One idea for the 2013 Ultimate Ascent. We figuired that we would make even more of an ascent this year than the other teams! All the electronics and motors are mounted under the sheet below the rotors.
1st: Really?
2nd Why?
If legal (which I doubt) and works (same issue), why is this better than a more normal robot? However, if you really build it, I’d love to see pictures and video.
Bumper rules, specifically robot height?
We had a kid on the team keep pushing this type of idea. Printing the OP’s picture and showing him he wasn’t alone after all.
This is legal, but only if the bumpers stay within the bumper zone (2-10 inches).
The bumper zone moves with the robot. It has to be that way, else any pyramid climb over a few inches would be illegal.
To the OP, beware the Grapple rule.
There’s a fundamental design flaw with this, if you continue to use the sheet.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/laptop-lift-off.htm
They demonstrated this with miniature helicopters – the helos could lift themselves in unison when all connected to the same wooden lattice. Yet once they mounted a sheet underneath the lattice, the helos couldn’t get off the ground.
Okay, so here’s the rundown of things:
Why do this design?
- Unable to be interfered from other robots.
- Directly dump disks into the high and pyramid goals with ease.
- Able to block disks from opponent robots by bypassing the height limitations.
- Sit on the pyramid at the end of the game for maximum bonus points.
- Put other game players in a state of awe and anger and render them incapable of playing the game well.
Is it legal?
Im fairly sure. That sheet/wall is a rolled up thing of cloth that would fall down after match start, so it would at least begin satisfying the bumper rules there. Maybe the mechanism would be removed.
To JesseK:
Hmm… okay. We might have folding propellers or cut out that plate in the top to allow airflow then.
To GaryVoshol: What is the grapple rule? (I don’t know any rule by that name.)
G14
The following actions are prohibited with regards to interaction with FIELD elements:
grabbing,
grasping
grappling
attaching to,
damaging,
becoming entangled
Actions A-D do not apply to ROBOT interactions with the PYRAMID.
Oh! I didn’t realize the sheet was vertical. In that case, there isn’t a design flaw so long as the plate is cut to allow air flow. There’s a strategy flaw with point # 5 though:
It would be safe as long as they put some sort of shroud over the blades.
The safety issue isn’t in the spinning propellors. The safety issue is the vertical sheet (shown as cow print in their CAD picture) preventing the opposing drivers from controlling their robot – as called out in the blue box beneath R08. I emboldened the appropriate wording above.
Ah. Yes, I wasn’t quite sure what that was.
That vertical sheet could be made out of a mesh or something instead. It would still serve the purpose of blocking shots, but not interfere with vision.
On another note: Do you think that the FRC battery will be able to provide enough power to keep the robot flying at acceptable altitudes? If you’ve ever flown one of those remote control helicopters, you’ll notice that as the battery gets drained the helicopter’s maximum altitude dramatically falls, and as the battery gets even lower you can no longer gain altitude.
But I think it would be awesome to see a flying FRC robot!
I am more interested in which motors you will use for the propellers
Do the power calculations required to fly and/or hover the minimum required equipment in a robot given the available motors and battery. It will soon become obvious why there has never been a flying FRC robot before.
This idea is legal. The lower hanging “shield” that is in a crazy cow print would not be needed. If you have flown or been on a helicopter, you need the open bottom or the robot to get air flow. With the open bottom, the prop wash would create a disturbance and affect the flying ability of all frisbee’s that fly underneath it, providing great “D”.
This being said, it ruins the spirit of the game.
Using the battery and CIM motor’s, it is possible to lift that much weight with a helicopter style blade
Care to throw some numbers at this?
I used the calculation method from this website assuming that each CIM is just under 1/2hp and weight roughly 3 lbs. You could use all 6 cims or just 1. The math is complicated, but it walks your through pretty well. You certainly would not have a lot of weight room left but it is possible from my calculations.
http://www.heli-chair.com/aerodynamics_101.html
Still, not in the spirit of the game
Did you factor in the weight of bumpers, metal, crio, motor controllers, etc.?
Cause I can’t imagine this happening but I would love to be suprised
Yes. Light light light everything. How bout some carbon fiber!!! The battery is the biggest weight. The rest of the electronics are fairly light compared. Build the frame small and start with the props vertical so you do not need much in the way of metal/carbon fiber or bumpers. This is all conceptual, not anything you can or should try. It would get shut down for ruining the spirit of the game as well as safety (carbon fiber explodes).