Mini-bots

[1631JD]

There is nothing in the rules pertaining to the use of two MINIBOTS on the ROBOT. Is it most likely that they are going to change that or would one be considered as weight for the weigh-in and the other be considered as a normal MINIBOT. If there are more than one, it would be easier to DEPLOY them because there would be more angles to do so.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by 1631JD

There is nothing in the rules pertaining to the use of two MINIBOTS on the ROBOT. Is it most likely that they are going to change that or would one be considered as weight for the weigh-in and the other be considered as a normal MINIBOT. If there are more than one, it would be easier to DEPLOY them because there would be more angles to do so.

Please don't say "most likely" based on guesses. We don't know and it's rather bad to assume.

[1631JD]

Sorry, first time I've been the one to deal with the rules.

Should we just continue working on this direction then until the rules say otherwise?

[Chris is me]

If you have questions about the rules, the FIRST Q&A should be the first place to go.

Otherwise, there's no reason not to assume that if the manual seems to allow it, it does. Keep in mind FIRST doesn't necessarily want to spell every little thing out for teams.

[1631JD]

So far there is nothing, and I can't ask yet. I'll have to ask mentor for our codes to ask them, and it seems like a lot of idea are thrown around here so I figured I would ask.

[Cow Bell Solo]

Chances are if you are having to assume something with the rules usually it happens out there that teams are wrong. And like was mentioned before the Q&A is the place to get clarification on any of the rules you are having to make an assumption on.

And who knows maybe another team is out there with the same question and then that answer on there by the GDC can be shared to all

[1631JD]

Originally Posted by Cow Bell Solo

Chances are if you are having to assume something with the rules usually it happens out there that teams are wrong. And like was mentioned before the Q&A is the place to get clarification on any of the rules you are having to make an assumption on.

And who knows maybe another team is out there with the same question and then that answer on there by the GDC can be shared to all

It was answered by the team update

[Tem1514 Mentor]

TEAM UPDATE #1 is OUT regrading the minibot and a number of other things.

The minibot rules have been UPDATE to state in a nut shell:
ONLY ONE minibot per robot!

MINIBOT must climb under its' OWN power! NO "missle launching" from the hostbot.

In a nut shell

[1631JD]

Originally Posted by Tem1514 Mentor

TEAM UPDATE #1 is OUT regrading the minibot and a number of other things.

The minibot rules have been UPDATE to state in a nut shell:
ONLY ONE minibot per robot!

MINIBOT must climb under its' OWN power! NO "missle launching" from the hostbot.

In a nut shell

Though we all admit missile launching would be pretty awesome to watch.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

This is a good time to go back and look at the rules. There was nothing in the original rules that would lead to an interpretation of more than one. All rules for the MINIBOT refer to it in the singular. Further, how would you deploy two minibots on two separate towers in ten seconds and have them both hit the target in the allotted time? Remember that only one mini per tower will trigger the score.

[1631JD]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

This is a good time to go back and look at the rules. there was nothing in the original rules that would lead to an interpretation of more than one. All rules for the MINIBOT refer to it in the singular. Further, how would you deploy two minibots on two separate towers in ten seconds and have them both hit the target in the allotted time? Remember that only one mini per tower will trigger the score.

Even though this is a dead topic, the point was to have two so that way we could deploy either without having to worry about wasting time maneuvering to get to the deploying side.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

In addition to the rules not supporting two mini's, the additional weight could give you an unfair advantage in a pushing match. The robots are already very heavy without the mini. It is highly recommended that you bring out the mini separate from the main robot and install it on the field to prevent accidents and lighten the load.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by 1631JD

Even though this is a dead topic, the point was to have two so that way we could deploy either without having to worry about wasting time maneuvering to get to the deploying side.

Dragging this thread even further off topic... Your goal is a sound and useful one even that particular implementation wasn't legal. You may be able to implement a deployment mechanism that only holds one minibot but still gives you the positioning flexibility that you desire. Think about how you could make a mechanism that could pivot or reverse itself to work from different sides of your robot. Or perhaps it swing in an arc so it could engage the pole anywhere in a 180 deg arc around your robot. There's a fair number of options for having a deployment device that's robust against misalignment.

Mind you, you'll be making a trade-off here as most engineering decisions are. In this case, you're trading off deployment speed, because you're having your deployment system handle misalignment problems that you could've handled before the end game. You're getting more robustness and better odds against defender for that trade-off, though. Just something to consider.