Some ideas I had on making a viable intake design that can intake coral (and algae eventually) utilizing a pivotable intake joint to reorient the coral from its scoring position
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feedbacks welcome 
I would be very hesitant to use non-compliant wheels (like those omni wheels) to process coral: you almost always want either game piece or wheel to be compliant to avoid dead zones
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the rationale behind using omni over compliant mechanisms is to utilize a sense of “2 directional intake outtake”. The coral would go into the mechanism like u would think by intaking it in. Then the intake would be able to pivot 90 degrees so that it is in the correct orientation to score onto higher levels of the reef. You can see that one side of the intake has an opening that allows a coral to slide through. That was the intended exit for the coral after it is intaked in.
Idk whether Omni wheels are the best choice for this application. The reason behind not using flexwheels or other compliant mechanisms is to prevent too much friction stopping the coral from sliding out of the intake through the exit on the side. Also, the weight of this many omnis is also quite concerning for an intake that is already bulky and probably heavy too.
Another possible solution i was thinking of was using some sort of flap mechanism. This would offer less horizontal friction than flexwheels or any compliant intake mechanisms while still providing compression to retain the coral from entering a dead zone.
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Update on Intake CAD Concept:
Intake center-to-center distance is slightly under 2 inches (depending on what is necessary for the coral to be intaked and stowed securely.
Intake has 2 directions that it can transport in. Through the 2 omni intake stage for both ground pickup and the loader zone and a side-to-side translational movement to allow the coral to exist through the side to be scored in L2-4. Side-to-Side movement is controlled through a pulley mechanism with grip tape or some sort of grippy surface attached to the outside belt.
The wrist mechanism is where the algae intake is mounted. It utilizes the coral intake’s top roller to act as a counter-roller and help intaking algae both from the ground and from the reef. Unlike most wrist mechanisms, it has a 2 “axis of freedom” allowing the intake to be reoriented in the correct orientation to score on L2-4.
Overall Intake mechanism (some geometry for the intake angle does need to be adjusted based on which arm mechanism is used to reach the necessary positions).
I think with the right arm mechanism with the correct geometries, (and the intake being consistent even tho it is not using compliant wheels 
) it should be one of the most meta-viable methods in the long run. Once defensive play is figured out for the loading station, intaking/loading from the coral’s “horizontal state” both for the ground intake aspect and from the loading station will be a necessity rather than a desire for robot designs.
In terms of fabrication for a design like this, an SLS printer and some welding would be ideal to create the wrist mechanism. An FDM printer may work but support during printing and the stress that the wrist to would need to endure would decrease the accuracy of the manufactured part and the longevity of it (meaning that it could break pretty easily during matches).
the 2 primary concerns with this design is whether omni-wheel would work as the intake and the fragility of the wrist component. (Neo 550s could be another point to worry about but I think it is definitely strong enough with 2 of them geared down with a ratio of ~1/130)