21-02-2008 12:01

Alex Cormier

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Is it 3 wheel swerve?

21-02-2008 12:17

Ricky Q.

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

How fast is this little bugger?

21-02-2008 12:17

Tom Bottiglieri

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Looks like John's armor dream came true.

21-02-2008 12:38

petek

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

But but but... how do we know if it meets <R66> and <R72> if it doesn't have a "front"? This robot could cause considerable confustication at inspection me thinks!

21-02-2008 12:45

RoXmySoX

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

that is a really awesome looking robot. the only one ive seen that looks like that.

21-02-2008 13:19

GMKlenklen

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

IMHO not having a "front" is extremely irrelevant during inspection. Obviously the indicator lamp marks the "front". non-classical designs shouldn't be discouraged.

21-02-2008 13:21

MrForbes

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

The front is obviously the side from which you can see the diagnostic light.

Very nice!

21-02-2008 13:31

TD78

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

i see more than one diagnostic light

21-02-2008 13:32

Brandon Holley

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

VERY impressive...very BOLD design....what is the top speed on that guy?

21-02-2008 13:37

Koko Ed

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Any video of Tumbleweed in action?

21-02-2008 13:40

Brandon Holley

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

wow wow wee wow.... lets see some videos!! PLEASE

21-02-2008 13:49

diesel

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Whichever way the RC is facing is the front.

21-02-2008 13:55

Swampdude

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I LOVE IT! Sweet machine, I'll bet you guys had a lot of fun making that. The name is great too. That thing will be unstoppable.

21-02-2008 13:55

D_Price

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I absolutely love the design and i think that as long as you have the bumpers on all of the sides then that should be considered good.... Love the non sequencial design.

21-02-2008 14:03

petek

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Of course! An obvious a solution to this conundrum.

My next question is: it appears that TUMBLEWEED makes no pretenses of herding nor hurdling, so is it a rabbit or is it a jackalope?

21-02-2008 14:04

Tapoore

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I'm guessing you guys will have a sweet autonomous? (>2 laps?)

21-02-2008 14:05

EricH

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Neither. It's a tumbleweed.

By the way, this may be the first time ever that someone has done a 9-sided FRC robot...(Yes, I counted on another picture...twice. I couldn't believe it either.)

21-02-2008 14:07

JaneYoung

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I think the name, Tumbleweed, and the design are a nice match.
Having seen tumbleweeds in action moving across the landscape, it is mesmerizing. They are fast, very fast - and beautiful to watch.

21-02-2008 14:35

Amanda Morrison

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

The robot is in the shape of a nine-sided polygon - a nonagon.

Even though our team really digs the Tumbleweed name, the kids normally refer to the robot as the 'Neun-agon'.

21-02-2008 15:01

Jeff Waegelin

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Something different, for sure. It's a gutsy call on strategy to say the least. On top of that, the robot is positively a work of art. Probably the simplest design, yet most elaborately engineered robot I've ever seen. I'm excited to see it in action!

21-02-2008 15:08

kevin.li.rit

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

What kind of drive is that A omni? Swerve?

I hit a tumble weed when driving earlier this year. It came from nowhere.

21-02-2008 15:53

Dan Petrovic

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

It seems odd to me that a team that was so good at scoring last year would stick to a driving chassis this year. It does have a complex drive system and may still be very good at scoring, though.

Interesting.

21-02-2008 15:59

Brandon Holley

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I think you are going to be very surprised by how well these little lap runner bots are going to do. Especially motoring around the track at the speed they are. They are more or less guaranteed points, no dealing with the ball, no dealing with the overpass...just speed and points.

21-02-2008 16:15

AdamHeard

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Yeah...

Also, in the Elims two good hurdlers and a lap bot may dominate. I've heard discussion of three hurdlers sharing balls, but I think two and a lap bot will dominate three hurdlers any day. And, this is certainly the lap bot to do it with.

21-02-2008 16:17

Dan Petrovic

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I have a feeling that lap runners will win matches in the Qualification rounds, but when it comes to the elimination rounds, they are going to need hurdlers on their alliance.

21-02-2008 16:26

Karthik

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Another elegant and well designed creation from Team 148. Looking at these pictures you can tell that every single piece of that robot was designed with a purpose, nothing was slapped on. This is one of the most professional looking robots I've seen in a while.

When it comes to game play, I expect this robot to do very well. A small swerve like this should be able to navigate this year's traffic headaches very well. For those of you who think hurdles alone are going to dominate the game, don't be surprised to see a couple pure lap runners like this guy on Einstein. I'm not predicting that this game will play out as dramatically as Stack Attack, but I do think many hurdlers will abandon the hurdle for laps as the season goes on. If this does happen, teams like 148 will be well ahead of the game.

21-02-2008 16:26

Swampdude

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

So far from the scrims, it looks like laps are all thats happening

After watching all of those and some others, plus reading reports from the scrims, hurdling doesn't happen enough (so far) to beat something like this if it keeps moving.

