Mini Bot - displeasure

[Tom Line]

Originally Posted by Navid Shafa

With the limited resources allowed, I'd be surprised to see a minibot that was able to do significant damage, even with the old rule set. The plates are designed to take at least 4-5 Newtons I'd bet even more. Knowing FIRST, these things will be made durable anyways, considering how much wear and tear it will receive at a regional event. I think it's A, a safety issue and B, a uniformity and regulation issue.

Actually, we were concerned we'd blow the top off the scoring pole. Using surgical tubing as an energy storage device in your minibot, you could easily put several hundred pounds of force into spinning your wheels to climb the pole with some very simply engineering. Hint - that's exactly how many teams kicked the soccer balls and launched the track balls. Now picture the same with something weighing under a pound total.

Limiting us to only the electrical energy available in the 12V battery is a smart move on FIRST's part. Limiting us to FTC components only is disappointing. However, it is what it is - we'll move on like everyone else and do our best to figure out a way to make a minibot with no FTC teams to give us parts.