What new technology will FIRST have this year?

[Peter Matteson]

I'm thinking we will have a positioning system built into the field. The idea has been kicked around a bit for the last few years. We have 3-4 beacons on the field that allow us to determine our position.

No IR that was a problem in 2004. I believe camera auto-focus mechanisms threw off the tracking ability in practice.

Fuel Cells on robots and in venues won't happen. We aren't allowed to bring Hydrogen into the venues. We had to purge our H2 bottle in the Fuel Cell vehicle we brought to UTC last year because of this concern. (See my who am I? for a picture)

The other item I think we may see is RFID. The goal only is able to be used when an RIFD tag is appriatly located by an alliance partner. At least that is something I want to see

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

I'm thinking we will have a positioning system built into the field. The idea has been kicked around a bit for the last few years. We have 3-4 beacons on the field that allow us to determine our position.

No IR that was a problem in 2004. I believe camera auto-focus mechanisms threw off the tracking ability in practice.

That would be awesome. 116 toyed with a field positioning system using a combination of encoders, gyro, and the IR beacons in 2004, but couldn't quite get it fully operational. Had we had a 3rd beacon to triangulate, it would have been so much easier.