03-03-2008 19:53

mtaman02

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

I think that is THE smallest and THE lightest robot I have ever seen AND it's effective . 102 has got a lot of speed in that little one .

03-03-2008 20:30

Molten

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

Maybe they should have a minimum weight limit.

03-03-2008 21:14

George A.

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

And that's with the batteries and bumpers....impressive.

03-03-2008 21:18

basicxman

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

cool! that defenitly is the lightest FRC ive ever seen, how have you dont at your regionals this year? do you hurdle or just race around as many times as possible

03-03-2008 22:12

petek

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

This little robot kept us entertained every time it flew around the field in NJ. I loved the power slides and up on two wheel cornering antics of this baby bot. It may not have a galaxy hanging from its belt, but the drivers from 102 made it look like Orion had cat-like reflexes!

03-03-2008 22:14

SSMike

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

Yeah but have you seen this?

03-03-2008 22:18

JaneYoung

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

There are constant moments of surprise and joy in FIRST. This robot has created a lot of those. I enjoyed watching the regional very much and I was always smiling when Orion was zipping around. I also like how the team number helps spell its name. Very nice.

03-03-2008 22:29

smurfgirl

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

I loved your robot when I saw it on the NJ Regional webcast. I was very impressed by it.

I'm also very jealous of whoever carries your robot onto the field. Our team is always pushing the weight limits, and I'm stuck carrying a robot that's around 150 lbs with battery and bumpers.

03-03-2008 23:08

T3_1565

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

I think orion is smaller than that bot is, heavier but smaller in length and width

You guys were fun to watch on the webcast, and you did pretty well!!!

04-03-2008 06:32

mtaman02

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

I did now... lol

This goes to prove that you don't have to max out on everything (Weight & Dimensions) to be competitive. These 2 robots and probably a few more that we don't know about are an example of that.

04-03-2008 08:42

Brandon Holley

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

48 pounds is great...but you guys definitely got up on 2 wheels quite a few times...have you considered adding weigh to your base for lower CG and better traction ?

04-03-2008 08:56

Alan Anderson

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

Ballast would give a lower CG, better traction...and less acceleration. I didn't see anyone mention Orion actually tipping over; it sounds like 102 made an effective tradeoff.

04-03-2008 12:01

George A.

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

102 actually tipped over in a few rounds, a couple times for line violations,

One match in particular that I found funny (sorry 102) was when they tipped over against the driver station and they tried using the plunger to push themselves back up, but the plunger got stuck.

04-03-2008 12:02

Brandon Holley

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

Did you watch them in action?

Yes their acceleration woudl be hindered slightly, but if they didn't have to come to almost a complete stop at each corner I think they're overall lap time would jump greatly. Watch one of their matches...they have such potential, I just saw the tippiness they experienced as one of the few weaknesses....

http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv...p?matchid=5038

04-03-2008 17:45

Athleticgirl389

Re: pic: It's So Small, It Only Needs One Person

To answer any questions about Orion...

It is 18" by 16"
It weighs 48.2 pounds, as George said, with bumpers and battery
It goes 27 fps... yes... 27 feet per second... (geared for 30fps) one reason why you see it fly.
We have 4 mechanum wheels... after a few practice matches they disable the use of the strifing of the wheels because our driver found it eaiser to just drift into the corners and keep it up and still have the speed.

Our driver is PHENOMINAL at keeping it upright. A few times we did tip mostly because we were knocked off balance due to hitting a robot at full speed or being hit by another robot carrying a ball. And yes George, that one time it did tip... it was funny to try to see them get it back up. I didn't know why they couldn't until you pointed it out. Thanks!!!

And thank you to everyone who is saying things bout this lil robot I am passing it along to my team and especially my engineers. We had a great showing at the NJ Regional (got onto the 4th alliance) and are ready for our next regional at the end of the month. Hopefully you will follow Orion through the season and we really hope to get to Atlanta and put on a great show there Keep an eye on us... or at least try to haha