Under 1 sec mini bot

[Jeffy]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Now, how does a team manage to get around 1-2 seconds? We all have the same motors... Or do they not use motors at all?

Being that we all have the same maximum power output (motors).
-Eliminate wasted power (friction, ect.)
-Decrease the amount of work that needs to get done (weight)


As per the topic:
I think it could happen. I haven't run any numbers to see if the motors + battery could make a mini-bot go up in sub 1 second in ideal conditions. My gut ways it could. As per the deployment, it can be done quick, say .25-.5 seconds.

So, by one of the best teams in the world, I think it can happen once or twice. 1.5 seconds seems much more obtainable for the powerhouses, with 2-3 seconds being fairly "norm" for all highly ranked (top 20) in each division this year at championships.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Now, how does a team manage to get around 1-2 seconds? We all have the same motors... Or do they not use motors at all?

Gearing, weight, and size of wheels. Our current minibot is going up in 2.6 seconds. We are going to put on smaller wheels and re-cnc the plates to make them smaller and lighter. http://www.youtube.com/user/frc3467?.../0/fkd1pkthJZY

I think we will see a 1 sec or close to minibot.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Now, how does a team manage to get around 1-2 seconds? We all have the same motors... Or do they not use motors at all?

Minibot speed is all about getting the gearing and traction right.

[davidthefat]

Oh, the wheels are directly attached to the motor shaft... So that is not a good idea?

[Tobot]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Minibot speed is all about getting the gearing and traction right.

It would have been a more interesting engineering challenge if that were true. Team 1827 will contend that minibot speed is actually all about eliminating every gram that isn't mandated by the rules.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by WizenedEE

Driving into the tower can still take time. Lining up is also an issue.

Not necessarily. That could be fixed as part of your design.

[Justin Montois]

Sub 1 second? No.

I do however think that as the season goes on more and more teams will see "how its done" with the minibot then the game will undergo a shift from a Minibot heavy game in the first three weeks to a tube heavy game at championship as the minibots become more even.

Einstein will be a battle of who can put up the tubes and who can hit the button the fastest to deploy their minibots.

Haven't seen 469 yet though.........

[BuzzMathias175]

Playing a role in the developement on buzz's mini-bot i must say that deployment is by far the hardest part, but yet the most important, if you think about it the mini-bot actually has a 20 sec time period to climb the pole in, 10 secs at the end of regulation match then 10 secs beyond that.

The versatility of a deployment mechanism is what will make or break the mini-bot, it may climb it in one second however if it's not at the pole it isn't going anywhere. Reliability will be a key factor.

A 1 sec mini-bot will be done is my guess.

[V_Chip]

Originally Posted by BuzzMathias175

Playing a role in the developement on buzz's mini-bot i must say that deployment is by far the hardest part, but yet the most important, if you think about it the mini-bot actually has a 20 sec time period to climb the pole in, 10 secs at the end of regulation match then 10 secs beyond that.

The versability of a deployment mechanism is what will make or break the mini-bot, it may climb it in one second however if it's not at the pole it isn't going anywhere. Reliability will be a key factor.

A 1 sec mini-bot will be done is my guess.

Agreed.

The deployment is the key to having a successful minibot. After many posts and speculation, I'm still undecided on whether or not we'll see one. . . until championships. It'll take some refining and a hard study on balance but it is hypothetically obtainable (if not already).

[Migriemsl]

The trick isn't the motor, but what you use for traction.

[rcmolloy]

There are teams out there that have to be working meticulously on this right now. They aren't going to give up because of it. Trust me, there will be a sub 1 second minibot.

That would be tricky, since clipping to the pole requires turning a horizontal force to a vertical force, and you can't leave too early after clipping because the minibot would bounce and slide around.

Our team bounced around an idea about a modified clay-pigeon launcher type thing that slams the robot onto the pole (lightly), but would deploy extremely fast.

We haven't had time, money, or enough of a workforce to build it or the minibot, so if anyone wants to use the idea, feel free.

[mwtidd]

Originally Posted by ThaineP

That would be tricky, since clipping to the pole requires turning a horizontal force to a vertical force, and you can't leave too early after clipping because the minibot would bounce and slide around.

Actually it doesn't....

Unfortunately I can't say more.

[Ashley Painter]

its all a matter of friction

[jvriezen]

We just finished the Lake Superior Regional. We (2530 "Inconceivable") were the first alliance pick of the #2 seed, 2169, King Tec. In the second elimination match we played, I believe we got as close as anyone to the best time (both time of Deploy+climb as well as clock time at end of climb).

We had a superfast deployment using preloaded surgical tubing (maybe <0.3 sec?), released by a cylinder under robot control at exactly the 10 second mark (its release had to be authorized by pressing a driver station button prior to 10 seconds). We also borrowed 2169's minibot during elims (they brought at least five of them to the event). Theirs was a faster climber than ours, but not by all that much, ours never lost a race in all cases where it was successfully deployed (which was most of the time, not sure of the stats for attempts/success/fails)

I was the drive coach, and didn't monitor the clocks for this, but I wouldn't be surprised if hit the top before the clock read 8 seconds in that second elim match.

I never would have expected a borrowed minibot adapted to another hostbot would be so effective. (Sat lunch we very quickly made some relatively minor changes to our deployer to adapt to their minibot mounting design, though we retained our 'turn on the minibot' mechanism.


John Vriezen
FIRST Team 2530 Mentor and Drive Coach