11-03-2007 15:47

cziggy343

Re: pic: Whoops

that just sucks! but the arm is above the alliance station, they called that once at vcu, even though it happened more than that one time.

11-03-2007 15:48

mizscience

Re: pic: Whoops

WOW, was there any particular reason, or was it just bad luck that they both fell off the same time?

11-03-2007 16:16

JoeXIII'007

Re: pic: Whoops

They both had one side over the edge of the ramp... and thus, one by one, gravity bit them and took them down...

11-03-2007 16:20

Po-ser

Re: pic: Whoops

Awww! Part of my is crying and part of me is laughing hysterically. I hated it when a robot would fall off our ramps.

11-03-2007 16:30

Travis Hoffman

Re: pic: Whoops

Guard rails for the win.

11-03-2007 16:31

Captain Thunder

Re: pic: Whoops

i was there when it happened and i found it hilarious

11-03-2007 16:39

BRosser314

Re: pic: Whoops

This was one of the most elegant times I have ever seena robot fall off a ramp, they both fell off almost at the same tims, just about a few sceonds sepertaing them, it was a tense match to eatch and got the crowd wild

11-03-2007 16:40

VanMan

Re: pic: Whoops

Lots of teams don't think when they build their robot. If they actually thought about the game they would realize that you should have guide rails because it gets crazy.

11-03-2007 16:45

Bill_Hancoc

Re: pic: Whoops

im pretty sure 503 does have small guard rails but when your in a hurry and dont go on the ramp in the center guard rails cant help you

11-03-2007 16:50

BRosser314

Re: pic: Whoops

whewn i looked at there robot i thought all i could see is just a plywood ramp, i didnt see anything that looked like a guard rail,

I guess te trick to ramps is try to have a much wider ramp, like about 4ft wide

11-03-2007 17:10

TrippyMohan

Re: pic: Whoops

Yeah I was driving the arm. Straight up bad luck. And hurry. This was in semifinals I think, and while it sucked because we would have won, it turned out ok and is pretty funny now.

11-03-2007 17:14

Raul

Re: pic: Whoops

Or maybe practice.

Actually, guard rails are over-rated. In 2001 we had guard rails and we were 4 ft wide. Some robots could still manage to climb over the guard rail and get stuck. Others that had low clearance could catch their frame on the rail and it would lift their wheels off the ramp so they were no longer making contact and then they would get stuck also. So, the only way to have fool-proof guard rails is to make them taller than any robot's clearance. Even then, if they do not line up properly to start up the ramp, they can ride up the guard rail and really get stuck.

Like I said to begin with, drivers need to practice driving their robot straight up a ramp.

11-03-2007 17:26

GBIT

Re: pic: Whoops

At GSR team think pink didnt have guard rails (i think) but they had really wide ramps that worked great (nice job guys)

11-03-2007 17:32

KTorak

Re: pic: Whoops

I saw that match and was just....wow.... I was kinda worried because most people probably did not design their robot to with stand something like that.

11-03-2007 17:57

1359th Scalawag

Re: pic: Whoops

Pretty funny pic there. I'd be so dissapointed if I was on that alliance when that happened though.

My team's robot has a ramp built into the chassis. It's kind of like a rectangle made of two trianges so we hinged a corner and it unfolds to be a ramp.
*i'll see if I can draw it with text*

______________
|..--..............|
|.......--.........|
|............--....|
|................--| <-------Hinge goes there
|...................|
|...................|
|..O wheels O..|

Anyway, using the arm to push it up, we can deploy it and then using two little lifter leg things, we can raise it to a horizontal position 14 inches above the playing feild.
At first, it was too narrow for other robots to climb, so we added a bungee system so that the bottom two plates would flair outwards a little when it opened and give the robots more room to drive.

Wish I had a picture, I guess i'll be posting one as soon as we get the robot back. Hope you understood at least a bit of that!

11-03-2007 17:59

Travis Hoffman

Re: pic: Whoops

And given the noted increase in teams struggling to complete inspections on Thursday, how many teams do you think get enough time to execute that practice? It's a good suggestion, but how many get a chance to effectively prepare before their first event?

Especially early on in the season, I start out assuming no one knows how to drive on flat ground, let alone up a ramp. That doesn't even factor in the actual ability of the robot to drive straight in the first place. Adding extra insurance to guard against robots "falling off the cliff" only helps give confidence to the inexperienced and increase the chances of success. I'd rather have a robot get caught on the rails than falling off the edge and damaging themselves (or falling into a critical area of our robot and damaging us).

11-03-2007 21:26

sieggy

Re: pic: Whoops

The reason why our ramps do not have guardrails was a weight issue; we were heavily considering putting them in. However, they're 4 feet wide, so we figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Also, they're made of fiberglass with a honeycomb aluminum core, not plywood

It was just terrible luck. But very funny in retrospect.

11-03-2007 21:35

Jimmy Cao

Re: pic: Whoops

I was in the stands watching when that happened... it was interesting to say the least. I hope none of the robots were significantly damaged...

11-03-2007 21:43

K.Porter

Re: pic: Whoops

We actually did have some small guard rails, but they still left a lot to driver skill.
Props to all the drivers that made it up any ramps this year! Threading a needle with a robot is a difficult task, no matter what ramp you're climbing!

11-03-2007 21:43

Re: pic: Whoops

i was at that regional, but i was stuck watching the pits, and no one ever told me that that had happened, and this is the first i've heard of it.

11-03-2007 21:45

meatmanek

Re: pic: Whoops

The perfect ramps, in my opinion, would have guard rails as tall as the bumper zone, would be able to accompany a 37" wide robot, wouldn't rip up IFI traction wheels...
The alignment problem could be nicely solved by flared guard rails.

I'd be impressed if a team managed to make 2 ramps that satisfy those conditions, still be effective defensively, and still make weight.
I'd be amazed if a team could make ramps that satisfy those conditions and be able to score on all 3 levels.
You'd win if your robot had ramps that satisfy those conditions and you could score on all 3 levels effectively.

11-03-2007 23:52

Steve Kaneb

Re: pic: Whoops

Team 190 used guard rails throughout GSR and we've mostly found that they do little to affect robots getting up ramps. Simply put, you're getting up there or you aren't based on driving ability and robot capability. Everything else is decorative.

12-03-2007 16:38

cire

Re: pic: Whoops

They did not have any gaurd rails and the ramp was about 4-5 inchs larger then our wheel base

We had about 10 seconds left when the ramp was dropped, so we both just zoomed as fast as we could up it.

I personaly thought it was a little funny, and this picture will always bring back great memories And very frantic memories of checking the arm to see if it still worked afterwards..

12-03-2007 21:25

sieggy

Re: pic: Whoops

There are no guardrails on our ramps.

Also, if you're in the hole in the middle, then you are already off one of the sides, so the holes aren't really a problem. The hole is 12 inches wide and the strips on each side are 12 inches, so it would only be a problem if a robot had wheels really close together or a middle wheel.

13-03-2007 00:45

Pickwick II

Re: pic: Whoops

Team 1015 had *no* resultant damage. We were thanking our lucky stars...
That was a less-than-fun moment, though the picture is funny now.