Hi, we of team 3339 in Israel were wondering if we could use a spring for the MiniBot for it to be pushed down tight and with a push of a button it jumps up.
Thanks for your help.
The spring must be attached to the main robot as i don’t believe they are allowed on minibots. But its still a reasonable idea.
I am also investigating the spring idea. Be sure to do calculations of the energy release time before you invest time and money in the spring. You can check out a nice calculator here: http://www.primelineindustries.com/tools.html
Springs are not one of the 27 permitted materials listed in <R92> so you cant use them. Rubber bands and surgical tubing are on the permitted list so they can be use them instead of springs. I would suggest monitoring the Q&A and team updates for clarifications on how these materials can be used by a Hostbot and a Minibot since there are many open questions right now.
i would agree with him…unless its listed on the things you can use i wouldnt try and use a spring. if its not listed dont try it
If its on the deployment device on your main robot there is nothing saying its illegal.
To me it seems very clear.
Yet.
I agree with above posts to watch the Q&A forum and game manual updates for clarifications on what the hostbot is allowed to do.
Team Update #1 clarifies <G19> to make spring-launching a MINIBOT illegal. The HOSTBOT can’t give any upward motion to the MINIBOT. The MINIBOT must climb using only a motor powered by its battery, with no other stored energy permitted.
Oh, well.
yes thats true.
Team 151 in NH has done some prototyping of the “projectile minibot” and it’s very inconstant. This is because the initial force that a spring or piston would provide would have to have little tolerance for the minibot to hit the plate between 2-4 Newtons. Meaning, X amount of force will hopefully be provided by the spring…every single time. Also if that plate shatters, your team is going to get some harsh criticism for making a very unsafe robot.
Be sure to check out an official FIRST Week 0 competition on Feb. the 19th in Nashua, NH. There will a 2011 official field, scoring system (that was made by FIRST), the Game design committee and special guests! Contact [email protected] for more info
Sounds interesting. Can you see if someone (whether FIRST or a team) can provide a web stream of this event? I’m sure many other teams would benefit from being able to watch the game in action.
<R92> I don’t see where a spring would be allowed, maybe in section S. Mechanical Hardware. and <G19> no stored energy for vertical motion…::rtm::
If we can’t use a spring , can we use elastic ?
ok