Team Version Rough Terrain Inaccuracies

FIRST General Forum
1

It appears that the Team Version Rough Terrain measurements differ a decent amount from those of the official field.

In the Team Version document, they suggest making the blocks each 3.5" x 3.5", spaced 1" apart:

http://i.imgur.com/DtfIkJp.png

However, on the official field, the blocks are 3" x 3", spaced 1.5" apart:

http://i.imgur.com/EHNGD2E.png

The plate they are on also appears to be 50" long on the real field, giving some extra space on each side of the end blocks (while the Team Version base is only 48" long):

http://i.imgur.com/g7G5zFy.png

For teams that have built a Rough Terrain to practice on, have you been keeping true to the Team Version measurements, who did you alter its construction to make it more similar to the official version? Do you believe there is a noticeable difference?

2

We ripped the 4x4 lumber down to 3" and used the correct gap measurements.

3

We plan on adjusting the team version slightly. Making the correct spacing for the squares (3x3 1.5 inch apart) but keeping it 48" long. The team version is shorter then the real deal so that part of it is fine.

4

Biggest difference is the moat for sure.

Wood moat is fairly easy, metal moat is much harder.

5

Why do you say that?

6

Probably because the actual field is smooth steel and the team version is rough wood.

7

I’m going to take a stab at it and guess it’s because metal is less grippy.

8

Thanks for sharing this, just knowing there’s a big difference is a big deal … any chance you guys could post a video without giving away your secrets? I’m going to see if I can get our guys to swap our materials around tonight.

edit - any by ‘swap around’ I mean we’ll form 1/16" aluminum sheet metal around the moat wood pieces.

9

I don’t have any videos we could share, but the difference seems to be traction. You simply get more bite on wood than metal.

10

Well that’s annoying. Thanks for pointing this out.

11

Alright, time for some flying robots then. :smiley:

12

The 1" gap (team) vs a 1.5" gap (official) is brutal, given how many 1" wide wheels there are out there. Having a wheel fall between two blocks could have terrible ramifications for some drive trains–whether it jams, or you try to turn while it’s in there.

13

The smoothness issue is a big concern. The same thing occurred with the coopertition bridges a few years ago. Teams built wooden bridges and field dividers that were no problem at home. The real bridges had a smooth plastic surface and the divider was metal. The difference was huge for teams.

14