UTC Pre-Scrimmage Thoughts....

[Tom Schindler]

I had the opportunity to referee at the scrimmage, i just figured i would compile a small list of happenings at the scrimmage...

• After handing out many penalties for the robots entering the ball chute, i would STRONGLY urge any team that plans on getting close to those chutes to make it so it is nearly impossible for your robot to get in there. Even if a part of your robot sticks in there for a second or two, it will be called -- Please design (or redesign) accordingly!
• Many robots had control issues while trying to navigate around the side of the stationary goal -- make sure your robot is controllable enough so that it doesn't drop a wheel or two off the side and possibly end up stuck
• A number of teams designed really nice looking operator interfaces, but they did not comply with rule R85 - "The Operator Interface Console designed by your team must fit on the 42” wide by 9” deep shelf" -- this rule is here for a reason, because of the design of the shelf and the location of the e-stop, make sure you follow these rules, otherwise it WILL NOT fit and you will be holding your controls...
• A major penalty that occured once was when a team tried to grab the 10 pt bonus ball on the side over the top of the metal frame -- they ended up being disabled because they were endangering the numerous sensors and lights on that assembly. Be sure to only interact through the metal frame...

Hope everyone has an awesome end of the build season.... now comes the fun of the competitions!

Tom