyone here is focusing on the wrong thing. this is not built for safety, obviously. have you not ever ridden your robots? my favorite thing to do is strap a chair(2x4 or other kind of wooden plank) to the top of a robot, and drive it around the school. or have other people drive me around on it. can't you just let this kid have some fun? this was posted to show what some kid thought would be fun, and thus i would agree. i dont see why this is even an argument, other than just people saying how much fun this is to do. haha

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by pacoliketaco

I think everyone here is focusing on the wrong thing. this is not built for safety, obviously. have you not ever ridden your robots? my favorite thing to do is strap a chair(2x4 or other kind of wooden plank) to the top of a robot, and drive it around the school. or have other people drive me around on it. can't you just let this kid have some fun? this was posted to show what some kid thought would be fun, and thus i would agree. i dont see why this is even an argument, other than just people saying how much fun this is to do. haha

Overarching talk of safety annoys me as much as anyone, but when you're holding onto a robot with just your hands, gripping within a few inches of moving roller chain, I wouldn't compare that to a rigidly mounted chair driven by a carefully watched, responsible driver at low speeds.

[iblis432]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Overarching talk of safety annoys me as much as anyone, but when you're holding onto a robot with just your hands, gripping within a few inches of moving roller chain, I wouldn't compare that to a rigidly mounted chair driven by a carefully watched, responsible driver at low speeds.

Except we've already heard from the driver and he was responsible and at low speeds. In all honesty, all this video makes me think is next robotics meeting im strapping a chair to ours and im gonna have some fun.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by iblis432

In all honesty, all this video makes me think is next robotics meeting im strapping a chair to ours and im gonna have some fun.

Do everyone a favor and strap a stylish bicycle helmet to the rider's head as well. You'll avoid two things: potential head trauma from accidental collisions or falls, and guaranteed nagging from safety zealots.

[iblis432]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Do everyone a favor and strap a stylish bicycle helmet to the rider's head as well. You'll avoid two things: potential head trauma from accidental collisions or falls, and guaranteed nagging from safety zealots.

That goes without saying. I'm no more of a fan of my brains being plastered on the Shop wall than you are. I mean, think what the sponsors would think if they came to check on their sponsored team and brain guts are everywhere? Everyone wants to keep a clean shop.