Team captain Zach in a recruiting demo.
That’s awesome. You should put a chair and seat belt on there. 
Perhaps a little safer? 
Still… I love the idea. Did it help?
Haha we rode our robot around at a freshman orientation like this (along with dragging 3 people). We also have “chair bot” which was our v2 drive train, a six wheel with a chair on top of it (the school doesnt know where the chair went…) unfortuanly “chair bot” isn’t powered but we still have fun with it.
That is unsafe. No safety glasses and you’re riding on the robot?
Not to mention the possibility of a chain grabbing and pinching various body parts
Exactly how I feel. If you are going to show pictures or videos like an above poster has mentioned. Please think of safety. Also, what would your team think if you damaged any part of the robot let alone yourself?
Think people.
Yes, safety glasses are important! They will definitely do a great deal when your cranium possibly impacts the floor at a decent velocity, or when the robot bucks you into a wall!
It’s the act that is unsafe, not the lack of (nearly useless in this situation) equipment.
Lighten up safety addicts, your like the plague. Honestly, the best way to teach someone how to swing a hammer is to let him smack his thumbs a few times… It is unlikely that someone will retain permanent damage from ridding their bot, and they could learn a few valuable lessons on the teachings of Darwin and Newton…
That statement scares me, there is absolutely no reason for someone to get hurt when it could have been prevented. Regardless of the lesson they would learn.
Honestly, I heal now, I won’t heal so well when I am old. Better to make my mistakes now, no?
Honestly, why make the mistake at all?
While what you are saying is somewhat true, the logic defys me…
Better to make mistakes never actually.
To be fair though, doing this kind of thing is pretty common practice, and as long as everyone is relatively careful, mostly safe. This was the only way my team had of testing on the Regolith with close to full weight in 2009. When done with a little forethought, it isn’t terrible (Chain guards are important, and so is electrical isolation). Do remember to consider and eliminate hazards before you do this kind of thing though. And if it seems kinda sketchy, just don’t.
How many fingers should a punch press worker loose before they learn to use the machine properly?
That is different, a punch removes a finger far more easily then a decently shielded DT, also that is a adult at a business, not a kid ridding a robot. I did make the age distinction for a reason, in general a workplace, especially a operating machine shop, tends to be more dangerous then a school. I would strongly suggest safety when losing limbs is possible as a consequence.
possible the kid on the bot could break a few fingers and get some other more serious damage to his fingers, but the chance of it removing a finger are fare less then on an industrial tool.
Drivetrains with more shielding than this one have sheared fingers before.
The point is not that probably, nothing will happen, or that it’s mainly safe. It’s not that in youth injuries will heal, or that robots are more safe than machines. It’s the point that this was a situation that was LESS SAFE than it COULD be. I’m no advocate of blast shields on FRC fields, but at least make an effort. It’s easier to learn from someone who lost a finger than to lose a finger yourself. In consideration of that, it may have been better to wear safety glasses, add a seat, ensure electrical isolation (probably done already), or simply use dumbbells or other athletic weights.
Again, it all comes down to the fact that you know it could and should be safer, but aren’t making it any safer. Easier to learn from another person’s experience than your own.
Ehh, I think your a bunch of pansies, you think I am an idiot. Guess I really don’t care, I am done with the whole first thing anyways.
A constant awareness of safety is a plague I would welcome.
As someone who has done their fair share of stupid “unsafe” actions statements like this scare me. While I generally agree with the live and let learn approach to teaching safety is the one thing it will never apply to in my book. What you may consider a minor injury (a bruise or a decent cut) some parents may consider negligence. While I hate to be “that guy” I have to point out that if a parent gets lawsuit happy the school could decide to shut us down.
Now, do I think that riding a bot is inherently dangerous? Not if done with caution. For example, this one doesn’t seem to be moving in the picture. I assume it moved at some point in time during the demo though. The rider should most definitely be wearing a helmet. His hands seem clear of the chain and it looks like he is resting his weight on the main frame of the robot…
That being said, why was this done? We once thought about doing this during prototyping to weight the robot down but then realized the less stupid way of doing it would be to use lead blocks.
While it is a good looking picture, I have to agree with they safety concerns.
A smart person learns from his own mistakes. A genius learns from everyone else’s mistakes in addition to his own.
Something about nobody ever living long enough to make all the mistakes themselves…
Yes, the drivetrain is apparently shielded. Yes, he does seem to have a good grip on the robot. However, if that robot moves, I would expect anybody riding it to a) not be riding it or b) be wearing appropriate safety gear (helmet, safety glasses, possibly gloves) and c) have extra handles attached for extra grab by a rider. Oh, and a very easy-to-get-to main breaker and E-stop in case something does go wrong.
The other thing is this little thing called insurance. If somebody got hurt doing something like this, insurance companies would make a big deal. Then, there goes the team due to a chain of events. I know at my workplace (a go-kart track), every track worker wears a helmet and ankle-high work boots (and most of us wear steel-toe work boots) due to insurance 'requests" (low ceilings and karts that could hit you if you can’t jump fast enough are apparently dangerous). Not to mention the height requirements, which are strict because of insurance.
I think I made myself clear in that: safety is not unimportant.