21-02-2008 16:29

M. Mellott

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Beautiful execution inside and out--really unique!! I can't wait to see it in action!!

21-02-2008 16:37

Qbranch

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Awesome! Must be hella tough to drive... unless you've got some creative gyro action going there.

Is there any way to make actual round bumpers instead of having little segments? If you could actually make your bumpers a circle, you'd be able to squeeze through/past any traffic jam even with decent low gearing (all vectors push away from you at any angle other than at a perfect perpendicular).

-q

21-02-2008 16:47

Koko Ed

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Not to mention that runners will be the ones charged to defend the supposedly unstoppable shooters. One way to stop them is to knock away the ball and make them waste time having to go re-acquire it.

21-02-2008 18:45

dlavery

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

To repeat my comments to JVN when he showed me the pictures last night - this thing is absolutely beautiful. Team 148 did not just set the bar higher, they have completely redefined the region of sky where the bar is located. I was impressed, excited, and jealous all at once. I want to see this thing run, and watch it play the game. But I really, really want to have two hours alone in a small room with it, to poke and prod and learn everything I can about what they did, and how they did it (if you think it is nice on the outside, just wait until you see how it looks on the inside!). Tumbleweed is a great example to show that robots can be functional, well designed, and artistic all at the same time.

Ten years ago omnidirectional drive systems were virtually unheard of within the FIRST competitions. But after a few excellent initial examples, many teams got inspired and said "I want to do that too!" But today, omnidirectional drives appear at virtually every competition. Today, there are a very small number of FRC teams that consistently turn out work of this quality. But I truly hope that all teams can look at the work of the Robowranglers and get inspired - and that this becomes the next standard that most of us try to achieve.

Excellent job Robowranglers - you have shown that robots and art DO go together!

-dave


.

21-02-2008 18:57

thefro526

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I'm was opposed to the idea of just a lap runner bot but now that I've seen this, I have decided that they can be made to be competitive. Lol if I were in a regional I'd pick you guys just so we could be "the alliance with the bada$$ swerve" Best of luck to you and your team.

21-02-2008 19:57

s_forbes

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I have to admit, that is probably the most professionally done FIRST robot I've ever seen. It's an interesting approach... you may not win all of your matches pitted against good hurdlers, but you are guarenteed a spot in the eliminations. The perfect bot to complement two good hurdlers.

By the way, your sheet metal skills are amazing. Is all of the sheet metal work done through a sponsor?

21-02-2008 20:16

Cory

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

My hat is off to 148. John wouldn't reveal what they were doing all season, and I've got to say that when he finally sent me the pictures of this bad boy my jaw was on the floor. It was nothing like what I was expecting.

This robot screams quality. Everything on it is impeccable. Nothing is out of place. It has taken a complex drive system and made it look very simple and neatly packaged.

For those thinking they won't be able to score many points, my guess is Tumbleweed could win 70-80% of the qualification matches at most regionals, simply by itself. I could see this bot scoring 30-50 pts solo, which would take 4-6 hurdles to beat (plus whatever points their partners score). When it comes to the eliminations, they'll be an invaluable third partner.

I was expecting 148 to raise the bar this season, and though it was in a much different manner than I envisioned, as Dave has said, the bar is now sky high. I can't wait to see them compete, and hope we have a chance to play with them in Atlanta or at IRI

21-02-2008 20:36

lukevanoort

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I have very few "OMG this is amazing!" moments when seeing robots. Most of the time its more along the lines of "pretty neat" or something. 469 in 06, 64 in '05 (<- favorite robot of all time), and 254/968 in 07 are some of the few robots that have reduced me to a babbling fanboy. With that said, OMG this is amazing! I don't know whether to envy your driver for getting to control such an awesome drivesystem or feel sorry for him/her because he/she has to keep control of it. Very nice looking too, kind of like a landmine of pure speed.

21-02-2008 21:02

Travis Covington

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

I have to agree with what everyone has said so far...

This thing is simply amazing. When John told me what they were doing, I did a double take and immediately asked him if he was joking. I seriously thought he was kidding and was being the typical protective designer stretching the truth while waiting to reveal the real thing when the first competition rolled around. I have to be honest and say that up until last night, there was still a significant part of me that didn't believe him.

Seeing it put a huge smile on my face though... He WAS serious... that smile is something that will probably only be beat by seeing this thing drive in person or via webcast. It really is one of a kind.

The 148 folks should be really proud of this robot. Its a bold strategy with an appropriately bold robot. You guys should do great this season, without a doubt!

21-02-2008 22:03

Protronie

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

LOVE IT!

If for no other reason than its so different !

Good luck, I'll be keeping an eye out for your bot.

21-02-2008 22:10

Maggie27

Re: pic: Team 148 Robowranglers: TUMBLEWEED

Very clean & professional looking.
I love it. [:
Video??