Pitfalls to avoid when brainstorming the 2011 game and robot

[Cyberphil]

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

Incorrect, 1(77) out of 12 was a long bot that year. Oddly enough it was the team that said during the concept generation phase of robot design that year, "No widebody has ever made Einstein..."

Wish I was making this up.

Isn't that quite a twisted fate?

But the main point that I was making is that it is important to take into consideration the orientation, and how each bot will interact, move, and preform with other robots.

Another key thing that many teams did not notice is that a wide wheel base created a much greater rotational force. Because of the greater distance between the pivot point and the wheels, a much greater torque was in effect, making it easier for wide teams to turn. And in that game, the two driving things that killed were speed and agility.

Ahh, another sometimes unseen effect of one design over another. I am sure some teams thought of this, but for most (103 included), that effect was not brought up at all.