Thoughts about the new FTC challenge?

[Chris is me]

I love how it's not a "one task wonder", but it seems really, really complex and very hard to follow. Batons are interesting game pieces and the large number of them and the goals are interesting, but I couldn't count the number of secondary scoring objectives on one hand, for autonomous alone.

[blackiceskier]

I was reading through the manual at the local kick off and there is a rule that states that you can have no more than 5 battons at a time its a 5 point penelaty for each baton after your fifth so thats going to be a big game changer.

[jamie_1930]

My only advice to teams now is "the answer is simple!". Don't think I know it, but with challenges like this remember that the best robots are the simplest and most reliable.

Good Luck Everyone!

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by blackiceskier

I was reading through the manual at the local kick off and there is a rule that states that you can have no more than 5 battons at a time its a 5 point penelaty for each baton after your fifth so thats going to be a big game changer.

That makes the game a lot less interesting in my opinion. I would have liked to see the "mass of batons" versus "magnetic / precision batons" tradeoff.

Have fun building wrist jointed robot arms, I guess.

[alphadog0309]

alright so i have found an issue in the rule book and i wonder if this seems right to you guys....

on pg. 10, under game definitions (2.3) the definition of Possess / Possessing a Baton reads as follows:

"A robot is said to be Possessing a Baton if any part of the Baton is in
contact with the robot."

this implies that if the robot is driving over a baton, it will count as being possessed therefore pushing a team over the maximum of 5 possessed batons, causing a 5 point penalty PER BATON IT DRIVES OVER. This is because to me it seems as if a robot that is driving over a baton therefore is in contact with the baton. Any thoughts?

[Bertman]

Check out FRC 2001
I think this was the last time I saw this balancing act

[Andrew Schuetze]

Originally Posted by Bertman

Check out FRC 2001
I think this was the last time I saw this balancing act

Not many FRC robots at that time had an automatic leveling routine which was likely the result of the BasicStamp based CPU and not having COTS items such as an accelerometer/tilt sensor.
<<>>
Now you can make robots that know which way is up! The HiTechnic Accelerometer / Tilt Sensor measures acceleration in three axes. It also measures tilt along each axis. <snip>This sensor will also tell you if your robot is level so you can build self-leveling robots and much more.
<<>>

[jamie_1930]

Originally Posted by alphadog0309

alright so i have found an issue in the rule book and i wonder if this seems right to you guys....

on pg. 10, under game definitions (2.3) the definition of Possess / Possessing a Baton reads as follows:

"A robot is said to be Possessing a Baton if any part of the Baton is in
contact with the robot."

this implies that if the robot is driving over a baton, it will count as being possessed therefore pushing a team over the maximum of 5 possessed batons, causing a 5 point penalty PER BATON IT DRIVES OVER. This is because to me it seems as if a robot that is driving over a baton therefore is in contact with the baton. Any thoughts?

Submit this question to the Q&A

[alphadog0309]

Originally Posted by jamie_1930

Submit this question to the Q&A

The q&a isnt up yet its still only for the Hot Shot! game.... i guess ill have to wait until they set that up.....

[normalmutant]

The game will be a big challenge. We shouldn't complain about this. More rules can actually spur forth creativity in teams instead of inhibiting it. Our team can't wait to put together the field and start testing things out!

[VashonRobotics]

Originally Posted by alphadog0309

alright so i have found an issue in the rule book and i wonder if this seems right to you guys....

on pg. 10, under game definitions (2.3) the definition of Possess / Possessing a Baton reads as follows:

"A robot is said to be Possessing a Baton if any part of the Baton is in
contact with the robot."

this implies that if the robot is driving over a baton, it will count as being possessed therefore pushing a team over the maximum of 5 possessed batons, causing a 5 point penalty PER BATON IT DRIVES OVER. This is because to me it seems as if a robot that is driving over a baton therefore is in contact with the baton. Any thoughts?

I seriously doubt that any reasonable call on this rule will include any batons you drive over as being in possession. However I think the game Q&A does need to clarify this rule better.

For instance I can imagine a team making a deflector (like what a locomotive has) on the front of a robot to push batons out of the way keeping the wheels (or whatever) clear. Would that contact be considered possession? Maybe they should rule that if the batons are on the floor you can contact any number of them. Sure some teams will then push them across the floor to a stationary goal, but since bots are allowed to remove them that wouldn't matter a whole bunch.

I cannot find the game Q&A, is it open yet and if so where can I find it?