This was just posted on Bill’s Blog:
Good Morning Teams,
Rockwell Automation has again agreed to generously donate components we need for the 2012 FRC season. Check it out. You may find it very interesting.
http://robobees.org/pictures/2012/2012gamehint1.png
Taken From -
http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2011/12/frc-game-hint-1.html
Thoughts?
I can see a lot of that is stuff that is always on the field. Would anyone who knows the field in detail be kind enough to separate the new from the old?
For those of you stuck behind firewalls:
Very High Speed Counter, you say?
I think I like where this is going.
My thoughts:
-It’s getting close to kickoff!
-This list will be analized extensively by the CD comminity.
-There will 1001 ideas on how the items will be used on the playing field.
One observation:
They are not waterproof, so no watergame this year 
Blue lights Amber lights Green Lights and Red Lights…
Red blue green for FMS but the Amber Light???
252 of them, at that.
Would equate to 10-12 per field, depending on how many spares kept on hand.
Brings back memories of the good 'ol days of jamming goals with balls… 
That PHOTOSWITCH Photoeletric Sensor is interesting…infrared? Hmm…
If I remember correctly there are amber lights at the bottom of all the team stack lights, they are just never turned on. I say that because of their outside color, I haven’t actually checked the inside of the amber section. Although, the differences in quantity seem to say that they are not for the same purpose. Stacklights seem to break pretty easily though, I can’t imagine they would have them where the robot could hit it.
Hmmm. Intriguing.
There’s also 14 amber lights and only 4 of the each red/blue/green, of that style. But there’s another set of exclusively red and blue lights so I think we’re remaining at two alliances.
Lights are tricky… they could be an integral part of the game (poor example: king of the hill! race to the lit-up amber section!), or FIRST could have decided to turn on some amber lights during the end-game period to make it more obvious to everyone watching.
The quantities of each item are also quite interesting…
That got my attention too at first glance.
Have they been used in the past? If so what was the use?
500 all together I wonder why so many…
A photo switch can be used in conjunction with software as a scoring counter. Every time the beam is broken, you’d add a count.
500 Sensors equates to ~26 per field, which isn’t all that many.
Edit, just reread the list, and it’s only 250 complete counter assemblies (13 per field). One sensor sends an IR beam and the other receives it.
And many will be spares.
Maybe it’s nothing related to the supplies, but the name of the company, Rockwell. Bill’s other post was titled Over the River and Through the Woods…and now "rock"well…just my 2 cents. :yikes:
Were those the same Green lights used with the camera in the past or different? I am interpreting the sensors to indicate small ball game.
Well the first thing that caught my eye was the word “touchscreen”, I figured it was just for the score keepers but I wanted to take a look at it anyways.
Pulled up a picture and it does not look like the same touchscreen that they have used in years past. Maybe we will have some sort of touchscreen field-interface? Maybe we control parts of the field this year?! That would be kinda cool…
My first thoughts too. Another rapid fire Aim High style game with more goals!
It’s not the parts, it’s the thought that counts. You will “generously donate” your game pieces into your opponent’s goal.