What's the most innovative/different design you've seen?

[Validius]

I am also bias but i think that 1549's desigh is the most innofative simply by applying the effectiveness of our bot devided by the complexity. Our lift is a nested ladder and out gripper is a custom cut aluminum piece. Thats it. Stock drive train.

[ben281]

hey everyone! this is ben from team 281 in greenville SC. we just won the daluth, GA regional with a really cool robot! check this out. we went with a 6 wheeled design with 4 small wheels and two big ones in the middle (the axels are higher so everything is level). it turns on a dime, and with a slanted base made from aluminum angle, we are incredibly light, and had no trouble with weight this year. even so, we never lost a pushing match! also, we have this really cool arm that extends at the beginning of every match and stays that way. its hard to explain, but at the beginning the robot expands to a 11 foot high, right triangle. this allows us to cap with incredible accuracy. to go up and down the mast, we use a system that uses acorn nuts to physically grab the mast and go up (avoiding belts or chains). it works amazingly! check out the upcoming pictures and movies at www.entech281.com good luck to everyone!
Ben

[tkwetzel]

I have to agree with JVN that 173 has the best arm that I have seen so far. And I am waiting for a current team 116 member to post inforamtion/pictures about their drivetrain past the simple teasers that Dave posted. Hopefully they will post some pictures after Annapolis this weekend, along with some information on how well it worked.

[JackN]

I think that a cool design is the MAK team's lateral moving robot

[Beth Sweet]

Wow, I am in absolute shock that no one has mentioned HOT's machine. Maybe I'm biased, but that thing just dominated at GLR. The arm (forklift style) was no doubt the best in the competition, I felt that they employed some of the best strategy and the drivers were fantastic under pressure. Go 67!

[rangersteve]

My vote goes to 1024 the killa-bytes

They can effectively use the automated loading zone. The gripper holds sturdy and releases with no problem. they stack 5-6 tetras a match on 5-6 different goals.
They also have a sleek looking robot.

[Conor Ryan]

most innovative feature i've seen all day has to go to 224.

they have 2 casters on a pneumatic cylinder, so that during a match, if they want to they can switch from 4 wheel drive to 2 wheel drive.

I must say its a pretty neat alternative to a 2 or more speed gear box.

as for the 1 joystick driving, 1367 also did it. its pretty neat to watch, but i still like the 2 joystick system.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by cdr1122334455

most innovative feature i've seen all day has to go to 224.

they have 2 casters on a pneumatic cylinder, so that during a match, if they want to they can switch from 4 wheel drive to 2 wheel drive.

I must say its a pretty neat alternative to a 2 or more speed gear box.

I don't see how that is at all comparable to a shifting transmission.

Anyway, I don't know about innovative or creative but for "just plain crazy" I'd cast a vote for our HexaMax R2 six motor two speed drive system.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=35266
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=35272

I can't wait to see it perform.

[Conor Ryan]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I don't see how that is at all comparable to a shifting transmission.

it's definetly something you need to see in person, very unique and difficult to explain

[JackN]

I saw 469 at the Detroit regional. They have the best arm i have seen yet. They can cap three at a time and it can go in any direction.

[Kyle Love]

My vote goes for team 868. They basically have two arms...one holds tetras and sets them on a goal and the other can pick up tetras off the ground and/or hold the tetras on the other arm on. Great design...I think they should do pretty well.

[Billfred]

Well, at the risk of tooting my team's horn, our 2004 robot had a bit of an interesting twist.

On the other hand, 67 this year probably took the prize (along with all of the other prizes, for that matter--congrats again, guys ). I don't think I've seen a flopping swerve with the ever-popular pitchfork.

Then again, 85 and 180 also have the oddball manipulators that worked well (but more traditional drivetrains). It's all good.

[Justin_302]

....302 had an amazing drivetrain. No one could push them

[george56]

the best arm that i saw at Chesapeake had to be Team 173's arm. it was so simple and effective.

this may sound biased, but I'd have to say the coolest drive train at Chesapeake was ours(team 116). its just sooo cool!

[katiyeh07]

I was definately impressed by the B.O.B robot, and Team 180's robot. They were very different and unique.