23-02-2008 12:44

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Nice! Can you hurdle forwards or do you have to turn around like 121?

I'm really excited to seeing you/playing with you at FLR!

23-02-2008 12:50

Mike Schreiber

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

looks good, you guys always have a pretty solid robot. Is that picture a render or a photo? The lighting looks so clean and I don't see any shadows...

Looking forward to playing with you guys at Great Lakes, good look in 2008

23-02-2008 12:51

hipsterjr

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

I honestly can't tell if that is a picture or a rendering. Either way, that is a great looking machine. And if it is a rendering...

23-02-2008 12:51

s_forbes

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

I really like that awesome four bar, I've never seen anyone do one like that! (I'm guessing, but it looks like the bottom linkage can compress when the arm is about half way lowered, so the whole thing acts like a normal arm. But above the halfway point, it acts like a four-bar)

Great use of aluminum, too. You guys definitely know what you're doing. Though I was expecting a little bit more orange powdercoating...

23-02-2008 13:21

Alex Cormier

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

no that's a real photo, just the backdrop is photoshoped out.

23-02-2008 13:41

Karthik

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

That is one sweet machine. Once again you've dropped my jaw with an arm linkage. The whole machine vaguely reminds me of the 1998 HOTBOT. I can't wait to see what it does in hybrid.

23-02-2008 13:54

manny_pantera

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

hi hot team we hope that you still remember us nice robot by the way i hope you like ours
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/30629

23-02-2008 14:13

Devibeast

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Do you guys throw it over lightly or do you pass it over by having your arm extend right over the over pass and release?

23-02-2008 16:21

WEHickok

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Here is the scoop. This is an actual photo. It was shot in front of one of the test chambers at the GM Proving Ground. In the original photo, there is a seam just to the right of the GM logo where the doors open...the GM logo is on the left door. The seam made the photo look bad. So, with the magic of the computer, here is the photo with the background removed, except for the logo. Also, the bright blue areas on the front are GM logos that reflect with the flash.

We are able to throw or pass the ball over the bar. When we hurdle we do it facing forward. And, yes, we did go back to the 1998 HOTBOT for inspiration. The orange powdercoating was discussed, but we did it last year to make the arms easier to see when teams needed to climb aboard.

We are really looking forward to competing at FLR for the first time. The team is excited. Also meeting some of our old friends there and making new ones. Another regional with three Hall of Fame teams competing. We are looking forward to seeing 191 and 365.

Then GLR where we are expecting an outstanding competition since it is week 5 this year. As they say in racing, pull your seatbelts a little tighter...this is going to be exciting!

My only hope is that this year the game stays offensive and does not go defensive. I say this because I am an ambassador at GLR and it is not easy to take a VIP to the field and tell them how much work goes into the machines and then have them watch the machines just push each other and not "play" the game. These are people that we are trying to get money from to help pay some expenses and sponsor some teams. So, if you get the urge to play defense, please hold off until the last 15 or 20 seconds so that we get the best demonstration of what robots can do. Again, this comes not from me as a team member, but as an ambassador. Please help us influence more people to become sponsors of FIRST.

Thanks, and good luck to all teams.

23-02-2008 16:23

R.C.

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

i like the design, but that is a really long chain. Does it hook up to a double globe motor gearbox

23-02-2008 21:29

Adam Freeman

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Thanks for the great responses.

Here are the details for this years machine:

Drivetrain:
(2) Center Wheels driven directly by AndyMark Servo Supershifters
(2) Front Wheels chained to center wheels
(2) Rear, non-driven, turreted wheels powered by Keyangs for steering.

Designed for a top speed of 15 fps.

Arm:
- Adjustable 4-bar linkage, sliding bottom link to meet the 80" rule.
- Powered by (2) FP Motors into a custom dual coupled AndyMark ToughBox Gearbox.

We are still working on smoothing out the mechanics of the arm, to make it more graceful. Should be better when we get more gas springs on it to dampen the motion.

The 80" rule really challenged us during the design phase.


Karthik, we are anxiously awating the unveiling of 1114's 'bot. I guess we will have to wait until Thursday.

23-02-2008 21:51

Ross340

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Can't wait to see you guys at FLR! Very exciting to have the chance to play with you guys at our hometown regional!

-Ross
(Driver- Team 340)

23-02-2008 21:59

Tim Arnold

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

How are those servo shifters working out for you? Can you shift while at speed?

23-02-2008 22:33

Pat McCarthy

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Looks great guys!
I can't wait to see it in action.
Still working out how I'm going to get to Rochester, NY, though...

23-02-2008 22:46

DGrohnke1023

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

I wish to second this comment 100%. I do hope that if teams do attempt to play defense they avoid people’s careful crafted manipulators. 1023 experienced this problem last year when trying to grab tubes from the floor. The game became more of a demolition derby than strategically placing many ringers.

On another note, yet another amazing robot from Team 67. Congratulations on a fantastic piece of engineering. Everything appears to be designed to do the task as fast and efficiently as possible. Do I spy a CMU camera on HOTBOT? If so, are you using it to identify trackballs in hybrid?

24-02-2008 08:31

Adam Freeman

Re: pic: HOTBOT 2008

Pat, send me an email and let me know what your plans are....(ie; what days / time you plan on going). I will see if I can help out.

- We haven't attempted shifting on the fly yet, so I can't say how well they work.

- Yes that is the CMU Camera, our plan is to detect the color of the trackball at the start of the match.

We didn't get as much debugging time as we would like this year, so Thursday at FLR will be a very busy day for the HOT Team.