Pitfalls to avoid when brainstorming the 2011 game and robot

[maverickfan138]

573 has had two main pitfalls:

1. We usually end up designing a complex robot, and with our resources, the final product usually doesn't work how we intended it to. In addition to FIRST, we compete in OCCRA, and the past two OCCRA seasons and this past FIRST season, we have built extremely simple robots. Our last three robots have had a minimum of moving parts, yet were extremely offensive.

Our Breakaway robot was simple, yet innovative. The kicker was basically a rotating paddle, and it worked extremely well. Throughout the season, we had plenty of teams compliment us on our simple, effective design and a few even asked if they could use our design(especially after Ann Arbor).

2. We also tend to have a habit of falling behind schedule and cramming to complete our robot even when it is a simple design. To prevent falling behind, we just need to make sure that everybody stays on task and completes the 15 minute jobs in 15 minutes instead of an hour and a half.


tl;dr version: Basically, 573 needs to keep the design simple and stay on task and we will have another outstanding season.