pic: IRI Prank #1

[Qbranch]

Wow... I'm amazed at how much exposure Albert the Road Barrel got...

Sorry we didn't have his fully autonomous mode done in time for IRI... eventually he's getting an array of eight or more ultrasonic sensors around his base... plan is to either give him a route to follow and just stop if somebody comes up to him (using our 2008 robot's championship-rockwell-automation-innovation-in-control-award-winning autonomous navigation software... had to throw that last part in there ), or just have him run away from people.

Originally Posted by InfernoX14

Well, the bench wasn't occupied. It wasn't busy, like Andy Baker. It wasn't difficult to work with, like a track ball.

It also made it really easy to carry it to 1024's pit when we were finished.

Oh gosh... if you all tried to saran wrap it to any baker he'd probably just order his '05 kitbot transmissions to stop... however the trackball is interesting...

...and yes, I thought it was hillarious when Albert showed up on a bench.

I didn't really think the LED display getting saran wrapped was too funny though... it had a pretty penny worth of parts in it...

Originally Posted by Andrew141WOBOT

I wondered why it was stuck to a bench. That thing hit me coming back from a match

Sorry, but we didn't give albert a keyed switch to turn on, so it was pretty easy for anyone to grab the controller, unplug the charger, and go. Unfortunately, some of the people that drove Albert were very obnoxious. Sorry, but not much I can do about that.

As far as I know, I think I'm clean at least... I don't remember hitting anyone.

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

I'm glad someone wrapped up that cone, it was funny for about the first ten minutes and then I was just annoyed the rest of the weekend by it.

Again, sorry some people layed on the horn... but yes it is a good tool to pull off a gag... you should have seen when some 1024-ers took it over to a road construction site (on Keystone, I believe) and put it in the row with the rest of the road barrels... they say they got somebody to do a U-turn just by spinning it in circles and honking the horn while operating it from behind a new jersy barrier. Before you ask, yes I've asked for a video many times... if I get one, I'll be sure to post.

-q

[JaneYoung]

Again, sorry some people layed on the horn... but yes it is a good tool to pull off a gag... you should have seen when some 1024-ers took it over to a road construction site (on Keystone, I believe) and put it in the row with the rest of the road barrels... they say they got somebody to do a U-turn just by spinning it in circles and honking the horn while operating it from behind a new jersy barrier.

That sounds like a Candid Camera moment.

Talent Show, Q, Talent Show. Albert could assist the master of ceremonies. or...Fishboy and Albert the Road Barrel, Taking It On The Road....

Or.... Albert, The Latte Barrel.

Or ... if only Albert Had A Hammer

ok, I'll stop. Well, writing but not thinking. I can't believe I missed seeing this little guy. *sigh*

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

I agree. No one should be playing with other peoples robots unless the team that owns the robot is asked first.

1114 was already pranked that weekend on Thursday night by professional pranksters.
Saturday was just amateur hour IMHO.
The difference between the Thursday night pranking & the Saturday pranking was that members of 1114 were in on the prank (aka: bot-napping) on Thursday, & obviously were asked before hand.

Pranking is funny but only to a limit of course.

The cone prank (which I didn't see but would have liked to in person) was just great! There's a HUGE difference in pranking a side project & a competitive robot while at an event as well.
That's just funny right there what they did to the cone-bot. lol

[Arefin Bari]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

1114 was already pranked that weekend on Thursday night by professional pranksters.
Saturday was just amateur hour IMHO.
The difference between the Thursday night pranking & the Saturday pranking was that members of 1114 were in on the prank (aka: bot-napping) on Thursday, & obviously were asked before hand.

Pranking is funny but only to a limit of course.

The cone prank (which I didn't see but would have liked to in person) was just great! There's a HUGE difference in pranking a side project & a competitive robot while at an event as well.
That's just funny right there what they did to the cone-bot. lol

Speaking of the Thursday night prank, I am trying to get all the pictures I can get so I can make a collage out of it. Please send me pictures if you have any. Thanks.

[Kyle Love]

If you ask me, the prank done on Thursday night could have broken more things then the whole saran wrap. But thats just me. Regardless, both weren't funny IMHO. The whole barrel thing though, everyone was annoyed by it so that's cool, since ya know, it wasn't a REAL robot.

[Dan Petrovic]

Oh this poor traffic barrel...

It was a really clever idea to have something like this driving around. We had the idea of making a grill drive around for our town's 4th of July parade., but... it just never happened.

However, I think it hung around in the most congested spot in the entire building: the pit entrance, a bit too much. I saw it run into many people and the honking... oh the honking...

It was the perfect robot to pick up and run away with. It wasn't a competition robot, it was sturdy, members of 1024 were good sports about it, and everyone else who saw the poor robot wrapped to the bench highly approved.

However, in hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to carry the bench to 1024's pit as that was near a high traffic area, as well...

[Raumiester2010]

I agree that the cone was a great idea and would be great for PR. (and i am bummed that we didnt think of it first. koodos to you team 1024) though this is a great idea, i agree with InfernoX14 and probably many others when i say that it hung around too much in a crowded, congested spot and became overly annoying as the weekend went on. Also, I spent most of my time in the pits and every time it honked, even if it was on the other end of the pits, it startled me.

other than how annoying it got, it really was a good idea and i hope that 1024 doesn't discontinue Albert and i hope to see it at IRI next year (if we are invited again) i just ask you guys give the horn a little break.

[Bendavnel]

As one of the creators of Albert the robotic safety barrel i would like to apologize to anybody that was offended by him at IRI. It was not the not our intention to annoy anybody. It was just a little summer project that a couple of us from team 1024 decided to build. I was not able to be there all the time while albert was being driven around, so I was unaware of the problems he created and nerves that he tested until i read about it here on CD. I completely understand how his being in the commons and in the hallway to the fieldhouse would be distracting and problematic. I hope that i dont have to remove albert completely from FIRST events but tweaking the horn and how and where he is driven will certainly be taken into consideration for any future events. Sorry again for any problems he caused over the IRI weekend.

Ben