Last year we designed a robot that could lift any other robot with 1.25" of ground clearance and a full belly pan. Sadly many teams (including elite teams) did not design their robot with that requirement, either because they didn’t anticipate that robots would lift other robots on forks, or because they thought they might be doing the lifting. I’m not sure whether we’ll lift robots again (strategy discussions won’t start until tomorrow), but it looks like that’s a legitimate option for 12 extra points so…
please everyone add 1.25" of ground clearance and a structural belly pan to your design requirements this week - when you play with a lifting robot, you’ll be happy you did!
Because 150 lbs is a lot of weight to take on something thin. 1" forks work. Go with 5 or 6" wheels please, you’ll be happy you did (the cable cover is almost 1" thick with velcro as it is)
Why do you expect this year to go differently?
I hope everyone you end up playing with this season sees this post on CD before they design their chassis.
And for the large number of teams not designing a chassis: Does the AM14U4 have 1.25" of clearance with the 6" wheels it’s coming with?
(I tried looking, but easily accessible cad models or dimensioned drawings don’t appear to be accessible on the AM website for the side plates or assembly???).
To look at it another way… If you aren’t designing to work with everyone else, but instead expecting everyone else to be designing to work with you, you’re going to end up playing with the ones that did.
That will likely depend on the interpretation of “above” in bullet 1 of section 5.3:
the ROBOT’S BUMPERS are fully above the Level’s platform and
If it just means altitude, then yes, we will likely see some lifters, as it becomes feasible to score 36 HAB climb points (more than twice the RP threshold). In a game with a definite limit on points from each source, top teams will seek to maximize all of those sources.
Well I don’t know that “plenty” of teams found high strength carbon fibre rods like 254, but sure
1" square tube is plentiful and effective, if teams plan for it.
Unfortunately, on page 36 of the game manual it reads:
For the purposes of assessing SANDSTORM and HAB Climb Bonuses described in Table 4-1, a ROBOT is considered to have started from, or climbed to, a HAB Level if:
the ROBOT’S BUMPERS are fully above the Level’s platform and
the ROBOT is only supported by:
o surfaces of the HAB at or above that Level,
o ALLIANCE WALL, and/or
o another ROBOT which has climbed to that HAB Level or higher
Table 5-1 DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE scoring opportunities
This means that the only way to score 36 points at the HAB is to have a robot on the third, tallest HAB platform that’s lifting two other robots. I think that’ll be rare at regional and even regional champs levels of play.
This means that the only way to score 36 points at the HAB is to have a robot on the third, tallest HAB platform that’s lifting two other robots. I think that’ll be rare at regional and even regional champs levels of play.
It might be semi rare, but at the very least OP is thinking about it, and I’m fairly sure they aren’t the only one.
People said the same thing about lifting 2 robots AND yourself last year, since you didn’t need to with the power up, but plenty of teams at regionals and champs did it
I think there are extra barriers to lifting 3 robots this year, where as 2 is much more doable. The fact that you have to be touching only faces of the hab zone at or above the level you are climbing to means that lifting 2 robots from level 1 is much much more difficult.
For the purposes of assessing SANDSTORM and HAB Climb Bonuses described in Table 4-1, a ROBOT is considered to have started from, or climbed to, a HAB Level if:
the ROBOT’S BUMPERS are fully above the Level’s platform and
the ROBOT is only supported by:
o surfaces of the HAB at or above that Level,
o ALLIANCE WALL, and/or
o another ROBOT which has climbed to that HAB Level or higher
This is stated in the perfect tense, meaning that it is only the end state requirement. I don’t see anything which keeps you from reacting against the L1 surfaces during the lift process, as long as you are clear of them at the end of the climb.
Also note that it is possible that two or three smaller robots, especially if they aren’t necessarily upright, could be on the same platform at the same time.
Personally, I don’t believe any team would try this as it’s too time consuming for veteran teams who’d rather focus on at least 15 endgame points, and it’s also too difficult and costly for rookie teams to attempt. However, I would like to see how a team could potentially pull off a 36 point climb
The 9 extra points from lifting a robot to level 3 is equivalent to 3 more cycles - which is at least 20 or 30s worth of work - or about the same amount of time it might take to lift, but lifting points are less prone to defense. I’m sure it’s a tempting target for any ambitious team trying to design a stand-out robot.
It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. The bump is 7/8" tall, so 1.25" of ground clearance is a good thing anyway.
Non-foul points are limited, so I expect the usual suspects (beginning with 254 and 118) to recognize this and to scrounge for every possible point. They will find a way to reach L3 and lift a couple of partners. Ignore this advice at your peril.
