Reefscape Robot Archetypes
After a lot of thought, I came to the conclusion that there will be several different main robot archetypes this year. I hope that this thread becomes a conversation about the potential tradeoffs of playing different parts of the game at different levels of play. So, without further ado, here are my predictions for the most common robot scoring archetypes that we will see this year.
Kitbot
Capabilities:
- Intake coral from the eeder station
- Score Coral in L1
Goals:
- Field a working robot
Notes/Predictions:
- We will see a lot of these
- Many teams will use this as a base and add on either a climb or some form of algae manipulator
Reef + Deep Climb
Capabilities:
- Intake coral from the feeder station
- Score coral in all levels of the reef
- De-algaeify the reef
- Score algae in processor
- Deep Climb
Goals:
- Maximize RPs
- High point autos
Notes/Predictions:
- We will see a LOT of these built to varying degrees of effectiveness
- Algae in the processor may not be as important as many teams think it will be
- Some teams may choose to ignore the deep climb in order to simplify
- Penn State Ri3D
L1 Coral + Algae Shooter
Capabilities:
- Intake coral from the feeder station
- Score coral in L1 of the reef
- Intake algae from the ground
- Shoot algae into net
- Drive under shallow cage
Goals:
- Ensure auto rp
- Steal the other alliance’s algae and shoot it into the net
- defense
- 1st pick of a high ranking coral bot
Notes/Predictions:
- Reasonably easy to build(modified kitbot?)
- We won’t see a ton of these because everyone is focused on coral and the reef
- If executed well this would be a great first pick for a robot that scores coral, especially at higher levels of play where good coral bots will be a dime a dozen.
- I am personally very excited to see this robot be the deciding factor for an alliance’s win at an event this year.
Floor Intake + L2,3,4 Reef + Shallow Climb
Capabilities:
- Intake coral from the ground
- Intake coral from the feeder station
- Score coral in L2, L3, and L4 of the reef
- Climb Shallow Cage
Goals:
- Pick up dropped coral to reduce cycle times
- Get reef RP
- Get Auto RP
Notes/Predictions:
- This will be a less common robot, but it has the potential to perform exceptionally well
- Ignore L1 in order to specialize in L2-L4
Reef + Algae
Capabilities:
- Intake coral from the hp station
- Score coral in all levels of the reef
- De-algaeify the reef
- Shoot algae in the net
- Intake algae from the ground
- Score algae in the processor
- Fit under shallow cage
Goals:
- Score as many points as possible per match
Notes/Predictions:
- Potential for a ground intake
- Very good playoff bot, could suffer in quals
Everything
Capabilities:
- Intake coral from the ground
- Intake coral from the hp station
- Score coral in all levels of the reef
- De-algaeify the reef
- Shoot algae in the net
- Intake algae from the ground
- Score algae in the processor
- Climb deep cage
- Climb shallow cage
- Fit under shallow cage
Goals:
- Win Einsteins
- Be as mechanically complex as possible
Notes/Predictions:
- 254
Please feel free to respond with any you think I might have missed!