pic: Game hint

[synth3tk]

Originally Posted by alex1699

well IR stuff hmmm.. thats crazy stuff the field is going to be sending are robots to do stuff i think..

That's pretty believable. Maybe a part of autonomous that, when sent a certain code, they have to respond a certain way or go for the goal or whatever.

[JBotAlan]

I'm making two assumptions here, and with the logic to back them up, here they are:

-This isn't going on the robot. The speak of powering it from a bench supply or AA batteries proves that.

-The robots will not be emitting IR. Think of the mess debugging that would be. The judges would all have to have cameras fixed on each robot to make sure nobody was jamming the signal for everyone.

My guess:
I'm going for some kind of human player controllable field item. The HP gets a remote, points it at the field item and presses a button. The goal may change colors, but that's about all. It won't move, as that would be terrible for teams to construct, and awful to maintain during a match. I think it has to do with a vision target, as most teams have not figured out tracking yet, and FIRST wants us to.

Hmmm...I don't know...
Whatever it is, it looks fun!
JBot (counting down the days...)

P.S. I would like to think that this device will be mounted on the robot...it would be amazing to get signals from the field. Period switches, or different goals...hmm...I may end up being totally wrong all around. Whatev, but my sleep is totally gone now.

[Kyle Love]

I am finally, first time in 5 years now, not going to worry about the game hint.....and try to be uber suprised at kickoff when the game is announced...I'll just play Halo or something. As I have said many times before, yet again, Dave is out to mess with our heads, now by saying MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[Michelle Celio]

So I'm imputing a crazy idea I came up with in an AIM Chat...

michellecelio (10:23:49 PM): On the field could be random IR walls, sort of like on the roomba's virtual wall, that will randomly be turned on and off .
michellecelio (10:23:55 PM): With this, would be another IR thing on the robot so the robot would randomly not be able to go any further.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Kyle Love

I am finally, first time in 5 years now, not going to worry about the game hint.....and try to be uber suprised at kickoff when the game is announced...I'll just play Halo or something. As I have said many times before, yet again, Dave is out to mess with our heads, now by saying MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I call Barbara Streisand on you Kyle!

[PhilBot]

Since the outputs on the cable are digital, it would make sense for it to be plugged into the RC's digital input header, but the pinout isn't compatible. No easy way to connect it directly, or with PWM cables....

As much as I'd love to see this on the robot.... they've made it hard to wire in.

It's also interesting that the unit has to be set up to "Learn" the codes that it's meant to respond to.... Do they really trust all the teams to "teach" their board the correct codes ???? Sure ... that'll happen.

BTW, if you think the IR controller is fun... what about the IR ball ?

http://www.hitechnic.com/ click on products and scroll down to IRB1004

[Akash Rastogi]

A lot of these posts are still talking specifically about the board itself. Note that past hints have almost never been about what the objects were or what was on the game hint. So, unless by some weird account Im completely wrong, the game will have nothing to do what's on the board.
Any others receive their boards?

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by JBotAlan

I'm making two assumptions here, and with the logic to back them up, here they are:

-This isn't going on the robot. The speak of powering it from a bench supply or AA batteries proves that.

Except that the +V on the RC PWM outputs is 7.2 volts which is in the specified range. (Just like the CMU cam)

[JBotAlan]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

BTW, if you think the IR controller is fun... what about the IR ball ?

http://www.hitechnic.com/ click on products and scroll down to IRB1004

Wow, that looks incredibly amusing. But I don't think it'll make it to be a field element. Then again, someone mentioned pool tubes in the hint thread last year and I shot them down, saying they'd deflate like crazy (and they did... ). It's just, these are so breakable and the batteries...I'm glad I'm not a volunteer.

But I want one (or twenty...). My new camera processor should work nicely tracking them...

If only...
JBot

[JBotAlan]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

Except that the +V on the RC PWM outputs is 7.2 volts which is in the specified range. (Just like the CMU cam)

Correct, but why would they suggest a benchtop power supply? I still think this is a field element. I'm sure I could be wrong, but FIRST would be giving us instructions on how to tap into that power source. There are teams that have no idea where to get power from without instructions. Remember how the CMUcam came with documentation stating exactly how to connect it? Those docs would have to exist for this thing. And maybe they do. Maybe I'm wrong. But I don't think so.

JBot (I need to stop posting...)

PS. I was going to combine my two posts, but cannot figure out how to delete this one. Is that functionality missing now? BRANDON!!! ;-)

[Akash Rastogi]

Ribbon cable-cable tv-tv antenna-antenna-tower

something to do with a tower in the middle of the field?
Notice how the 07 game had something to do with the '97 game pieces-tubes
Anyone think something similar could happen with the '98 game this year?

[alex1699]

i think this is a little obgect that has nothing to do with any thing buit the number 5 that after 2 minute of staring at it

[EricH]

I'm going to say this.

1. It probably isn't in the kit because A) FIRST got stuck on a game hint or B) it arrived too late, and FIRST decided to just send them out.

2. In 2004, the IR beacons, which looked something like this, were part of the field. This probably is not going on a robot.

3. I hope a riddle is released soon.

[JaneYoung]

FedEx has been a generous sponsor for FIRST. The shipping of these packages likely means that FedEx has been generous again. That's a lot of generosity for the game clue. To post a riddle would not be as costly or involve a sponsor(s) (FedEx, Diversified Systems, etc.) like this effort has done.

[DanDon]

Originally Posted by JBotAlan

Correct, but why would they suggest a benchtop power supply? I still think this is a field element. I'm sure I could be wrong, but FIRST would be giving us instructions on how to tap into that power source. There are teams that have no idea where to get power from without instructions. Remember how the CMUcam came with documentation stating exactly how to connect it? Those docs would have to exist for this thing. And maybe they do. Maybe I'm wrong. But I don't think so.

JBot (I need to stop posting...)

PS. I was going to combine my two posts, but cannot figure out how to delete this one. Is that functionality missing now? BRANDON!!! ;-)

The CMUcam2 also came with instructions on how to set it up with a bench setup...just something to keep in mind .