In the animation it shows that the feeder slot is used for rolling the balls onto the field. But would it be possible to load the robot from the feeder slot or do we need to pickup off the ground either way?
I believe you could be fed by the inbounders, as long as the robot doesn’t extend outside the court.
However, I’d strongly advise against relying solely on this method. There was a similar situation last year, and teams that could only be fed from the slots were at a severe disadvantage. That does, of course, exclude 1503, which was one of the best robots I saw all season.
I’m always hesitant to draw too many conclusions from previous games. Slot loading wasn’t very popular (or effective) last year, but likely the best robot in 2006 (team 25) was only human loaded.
Last year, though, the game pieces could be thrown across the field. This year, the only reliable method of getting game pieces for much of that match is from the slot.
That being said, I still think robots will be at a disadvantage if they can’t pick up balls. Remember, the only balls you can get from your slot are the ones your opponents are scoring!
Disadvantage is an understatement. Last year (our rookie) we did a feeder slot bot. We almost never got a tube. The alley was very narrow, and had a wall on either side.
For this game the traversal of the barrier/bridge is going to be difficult and slow for the most part. I see scoring more than a couple of baskets being very hard if you have to go across court after your maximum 3 shots.
If you want to be a relay inbounder then go for it! Sit in the alley and launch balls to your mats.
Actually with our system we might be scoring from across the field on the other side of the barrier. We plan to shoot from right against the barrier or in front of the center bridge
Being able to load from the feeder station will be important, however make sure it’s not the only way you can pick up. While feeder loading is useful, the ability to pick up from the ground is a necessity. So at least floor load, and if you can feeder load.
At high levels of competitions (finals in a division, Einstein, maybe even some occurances at strong regionals), I can see slot loading being the main way of acquiring balls, as well as a necessary tactic to survive.
Imagine your opposing alliance consists of the two most dominant teams at an event. Hypothetically, let’s say that means they have somewhere between a 66% - 100% accuracy shooting at the top basket (so 2 or 3 balls every full load). Teams with that kind of potent scoring are likely to have a strong acquisition and loading system to back it up. So they’ll be firing shots all match, until it’s time to balance. Your alliance inbounders can hold 6 balls that are coming through. If the opponents are that dominant, that 6 balls capacity is going to fill up REALLY quick. As a result, balls will need to be returned to the field. Unless it’s the last 30 seconds, those balls will falls into the field, fair game for any robot that fancies to pick them them, i.e. your dominant opponents.
In this situation, having the ability to load from the inbounder station could be paramount in surviving high levels of competition. In my humble opinion, only being able to floor load is almost shooting yourself in the foot. While you could collect balls from the inbounder by letting them drop it on the floor, there is a chance to lose control of that ball if it doesn’t come out of the station right, hits something on the way down, or the robot accidentally pushes it out of the alley.
Having some way to ensure the balls gets safely from the inbounder to your robot could be a very desirable, effective trait in a robot.
Just my opinion. It just seems to me that being able to load from the inbounder is just as important as loading from the floor.
I hope this helps!
-Leeland