Team Update #1

[rutzman]

http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles...0Update_01.pdf

A synopsis:
No minibot launching.
One minibot per robot.
We get an 84" diameter cylinder instead of a 60" diameter cylinder.
We can use NXT sensors and cables on the minibot.
Andymark addressed some KoP errors.

[thefro526]

Thank the robot gods for an 84" cylinder.

[1086VEX]

Originally Posted by thefro526

Thank the robot gods for an 84" cylinder.

agreed!!!

[Stephen of REX]

Awwww, the minibot rules just got stricter. Goodbye surgical tubing powered jumping minibot.

[Joe Ross]

And this is why we don't do design until after Team Update #1 (and usually Team Update #2).

[Cory]

minibots will now be completely and totally boring.

What's more inspiring, a 1 second minibot or waiting to see who reaches the pole first to deploy their minibot that takes 7 seconds to reach the top?

[davidalln]

The OP does not state this but, in addition to no launching, MINIBOTS cannot hold stored energy. All movement must come from the motors.

[SteveGPage]

Originally Posted by Cory

minibots will now be completely and totally boring.

What's more inspiring, a 1 second minibot or waiting to see who reaches the pole first to deploy their minibot that takes 7 seconds to reach the top?

This is much more exciting! Instead of 1 second rocket launches, think of the suspense, the drama - oh, the humanity. It is like going to the county fair and watching the duck races. Will they make it or not?



Steve

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Cory

minibots will now be completely and totally boring.

What's more inspiring, a 1 second minibot or waiting to see who reaches the pole first to deploy their minibot that takes 7 seconds to reach the top?

Agreed. They should be relabeled to deployment races. It's now really whoever can jam their minibot into the pole fastest without destroying it.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by Cory

What's more inspiring, a 1 second minibot or waiting to see who reaches the pole first to deploy their minibot that takes 7 seconds to reach the top?

That sounds like hanging last year. With a few exceptions (27, 33, 148, 1114, and others), watching robots hang was very suspenseful. Would they pull themselves up in time? Are they JUST over the top of the tunnel? While 148's ability to hang was amazing, it was consistent, and less keep-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat exciting than a slower hanging bot.

[AdamHeard]

FIRST. You made a horrible call, you took what was potentially a good engineering design challenge, and turned it into a last ditch effort to save their inferior (to vex) FTC design competition.

It's now a challenge of who can make the SAME minibot lighter. Yay.

[XaulZan11]

I also think it would have been really exciting to see a mini-bot launch to the top in 1 second. I also think this will lead to many teams copying (or getting inspired by)* sucessful mini-bot designs. It will be alot easier to change a mini-bot than change the mini-bot and the robot that launches it. This game is quickly losing the ways to differentiate the great and elite teams.


*Note: I have no problems with teams doing this, just that is leads to alot of similar robots and thus less exciting matches with diverse robots.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Karibou

That sounds like hanging last year. With a few exceptions (27, 33, 148, 1114, and others), watching robots hang was very suspenseful. Would they pull themselves up in time? Are they JUST over the top of the tunnel? While 148's ability to hang was amazing, it was consistent, and less keep-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat exciting than a slower hanging bot.

I have no desire to watch a battle of who sucks less. It's not inspiring to see whether the robot that takes 16 seconds to hang beats out the one that takes 14 seconds to hang. Slow=boring, regardless of whether it's a scenario where it ends up being a buzzer beater.

[h1n1is4pigs]

Originally Posted by Cory

waiting to see who reaches the pole first to deploy their minibot that takes 7 seconds to reach the top

actually if you run a 4inch diameter wheel at the maximum the motors move(152rpm) it will only take 3.5 sec and even if it is running at 120rpm it will only take about 5 sec to reach the top of the pole

[Michael Corsetto]

I know everyone is rejoicing about the 84" cylinder, but I personally loved the 60" as an actual engineering challenge. What about this game is different than 2007 again? Minibots? OK, cool.