Support Robot Concept

[pandamonium]

lets say that a robot sits in its lane against the feeder station and is built in such a way that it can launch tubes across the field similar to track balls being launched in Overdrive.

The strategy is not to score but to make it very easy for your teammates too

in theory your entire aliance will spend the majority of the match inside a safe zome.

Prototype: Tip a tube any shape so that it is perpendicular to the feeder slot and then punt it with your foot. It can fly above other robots and land in your zone.

Note: not hitting poles might take some engineering but shouldnt be that big of an issue.

[Brandon Holley]

Considering most teams will probably have some sort of large appendage capable of going upwards, the support strategy you suggest may not work very well.

If you do happen to make a robot capable of flinging tubes with great accuracy across the field, it will only take a raised arm or lift to "stuff" the shots you are taking across the field.

-Brando

[BrianT103]

This is a neat idea.

Launching tubes that are 3 different shapes 54 feet across the field into your home zone consistently is a big challenge. There are a couple reasons why this would work as well as why it wouldn't.

Here's why it would work:
1. Because opponents aren't allowed in your loading station, your launches won't get blocked by opposing teams.
2. The area in which the tubes must land is pretty big (17' by 8' iirc). Allows for a significant margin of error in terms of flight trajectory, etc.

Here's why it won't work:
1. Opposing teams can raise their towers and sit in front of the opposing team's home zone knocking down any launched tubes.
2. Even though teams have the ability of extending outside of the frame perimeter this year, designing a device to hurl a lightweight tube 55 feet is no small task. The force required would be substantial.

[Chris is me]

I like the idea of a robot that has an arm at exactly the height of the lane loader that goes from the lane, grabs a tube, then brings it to the midfield and "passes" it to a teammate. However, the rules currently prohibit robots taking tubes from other robots.

[Patrick Chiang]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I like the idea of a robot that has an arm at exactly the height of the lane loader that goes from the lane, grabs a tube, then brings it to the midfield and "passes" it to a teammate. However, the rules currently prohibit robots taking tubes from other robots.

Thought that rules would only apply for opponents. Like, if you pin your own teammate, there wouldn't be a penalty, right?

[pandamonium]

I can kick it the full length of the field and reach a height of approximately 15 feet. another proof of concept is that robots could throw the much larger and much heavier trackballs 7 feet in the air.

so one or two of there robots will have to block our zone, which would mean that they are not scoring which I think I would still be ok with

accommodating the different sized tubes wouldn't be that difficult.

yes there are some design challenges but I think they can be overcome.

[nuggetsyl]

Love the idea but i think i see 2 problems with it. I do not see the tubes making all the way across the field(maybe you can roll the round ones). The second is the pipe for the end game would get in the way. But more power to you. I would love to see it in action if you guys build it.

[Josh Goodman]

The idea of a feeder robot is solid. Basically in it's simplest form, the feeder robot's job is to either gather tubes from the field or from its own human player and drop them in the alliances scoring safe zone. This allows your big scorers for nonstop scoring.

Now, the best way to do this IMO is literally hanging onto game pieces and moving super fast so that no matter what, the game piece will always be in the possession of your alliance.

Like this launching method (if it worked) it might be faster, but it's easily defended. Teams would recognize this and you would not be picked because of it. So I do think the feeding option is excellent, but launching tubes I don't think is the best way of going about it.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Patrick Chiang

Thought that rules would only apply for opponents. Like, if you pin your own teammate, there wouldn't be a penalty, right?

Sadly, no. I'm hoping it's an oversight that will be corrected in an Update.

<G49> ROBOTS may not attempt to POSSESS a GAME PIECE that is being POSSESSED by another ROBOT. Violation: PENALTY

[Lil' Lavery]

This is assuming that your scorers will be able to pick up off the ground. I think that's a pretty big assumption.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

This is assuming that your scorers will be able to pick up off the ground. I think that's a pretty big assumption.

It might be... but if you can't pick them up off the floor, you're stuck driving to the other side to get game pieces every single time. That's a pretty big handicap to have, considering past experiences of game pieces littering the floor.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by BrianT103

Here's why it would work:
1. Because opponents aren't allowed in your loading station, your launches won't get blocked by opposing teams.

It may not be as easy to block, but it will still certainly be reasonable to block shots. If a team with a 10 foot arm is standing even at the end of the lane line, it will require a pretty decent arc to launch a tube over them.

-Brando

[pandamonium]

OK they block the lane with a 10 foot arm, the robot can still drive across the field to supply another team or move out of the way and shoot. Even still forcing a team that can score to block a team that can't is still worth it.

I am kind of surprised so many people are ruling this idea out...

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by pandamonium

OK they block the lane with a 10 foot arm, the robot can still drive across the field to supply another team or move out of the way and shoot. Even still forcing a team that can score to block a team that can't is still worth it.

I am kind of surprised so many people are ruling this idea out...

The shooting concept is probably being ruled out because its quite a challenge to undertake. Can it be done? I'm sure it can, and probably will be this season, but it's still a large challenge, and risk, that many teams probably do not want to take.

The idea of bringing tubes across the field is perfectly legitimate, and I'm sure many teams will be able to do this quite successfully. However, many teams may have this functionality built in to their design just by having an arm capable of loading quickly and driving fast.

Unless theres a specialized mechanism, the idea of a support robot seems more like a strategy than a design concept.

-Brando

[RyanCahoon]

Is there a distinct advantage to this more than just having the feeder throw the tubes over the wall instead of putting them through the slot?

<G57> During the TELEOPERATED PERIOD, FEEDERS may enter LOGO PIECES onto the FIELD by using the FEEDING SLOTS or by throwing the LOGO PIECE over the top of the FEEDER STATION wall.

I've heard credible reports of being able to reach half-field, and that's without much practice.

--Ryan